Obama fires back at McCain camp for seizing on his 'lipstick on a pig' comment
GOP contends Obama's reference to their recent strategy was a sexist dig at their VP pick, Sarah Palin. Obama says Republicans are focusing on 'phony and foolish diversions' rather than the future.
NORFOLK, VA. — Democrat Barack Obama lashed out at Republican John McCain this morning accusing the Republican's presidential campaign of creating a false controversy to avoid dealing with serious issues.
On Tuesday, Obama argued that McCain's policies were similar to those of President George Bush even though Republicans were trying to repackage themselves as agents of change, an Obama theme. Obama said it was like putting lipstick on a pig, a reference that the McCain camp said was a sexist dig at GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Today, Obama fired back, saying the McCain campaign will "seize on an innocent remark, take it out of context, throw up an outrageous ad because they know it is catnip for the news media." Republicans "would much rather have the story about phony and foolish diversions than about the future."
Within moments of Obama's televised appearance, the McCain campaign shot back in an e-mail from spokesman Brian Rogers: "Barack Obama can't campaign with schoolyard insults and then try to claim outrage at the tone of the campaign. His talk of new politics is as empty as his campaign trail promises, and his record of bucking his party and reaching across the aisle simply doesn't exist."
Obama campaigned this morning as part of a two-day swing through the battleground state of Virginia. McCain and Palin held their latest rally this morning in Fairfax, Va. It will be their last joint appearance for a while as the Alaska governor goes solo on the campaign trail with a rally in her home state in Fairbanks tonight.
Obama had hoped to focus on education issues and the Republicans have stressed energy independence and their calls for change in their recent campaign stops. But issues didn't have much of a chance as the talk on cable television, the media and the Internet has focused on the political effect of Palin and cosmetics.
The latest dispute started Tuesday in a campaign appearance in Virginia. Obama compared the policies of McCain to those of President Bush.
"John McCain says he is about change too, and so I guess his whole angle is: 'Watch out George Bush, except for economic policy, healthcare policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics, we're really going to shake things up in Washington.' That's not change. That's just calling the same thing something different.
