oomis, I often agree with you, but I disagree about the “lipstick on a pig” phrase, & here’s why:
Here’s the paragraph of Obama’s speech in which he used the phrase:
“That’s just calling something the same thing something different. You know you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig. You know you can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, it’s still going to stink after eight years. We’ve had enough of the same old thing.”
It’s clear from the context that he was saying that calling the “same old thing” something new didn’t make it different–his point is that McCain is more of the same even if he calls himself something else. The phrase “eight years” makes it clear he’s not talking about Palin, but rather that he’s trying to associate McCain with President Bush.
Obama’s used the “lipstick on a pig” several times, as late as a year ago.
Also, as Obama later said, if the analogy in any way refers to Palin, it’s calling her the “lipstick” to McCain’s “pig”, which is no more sexist than McCain referring to Clinton’s health care plan as “lipstick on a pig” earlier this year.
That’s not to say that I think Obama’s a good candidate for president, just that this phrase proves nothing either way.