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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2008 > September > 10
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Pigs, Pitbulls and Politicos
Barack Obama was talking the other day about how John McCain’s policies haven’t changed. He said putting lipstick on a pig doesn’t change the pig’s species. Some Republicans immediately took offense. They denounced the alleged slur against Sarah Palin, who had famously said that the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick.
The Obama people deny that he was talking about her. They point out that he was making the point about pigs long before anybody ever heard of Sarah Palin, which turns out to be true. John McCain uses the line, too.
The question now is, do any sophisticated people really believe that Barack Obama is the sort of low-life who would go to “pig” language about a woman, who would get so personal, so ugly?
Obama says they’re just pretending to believe it, just, in effect. lying.
The alternative explanation is that have gotten so caught up in this politics stuff that all their reasoning mechanisms have shut down, and they are now simply crazed with blind, ignorant hatred.
In the context of the rules of politics, Obama gives them the benefit of the doubt.
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