It was a poor choice of words, but for the McCain camp to act like it was directed at Gov. Palin is silly. Really, that phrase is used so much in government/military circles that it’s a cliché.
Sen. Obama is merely proving himself to be of the Washingtonian mindset by using the insider jargon readily and without realizing that the majority of Americans don’t talk like that. He did the same thing when he said that the question of when life begins is “above his pay grade.”
Fault him for talking and thinking like a Washington insider, not for calling Palin a pig.
Reit This Way 
I also thought it was directed at Sarah Palin. If Obama wants to distance himself from Washington politics & promote change, he should stop using insider jargon that the rest of the country is not familiar with.Mom
Based on the context I heard, I thought it was pretty silly of the GOP to pounce on that one. He was talking about McCain allegedly being too much like Bush. So if he was calling anyone a pig, I would have thought it was McCain. Unfortunately, because of Palin’s joke in her speech about hockey moms and pit bulls, I think “lipstick” resonated too much and was reminiscent of her. I strongly doubt it was Obama’s intention to evoke associations with Palin by his comment. I don’t think especially highly of the man, but I just don’t see that one.
I saw the video clip and I absolutely thought the comment was a direct hit on Sarah Palin. One, she used the lipstick reference last week, the audience was well aware of it and they began hooting and holloring as soon as he said, “you can put lipstick on a pig…” Now, Obama had to be aware of her comment, and I believe he wasn’t ad libbing, I believe his speeches are carefully calculated and crafted. <><>IF somehow he didn’t realize the connection here, he surely would have realized after the audience went wild and any decent man would have stopped right there and explained that’s not what his intent is — or admitted a poor choice of words. <><>The fact that he kept going, soaking up the laughter, proves that he intended it as a slight to Palin. If they didn’t make the connection, the audience would not have reacted so quickly with such raucous behavior. There’s nothing that funny about the saying itself and surely most people have heard it before so to crack up like that meant they were hearing it in a new way this time — the exact way as it was meant to be delivered.
Well, regardless of whether he meant it that way or not, it was a nice gaffe.
im not so sure it wasnt a covered up dig. he did pause after saying lipstick on a pig…he waited for the laughs then continued. had they not laughed he could have kept going and no one would have thought twice. he waited, got the laughs, got the laughs to go to uproars then continued. he then can cover it up saying it is a common phrase but everyone knows palin had already made the lipstick comment. i dont care about the comment, it doesnt get my panties in a wad-but i do think it was a calculated choice of words. r
If you look at the crowd behind him as he makes the comment, you KNOW exactly who they were thinking of by their faces. It is a common phrase, but I think it was used in a calculated way. And I think it was tacky.
Alright already! Mercy!