Patterico's Pontifications

9/10/2008

McCain Makes Unforced Error in Overreacting to Pig Quote

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 9:01 pm



Yesterday and today saw the McCain camp engaged in an overly outraged defense of Sarah Palin over Barack Obama’s pig remark.

As I said yesterday, it was a “remarkably tone-deaf statement” even if not specifically intended to refer to Palin (something people debate on both sides of the aisle).

But instead of laughing it off as an odd locution from a candidate allegedly adept with words, the McCain camp went into Full Outrage Mode, sending a spokeswoman out to directly accuse Barack Obama of calling Palin a pig, and crafting an entire ad around the gaffe.

Look: there has been plenty of sexism in the campaign against Palin. It’s appropriate for observers, like bloggers, to point it out. But the campaign should be careful about doing too much explicit complaining.

This is an excellent example of an attitude Jan Crawford Greenburg says “smacks of the tokenism and paternalism of a past generation,” and what K-Lo calls “whining about sexism.”

Worse, it’s bad politics. Instead of letting the media run with it, leaving Obama’s remark as the focus of discussion, the campaign had to inject itself into the situation. Now, Barack Obama is effectively using their overreaction:

That’s going to appeal to voters.

The old saying is familiar, but apparently not familiar enough to the McCain camp. Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Put it on a plaque and send it to John McCain.

UPDATE: Of course, Obama has been quite the whiner in the past — and the media has stretched far more to find racism in the attacks on him than McCain has stretched to find sexism in Obama’s remarks. Allahpundit says it well:

Bear in mind as the inevitable nutroots naysaying about this gets going how insistent and ingenious they were in spinning secret offensive subtexts out of McCain’s ads. They’ll drill through six feet of bedrock to find “code” in something a conservative says, but they won’t dust off the topsoil of Obama’s comments.

Well said.

37 Responses to “McCain Makes Unforced Error in Overreacting to Pig Quote”

  1. I totally agree with you. The networks,papers, websites, etc spent all day saying McCain overreacted. However, I refuse to believe that Obama didn’t know what he was saying. At the very least, when he paused halfway through the line for effect and the crowd reacted, he should have realized it right then and there. He could have squashed it…instead he followed it up with his “old fish” line.

    Still, McCain should have let the others do his talking.

    Cankle (8aa31a)

  2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pdKwBkDowU&feature=related

    Look at that smirk. The audience knows. He knows. The lipstick on pig situation is no different.

    McCain’s campaign is completely right in calling out Obama’s crap.

    Roy Mustang (a7923d)

  3. Very fair and balanced post by the “P”. One of the reasons why I love to visit this blog. I hope John McCain is not listening to this advice.

    love2008 (1b037c)

  4. Pretty interesting stuff.

    My 2 cents.

    I believe the GOP powers found it didn’t poll well.

    I will bet everything I have that another attempt is soon to follow.

    And really. No matter which side you’re on, wouldn’t we be a lot better off if all of this time had been spent discussing the issues.

    Like getting the details on each candidates tax plan, health care plan, Iraq plan. Stuff that truly matters and is front and center today.

    jharp (a28e4a)

  5. Palin is not outraged and McCain is not in a panic. They are like average Americans, they are having a little fun at Hussein O’s expense. Hussein O showed he’s a street corner thug and they’re making him lie in his own slime a few days. It’ll go away, Hussein will insult some other class of people before the week is out. That’s the way he got into office and stays there. His welfare homies think he’s great when he turns on ‘white’ people like his own grandmother. They haven’t figured out he’s more white than any other race, and more Arab than Black as the average American black knows black. He’s just using the black claim to further himself. Millions of dollars went to Chicago in his charge and not one black other than his ‘self acclaimed black’ self ever saw a dime of it. One thing he learned well, crime does pay if you claim to be black and accuse everyone of racism that calls you on your criminal activity.

    Scrapiron (d671ab)

  6. Yes they overplayed this a bit. But I think the goal was to mess Obama up. Cynical, a bit.

    Yet Obama manages to keep digging too. Jeez, going on David Letterman to talk about it?

    The good thing is tomorrow is the Sarah Palin interview and she will probably dismiss it with a joke. If you notice Palin never brought it up today. I suspect she will get some tough questions, but if she answers well that will drive the coverage through the weekend.

    What McCain needs to do after that is get back into policy issues. What is his vision vs. Barack’s. What change does he foresee. Who are his cabinet picks (and excellent way to bolster concerns about Sarah Palin’s thinness on foriegn policy experience).

    Joe (8102a5)

  7. Have to salute you, sir. From the left. I agree with Obama most of the time and especially on this one. Sarah is being ‘used’ by McCain on the stump and her constant reiteration of lies about her saying to Congress, “thanks, but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere is now constantly being examined for the lie that it is.

    She’s a knockout for this week, I’ll grant you, but next week?

    Obama is at least Not playing from the Kerry playbook. Seems like he’s not afraid of a fight. I wondered ’til now. But McCain’s his target, not Sarah. Sarah, if and when she stops spouting Bush speechwriter’s bs, might just be a real deal, Until then?

    Of course, Sarah was a target, but that’s for her spouting lies about Obama at the convention (e.g.: he has consistently said he’d lower taxes on working people but raise them on the elite…”not all people” as Sarah posed while McCain’s lies about not raising anyone’s taxes ignores his taxing everyone’s employee health care benefits…a huge tax increase for working people btw..) …but ultimately Obama is correct in that Sarah’s ‘speech’ wasn’t hers, but McCain’s. So he’s directing his ire at McCain.

    Sarah is just a cute model spouting Bush/McCain’s speechwriter’s tripe. I’ll give her credit..she’s better on her own.

    datadave (eb12a5)

  8. Yeah, the McCain campaign overplayed it. And they should learn from their mistake and be very careful in the future.

    And very luckily for them, we now have Obama’s too-long explanation on Letterman and new gaffes from the Dems.

    McCain’s best weapon is the Dem’s own mouths. McCain should just let them talk.

    Jim C. (33af9d)

  9. “What McCain needs to do after that is get back into policy issues. What is his vision vs. Barack’s. What change does he foresee. Who are his cabinet picks (and excellent way to bolster concerns about Sarah Palin’s thinness on foriegn policy experience).

    Comment by Joe — “

    Exactly what McCain doesn’t want to do…it’s about personality, not policy. We would rather drink and hunt with Sarah anyday over Obama. His wife wouldn’t let us have any fun.

    datadave (eb12a5)

  10. McCain is the one who wanted to have a series of townhall meetings to discuss issues. Why did Obama refuse if he really wants to discuss issues?

    ROA (924e20)

  11. Great Palin article (read it all):

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2008/09/11/ftpalin111.xml

    And the mistake Barack Obama made (one of them is turning down that offer of townhall debates, wouldn’t that have toned down these attacks and sharpened Obama’s arguments). 10 is a lot and would have allowed Barack the ability to make a mistake (trust me McCain would have made a few too). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26640489/

    Joe (8102a5)

  12. Obama is on notice that when it comes to Palin, any of the kinds of attacks he employed against Bill and Hillary will be turned back against him.

    I don’t think he realized this fully until this overreaction on the lipstick thing (which was too coordinated to not have been meant to evoke Palin, not that I care).

    Obama didn’t lose too much in this battle, but he didn’t win it and I think it probably will have an effect down the road. Mccain is trying to establish a record of smears from the Obama camp. Once there are several, it will be hard to complain Mccain is whining (which is hilarious even today from Obama, who has whined so much it’s ridiculous).

    Juan (4cdfb7)

  13. 1 – Obama absolutely did this on purpose.

    2 – McCain overreacted.

    However, I did notice that women seem to be more offended than men . . . I don’t think you are the target audience for this ad, Patterico. Maybe women will think it’s less of an overreaction.

    I think this sort of thing would better be confined to a “greatest hits” commercial 2 days before the election (showing video clips of Obama’s various anti-woman insults all in one quick package)

    Daryl Herbert (4ecd4c)

  14. 7~

    but next week?

    She’s gonna kick your teeth in.

    (Metaphorically speaking.)

    Obama is at least Not playing from the Kerry playbook. Seems like he’s not afraid of a fight.

    C’mon, a class of kiddiegartners could take the O!ne.

    Kerry too, come to think of it.

    EW1(SG) (1c0755)

  15. However, I did notice that women seem to be more offended than men . . . I don’t think you are the target audience for this ad, Patterico. Maybe women will think it’s less of an overreaction.

    I cite JCG and K-Lo in the post. They’re both annoyed at the whining from Camp McCain. And they’re women.

    Patterico (cc3b34)

  16. I don’t think the McCain camp went into full outrage mode without having done some polling and focus groups on the issue. I suspect they found that the issue reinforced the negative image of the Obama campaign that immediately followed McCain’s naming her as his VP choice.

    I don’t think the campaign thought this would move more voters that had not already been moved, but it worked to give them a firmer hold on those voters that had come to their side when she was first attacked.

    And I don’t think Obama’s faux outrage is going to help him with anyone except those that think the attacks on Palin are legitimate — the Cindra Wilsons of the world. So, he’s not gaining any additional votes as a result, even if the McCain camp has overplayed its hand some.

    But, my view yesterday was that the best approach by the McCain campaign would have been simple and sweet. They should have just said “Sen. Obama called Sarah Palin a pig. That says more about Sen. Obama than anything else.”

    WLS (06079b)

  17. This is the only conservative blog I frequent. It’s fair and consistent perspectives like this and the (usually) respectful discourse that keep me coming back.

    There’s an interesting (and illuminating) quote in the article by Jan Crawford Greenburg mentioned above.

    Palin appears to have been selected, in no small part, precisely because she’s a woman. Yet instead of acknowledging that as a real strength, the McCain campaign is acting like gender had little or nothing to do with it. Campaign officials instead have been angrily portraying questions about her qualifications as nothing more than old-fashioned sexism, and then trying to put a protective shield around her.

    They’re treating Gov. Sarah Palin—a ground-breaking woman by anyone’s account—like a girl.

    (Emphasis mine.)

    This really captures my sense of things. Palin’s clearly formidable. She’s obviously not a whiner. It’s time for the good ol’ boys to quit whining on her behalf and let her make an unscripted appearance or two. Off with the kid gloves.

    Tom (b5d10a)

  18. WLS,

    They reacted so quickly, I doubt they had time for polling or focus groups.

    Patterico (d57cf2)

  19. I think McCain’s campaign knows just what they’re doing. They’ve been turning Obama’s people inside out for weeks, putting them on the defensive, making them look like amateurs, leaving Dumbo stuttering and speechless. One example was the announcement on the day of The Chosen One’s coronation that Senator McCain would issue a video speaking directly to Big Ears. All day long the MSM/Obama campaign speculated what hit job would ensue. Instead, McCain showed us his class and dignity by congratulating his opponent on his nomination. You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief coming from team BHO that they wouldn’t have to defend an attack on his big night. Then, the following morning McCain drops the Palin-bomb, stuns the Obamatons who were busy making anti-Romney ads, and the first A-A nominee for prez gets shoved aside in the news cycle, deflating his balloon. Dumbo still hasn’t gotten over it, which is why he can’t stop attacking her. McCain’s campaign has schooled Obama’s up and down the field, showing him to be the rank amateur he is, and showing senator McCain to be a wise and wily leader. Dumbo points to his campigning for president as qualification for the office. I point to the same and ask: would you feel confident that this whiner and name-caller who can’t even defend himself credibly in the medium heat of a Bill O’Reilly interview could stand up for your country and defend it against Putin, Ahmadinejad, and the Chinese Communists? Is it any wonder that every foreign country would prefer to see Obama elected? Do you think it’s because they have America’s best interests at heart?…didn’t think so…

    joe (6e1d93)

  20. Petterico — they reacted quickly with Gov. Swift, but they kept at it today with an ad. I don’t think they would have continued on without some indication from their research that the positives outweighed the negatives.

    Obama didn’t have a great comeback, and tomorrow is a “quiet day” by agreement, so I’m not sure Obama will get much traction from his outrage over their outrage.

    I think this particular issue is gone on Friday morning, but it completely blew Obama’s education speech off the radar screen yesterday.

    WLS (06079b)

  21. Patterico – As I recall, K-Lo was none too pleased with the Palin pick at the outset. I think your JCG admiration has gotten the better of you lately.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  22. Patterico – Also keep an eye on that datadave guy in number 7. If he’s the same person I’ve run into elsewhere he’s potentially a very high volume loony threadjacker. Just sayin’.

    daleyrocks (d9ec17)

  23. McCain and Palin are supposed to be tough-as-nails. My god, you don’t get to where they’re at without being called a whole lot worse than “pig” or “old fish”. They should have laughed this off or come back with some wit. This just makes them look like weak, thin-skinned whiners.

    Also, am I the only one who doesn’t even really understand the supposed grave offense in calling someone a “pig”? Is this some cultural thing I’m not getting? Pigs are known for being fat and sloppy, and I’ve heard the expression that someone “eats like a pig”, but what sense does that make in the context of Obama talking about Palin? Is he really a secret Muslim and so thought that comparing her to swine was the ultimate insult?

    Nels (364116)

  24. daleyrocks —

    Not to worry. If this “datadave” tard tries anything, he will be summarily smacked into behaving hisself.

    Icy Truth (fb6ec3)

  25. I’ve come around to thinking Obama meant exactly what the crowd thought he meant. But you’re probably right about McCain’s response.

    Jim Treacher (592cb4)

  26. I agree, Patterico. I think this was misguided would-be gentlemanly chivalry on the part of John McCain.

    Unleash Sarah!

    Beldar (8a23eb)

  27. My gut reaction is that the McCain campaign should have stayed out of the issue completely for a while, left Obama twisting in the wind for a couple of days, and then have Palin gracefully shut it down by telling everyone it was a non-issue when it was fading away anyway. However, I don’t completely rule out the possibility that the was indeed focus grouped. Not lipstick in particular, of course – this reaction was to quick for that – but ham-handed überchivalry generally. They may well have learned that among women voters sitting on the fence, McCain can never get in trouble for being too quick or too eager to defend his female running mate, but can get in big trouble for failing to do so. Cf. “The Rules,” where it refers to the man never being allowed to get angry or upset, except when the woman wants him to be angry or upset.

    Xrlq (62cad4)

  28. I think McCain is treating Palin like she’s a daughter who’s just made her debut, or gotten her professional rating, or some other major accomplishment, and is very proud of her… ie very paternalistic. While in one sense it’s very nice to watch, I’m not sure it’s optimal as far as positioning goes.

    Dan S (c77713)

  29. Andrew Sullivan is calling McCain despicable over this lipstick shitck (even though Obama flubbed it all up again last night on Letterman).

    Curious coming from a guy who had no qualms dragging five month old Trig Palin into the mix, because he was “asking questions.”

    But this is Sullivan yesterday:

    “When he knew that George W. Bush’s war in Iraq was a fiasco and catastrophe, and before Donald Rumsfeld quit, McCain endorsed George W. Bush against his fellow Vietnam vet, John Kerry in 2004. By that decision, McCain lost any credibility that he can ever put country first. He put party first and his own career first ahead of what he knew was best for the country.” Sullivan on why McCain is Evil, http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/09/mccains-integri.html

    Think about that a second.

    Joe (dcebbd)

  30. “Of course, Sarah was a target, but that’s for her spouting lies about Obama at the convention…”

    Whenever someone begins their post with the claim of “lies,” it’s already a big Tell for the rest of their rant. Why some folks insist on putting in their fevered delusions in order to make some kind of a point is beyond me.

    Dmac (e639cc)

  31. “C’mon, a class of kiddiegartners could take the O!ne.”

    – EW1(SG)

    Actually, a class of kindergartners could take most people.

    Leviticus (ab6dbd)

  32. No, Leviticus, that’s ridiculous. Don’t ever take that kind of nonsense seriously ever again!

    nk (d681ef)

  33. It’s hard to figure out just how to calibrate the response to Obama. They wanted to mess with his head some more but not to overdo it. They went a little too far but now the Obamabots will be expecting her to say something and I suspect the most she will do, if anything, is touch up her lipstick with a knowing wink as she enters the VP debate. One good thing for McCain, even though he over reacted a bit, Obama saved him by over reacting himself.

    Mike K (2cf494)

  34. Hey, I thought we were supposed to have a 9/11-cease-fire today, folks?

    love2008 (e0ec4f)

  35. Not everyone relies on intellect to make decisions. An old friend says people react emotionally, then construct rationalizations to justify decisions which are mostly devoid of logic or reason.

    Poking Obama in the eye with a lipstick is good fun, and we get to see how he reacts to the give and take of a political scuffle. We see how he responds and we get to take the measure of the man.

    National politics, like life, isn’t always fair, things get taken out of context, twisted, and used to poke and prod. Dems have done exactly that every chance they got, now the shoe is on the other foot, and Dems don’t like.

    Well, that’s just too bad. The shoe fits. Deal with it. Like a famous Dem once said: Politics ain’t beanbag.

    Ropelight (921f6e)

  36. “Hey, I thought we were supposed to have a 9/11-cease-fire today, folks?”

    A lovely idea, but as soon as the Trolls came on here this morning and began screaming about “lies” and making other idiotic and offensive Truther claims, that went out the window. Those types of noxious ideas must be responded to immediately, or else that type of hate only replicates.

    Dmac (e639cc)

  37. Sorry Paterico, but Obama is using sexism to attack women. He did it numerous times to Hillary, including the finger routine.

    The trick here is two fold: Look at his facial expressions and body movements; and looat the response from the crowd. They are there. They feed off not only hiswords but his movements.

    It is about time someone looked into this from a mental perspective.

    davod (bce08f)


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