"You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig"

This past Tuesday, Barack Obama stated in a speech, comparing McCain's economic plan as similar to Bush's: "You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still going to stink after eight years. “Unfortunately for Obama, it just so happened that in her acceptance speech last week, Sarah Palin was quoted as saying "I'm a hockey mom! You know the difference between a bulldog and a hockey mom? Lipstick!"
Therefore, it was no surprise that the McCain campaign immediately claimed that Obama's statement was a sexist remark against Palin. Personally, I think it is pretty clear that such a incident was merely a coincidence (an amusing one at that), but then again, politics is politics, and as the race heats up, either campaign is likely to jump at such an "opportunity".

However, this little incident is merely a minor detail in the overall issues and ideas that are brought forth by this upcoming election. Gov. Palin is the GOP’s first woman to be on a presidential ticket, perhaps an indication that times are changing. Rosemary Camposano, spokeswoman for WomenCount.org, a campaign group initially founded to support Hillary Clinton's presidential effort and is currently working to advance women's political issues, states: "Palin was an incredibly clever political strategy. It shows the Republicans are asking themselves: What is the undercurrent moving people in this country? Where is the untapped energy for this election? And they figured it out. It's women.” An eloquent way of stating what many have crudely phrased, that the surprise pick Palin was chosen simply because she was a woman, an attempt to snag still bitter Hillary supporters. Whether the reason or not, the reality is that several polls from this week now show the McCain-Palin ticket with a double-digit lead over Obama-Biden among white women voters. (Although the validity of these polls might be questioned as in other recent news several polling companies admitted to sampling more Republican than Democratic voters, allegedly in order to create the illusion of a closer presidential race)

Overall, it is clear that issues of sexism will continue to play a role in this very unique upcoming election. Although I personally believe voters should be more concerned about the issues, I believe the reality is that such media-created controversies will still have an impact on this election.

A final ironic detail: In a recent interview, when asked what he thought of Hillary Clinton’s economic plan, McCain repeated Obama’s controversial pig-lipstick comment in what could be viewed in the same perspective as Obama’s comment was.