Nice.

And then there is the mysterios "Laughter from the audience" giving everything away.

That's my guy!!!!

It boggles the mind to think anyone will vote for McSame.

Yeah!! Go Obama and please, wake up, America!

ALL MEDIA SHOULD BE FIRED FOR NOT DOING THEIR JOB IF THIS STORY IS NOT SLASHED & BURNED:

The fact PalinMcBush have been allowed to spur such salacious bull without being called by all media networks is beyond comprehension.

Saying Barack wanted to teach sex education to kindergartner's is sickening. The Rethuglican party is truly the party of lies, fears and smears. This old geezer talks about honor and love for his country-- please, give me a break. If McCain really loved this country he wouldn't have been in lock-step with Bush 90% of the time and as a result help assist in damaging the American people's spirits.

McCain needs to man up and talk about the issues [oh, that's right-- his RECORD sucks on the ISSUES & his campaign adviser did say this election wasn't going to be about the issues that the American people care about] and stop standing behind that political woman pick you say is ready the be president if something should happen to you.

I was taught that liars shortened their days, and by the looks of it McCain doesn't have many left. I hope Palin is ready on day one.

['I'm John McCain and I approve lies, fears and smears... and so does my running mate Sarah Palin and the entire Republican Party.'...'How was that Mr. Rove?']

I don't care what they say about me, but I love this country too much to let them take over another election with lies and phony outrage and swift-boat politics. Enough is enough

God I love this man!

And he's going to win, dammit. We just cannot accept less.

That's right, Barack! Shame the media for allowing McCain to use them to perpetrate this fake outrage. And shame McCain for his "talk about anything but the issues" campaign strategy.

Oh, and somewhat OT but I am waiting for Halperin et al to highlight that WV poll and how McCain is "in trouble" in his Appalachian stronghold.

*crickets*

It's a start. Now that you're finally mad, Barack, start kicking McGigolo in the balls every single day instead of just responding to attacks.

And I want 527's (which Obama can "denounce, same way the Rethugs always play this game) to go right after what McTraitor actually did in POW camp by his own admission- he "cracked". That is, he gave them a hell of a lot more than name, rank and serial number- he even made propaganda videos for them. Let's see those videos.

Enough is enough, all right. This is a war, not a tiddlywinks match.

That's it thrown the crap right back in the face of those reTHUGlican pigs.........By the way isn't Miss Piggy Karl Rove's underground name in the S&M underground.....I hear Miss Piggy Rove is quite the bottom!

There are times when it seems like Obama actually listens to advice from the base and the liberal (real, not corporate) media. This is one of those times. Maybe Olbermann got through to him in the Countdown interview.

YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHHH !!

Overall I was pleased. Focusing the lipstick crap into a fram about larger issues was smart. But I would have liked to hear about the sex ed ad. That's even more despicable on McCain's part. Obama should have owned him on that crap.

Pufferfish

Thank you, Obama. That's exactly the way I would have responded.

I think this was a great response from Obama, especially the line at the end about loving his country too much to go through this again. As long as Obama can keep the narrative about the issues, he'll be in good shape, and I think he did that well today. He didn't come out and point out that McCain used the line before, which would just be taking the bait. Lets keep our eye on the ball here and focus on the issues. While it may have been absurd for McCain to call Obama out on this, just focus on the issues.

I think that the major hurdle right now that Obama needs to overcome is the fact that the tactics and politics that McCain is using have been seen so often before. So, responding by pointing out things like McCain is lying or McCain is taking money from lobbyists just doesn't grab people's attention because the public is used to hearing this every election cycle. While it is certainly worth noting about McCain, its not likely to sway people. Because Obama is new to the scene, all the attacks on him seem fresh, which is why I think they've worked well (i.e. the celebrity add). If the Obama camp can keep the focus on the issues, I think they'll be in good shape.

I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!
I LOVE IT!!!

I think this was a great response from Obama, especially the line at the end about loving his country too much to go through this again. As long as Obama can keep the narrative about the issues, he'll be in good shape, and I think he did that well today. He didn't come out and point out that McCain used the line before, which would just be taking the bait. Lets keep our eye on the ball here and focus on the issues. While it may have been absurd for McCain to call Obama out on this, just focus on the issues.

I think that the major hurdle right now that Obama needs to overcome is the fact that the tactics and politics that McCain is using have been seen so often before. So, responding by pointing out things like McCain is lying or McCain is taking money from lobbyists just doesn't grab people's attention because the public is used to hearing this every election cycle. While it is certainly worth noting about McCain, its not likely to sway people. Because Obama is new to the scene, all the attacks on him seem fresh, which is why I think they've worked well (i.e. the celebrity add). If the Obama camp can keep the focus on the issues, I think they'll be in good shape.

Whoooo hoooo!!! He's back :-)

Obama can't fight back, tit for tat, on the multiple smears, lies, misstatements, every day...

I'd love to see an ad that has McCain and Palin doing the limbo, with Rove, Cheney, Bush, and other recognizable GOP folk cheering them on...with a voice over saying "How low can they go? How low can they go?" Then switch to: "McCain promised to run a civil, honorable campaign. Where'd that guy go?"

Such an approach focuses on the tactics of the McCain campaign, not the substance--and could be repeated endlessly in talking points and surrogates. It's got the slightly humorous, dismissive tone that Obama does so well on the stump.

KERMIT & MISS PIGGY 08!!

BARNYARD FIRST!!!

LOL

Don't get too excited. His faux outrage at being called for his sexism and the laughter of the audience will not bury this. McCain's ad is very direct and compelling. Give this a few days in the news and he'll be offering an apology, lame as it might be.

Sorry but this is not nearly a strong enough response. It will not even come close to penetrating the stupidity that is thrown up around this whole story. I am not one of those who feels it is my place to give the Obama unsolicited advice but I think he had a chance here to force a change of the debate with some righteous indignation.

Saying "this is the same old politics" doesn't cut it because it doesn't make the point nearly forcefully enough about just how slimy this sort of crap is. He needs to point out in simple and stark terms that this is sleazy, beneath contempt and most of all, an insult to women. More than that, it is yet another in a long series of lies that the McCain campaign has decided to build their message on.

My point is that what he says may sound good to us but he needs to make McCain suffer a serious penalty for this kind of crap and this kind of mildly mocking and erudite commentary is not going to achieve that. He needed to make McCain defend his tactics on this by making the story about McCain's personal dishonesty and lack of honor.

But that is not what will happen now. What will happen now is that McCain will either press the issue exactly as he has been or he will conjure up a brand new fake outrage tomorrow. Until he is made to suffer for it, and clearly the media is not going to be helpful on this front until they are forced to be, he is going to keep using the same tactics and getting the same results.

More of the same please!

Reward good behavior, make a donation here.

This is exactly way Obama should have addressed this crazy season of nothing perpertrated by the media.

Abraham Lincoln famously asked how many legs a calf would have if you called its tail a leg.

John McCain, who was a young man at the time, replied "STOP INSULTING MY RUNNING MATE!"

Senator, I know John Kerry and you sir are NO John Kerry!

Greg, you missed this gem:

"Spare me the phony outrage. Spare me the phony knee talk about change," Obama said at the start of an education event in Virginia.

ENOUGH! Stop complaining about the coverage and McCain's slime (i.e. "enough is enough"), and begging for the election to return to issues. Instead, STRIKE BACK already.

Call out McCain and Palin's lies, and call them lies. Not deceptions, not fibs, not exaggerations, but LIES. The Obama campaign has a thousand openings to start attacking John McCain's character, and we're not taking them.

Is it enough? I know Josh believes Obama should be on offense every day and I get it. As he says on the front page, Obama shouldn't even have addressed this. I disagree, since it's already the talk of cable and will become the major story of the day by the evening the way these things go. I wish he had called McCain out directly for using the line himself and brought up the child sex ad in the same breath. But this is better than I expected. I only hope it is enough.

Too weak, Barack.

Dems are going to get rolled again this November.

Things are looking good for Hilary(ous) in 2112.

Good statement--I wish he conveyed a little more anger about it though.

Obama needs to employ some Rove-style tactics himself. He needs to hit John McCain's integrity.
Here's the script.

He was against George Bush's tax cuts...before he was for them.
She was for the Bridge to Nowhere...before she was for it.
He promised a campaign of integrity (flash editorials decrying "gutter politics")...then took the campaign into the gutter.
He said he was independent ... (flash ominous images of campaign officials, them stamp with the words "Washington lobbyist" followed by image of Abramoff in his hat and trench coat)...but he's owned by the corporate interests.
Why can't John McCain tell the truth?
You just can't trust John McCain.
I'm Barack Obama and I approved this message.

Obama should say "John McCain just doesn't get it. I did not call Sarah Palin a pig. She's the lipstick, he's the pig." We can expect to hear McCain say any minute now "My friends, I never saw lipstick for five and a half years...."

This is more of what we need to see from our candidate. The key now is for message discipline. Every Democrat needs to have these lines down. Whenever a phony/trivial issue is brought up, this must be the response. This is particularly true for media interviews or panel discussions. The reporter ought to be reminded that his program/network has been pushing the story and then simply ask him if this is a more important issue than education, the war or the economy. Same in response to a Republican operative in a group discussion.

barackarate!!!

I like the statement today. I would like something more direct- namely, I want Obama to challenge McCain and the media to focus on the issues until November. The American people deserve no less.

Did he look emotional in anyway? Seriously some emotion would be perfect for a moment like this.

Ok, I think I see what Obama was up to. He wanted to talk about how easily distracted the media was and so he planted the pig comment yesterday to illustrate his point. That idea sort of made sense yesterday. But I think it's just the wrong opening today. I think that McCain sex ad changed everything; Obama needs to seize on that and use it to pivot to the attack. The story needs to be about McCain's lies and dishonor, not about the distracted media.

And why is Obama not pointing out that on the day the media and John McCain are talking about lipstick and pigs, the stock market dropped nearly four percent -- chewing up the 401Ks of retirees across America. No wonder McCain wants to talk lipstick and pigs. The timing is not accidental. I predict that you'll see a lot more phony outrage and media-courting attack ads from McCain on days when there's bad economic news. He's quite successfully distracting the conversation.

Can I just make a comment to everyone?

After you click send, and it appears that nothing is happening, let it go.

Don't click on send again. Open a new window, and just keep reading. Your comment gets posted, even if you get an error message.

It's getting a bit much, the multiple postings.

(And please, I'm not accusing anyone of anything, just trying to point out that you should click on send once, and LET.IT.GO.)

Excellent.

It''s good to see him use the 'L' word (lies).

Finally, a Democratic presidential candidate with the backbone to call a liar a liar.

Boy, talk about a manic-depressive thread.
Obama struck the right chord.
He didn't get this far by being stupid or weak.

Excellent.

It''s good to see him use the 'L' word (lies).

Finally, a Democratic presidential candidate with the backbone to call a liar a liar.

AND ... she is the Lipstick on the Pig.

you misread me...

i meant that he can't--and shouldn't--respond to each and every single attack separately

i think what he did today was spot on

He's quite successfully distracting the conversation.

O really? Do you read the front page? How come Josh is telling us that every major media outlet is calling McLame on his lies?

Jesus. Fucking. Christ!~

Obama is a very smart man. He will not engage until there is no time for them to respond. He knows it takes at least 2 days to recover from any major pivot. He isn't going to waste his best stuff with 50 days left. It's best late on a Friday to punch and have the weekend just soak it up. Watch for a Friday jab.

It's a well crafted statement.

Unfortunately it falls once again into the categories of:
1. Responding
2. Explaining

His attempt at offense, the "pig" statement was tone deaf.

This is a guy who has great poise, great elocution, nd no ability to lead or play offense.

If you're responding and explaining, you're losing.

Those two have sure been running a lot lately:

They've been running from a president they both support over 90% of the time.

They've been running from failed policies on education, taxes, housing, energy, healthcare and jobs.

But they've been toward more failed policies in a war that should never have been waged - (the surge only "worked" when our troops come home and Iraq is stabilized otherwise it's just another short-term tactic.)

The one thing they have run well is a campiagn built on lies, distortions and distractions without any solutions for the American people.

So much running and yet they haven't really gone anywhere at all.

It's like they have been running on a bridge that leads, well, to nowhere.

Keep running John and Sarah. There's plenty of room in Alaska.

I like it, but it could be stronger. Why not say:

"This is the kind of thing they have to do because they CAN'T run on the issues.

"Sen. McCain votes with Bush 90% of the time. Gov. Palin loves earmarks for her town and state -- it's not just her support for the Bridge to Nowhere, it's way bigger than that.

"So their reform claim is bogus, and it's starting to get exposed. So they have to change the subject. And they have nothing else to fall back on, except phony controversies and false ads."

And then he can say "You know who ends up losing?" etc. etc.

this was a good response, but let's get back to the sex ed thing.

Let me get this straight. McCain can say that Obama wants to teach sex education to Kindergarten kids, and the media go, "Meh, big deal." But if Obama, in the context of discussing economic policy, uses a cliched image that everyone has heard and repeated since they were in high school, the media pounces on it as blatant sexism? I don't know about anyone else, but I'm thoroughly paranoid about what I've been witnessing these past six to eight weeks. I feel like this election is being totally controlled behind the scenes, as if the corporate media are in direct cahoots with the McCain campaign to savage Obama's chances. Half of me says that can't be, the other half asks what else can explain it? It's simply uncanny how deftly and completely McCain & Co. are controlling the buzz. In effect, they, McCain & Co. have called Palin a pig with lipstick and successfully blamed the remark on Obama, and the media, compliantly, have turned over at least two news cycles to the Obama-is-a-sexist meme. What the fuck is going on?

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I love it. I want more of it.

The battle cry of this election has appeared.

I feel he's about to pivot from Bridge of Lies counterattack and move to a combined arms offensive

Please put the video up!!! The video is GREAT!!

You can always tell when a pig is stuck. They squeal. Just like they did when General Clark told the truth about John McCain. Unfortunately for the McCain campaign, this pig and lipstick analogy will last the duration of the campaign. It was brilliant!

Whenever the Repubs start talking about cutting "pork" or bringing home the "bacon", folks will think of "lipstick". When they mention "porkbarrel", they will think of pitbull with the lipstick. Sarah Palin thought she was making a cute remark but it was loaded for a comeback for the git-go. I haven't had so much fun since the hogs ate my little brother...

Obama should just attack the hell outta McCain's concept of honor over this. How can a man with integrity and honor hire the exact same people that smeared him in 2000 by saying he fathered a black baby out of wedlock?? What does that say about his character? I'd hammer that message every hour on the hour til hell freezes over...

B. Hussein Obama: the politics of hope, bullshit, smears. Barry Hussein you are a pig with lipstick!

Go Bimbo!

Barry = LOSER!

Obama should just attack the hell outta McCain's concept of honor over this. How can a man with integrity and honor hire the exact same people that smeared him in 2000 by saying he fathered a black baby out of wedlock?? What does that say about his character? I'd hammer that message every hour on the hour til hell freezes over...

Obama should just attack the hell outta McCain's concept of honor over this. How can a man with integrity and honor hire the exact same people that smeared him in 2000 by saying he fathered a black baby out of wedlock?? What does that say about his character? I'd hammer that message every hour on the hour til hell freezes over...

Obama should just attack the hell outta McCain's concept of honor over this. How can a man with integrity and honor hire the exact same people that smeared him in 2000 by saying he fathered a black baby out of wedlock?? What does that say about his character? I'd hammer that message every hour on the hour til hell freezes over...

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!

That's how 80% of the country feels!!!!

I watched the video- FINALLY he sounds angry. Keep it up! There are enough people who really are sick of this shit to win this election.

I want an "Enough is enough! Obama '08" bumper sticker!

Excellent response. Now Obama has to ignore Palin. Treat her like she isn't there--don't even mention her. Focus on McCain. Palin is getting too much attention from Obama and that makes it appear that she's, somehow, a relevant candidate. It should be McCain, McCain, McCain--not McCain/Palin.

Let the press get Palin--maybe Biden can do a little. Palin won't leave McCain's side, won't talk to the press, she is nothing but a distraction that aids the right wing.

No more mentioning Palin.

Excellent response. Now Obama has to ignore Palin. Treat her like she isn't there--don't even mention her. Focus on McCain. Palin is getting too much attention from Obama and that makes it appear that she's, somehow, a relevant candidate. It should be McCain, McCain, McCain--not McCain/Palin.

Let the press get Palin--maybe Biden can do a little. Palin won't leave McCain's side, won't talk to the press, she is nothing but a distraction that aids the right wing.

No more mentioning Palin.

I don't know, I found Obama's response rather tepid. If it even merited a response at all (ratherthan just sticking to his guns) This crap from McCain needs to be dismissed with a single, sharp line -- or an easily remembered refrain.

"They think this campaign is about LIPSTICK! You don't know how you're going to afford gas to drive your kid to practice -- and THEY'RE talking about LIPSTICK! You're worried that your company's going to ship your job to Indonesia -- and THEY'RE talking about LIPSTICK!"

And so on.

Instead he takes six paragraphs to build an Aristotelean argument. A good argument, but in the world of political rhetoric, an instantly forgettable one.

I'm not of the mind that Obama needs to change the tone of his whole campaign. He does a lot more right than wrong. But he does need to make his points with more forceful language -- e.g. instead of "We can't afford four more years," how about, "We can't RISK four more years." I mean, who doesn't take a flyer on something you can't afford every so often. He makes it sound almost appealing.

Bottom line, he needs to speak from the heart, not the head. Or at least, he needs to make it sound like it's coming from his heart.

Obama needs to think out of the box on addressing the smear campaign. Is there no one within the Obama campaign who can create effective, snark-filled responses while insulating Obama? Obama needs to create a Burger King like character that responds to the silly and dishonest McCain ads and that keeps Obama rolling on his talking points.

For those saying that Obama is not on the offense enough, his comments on economic policy were what sparked this faux controversy. He was playing offense, but on policy. This is actually McCain playing defense on policy, making him look crazy. He could have responded to Obama's critisism of his economic policy, but he didn't, because he can't. That is the real strategic point here, and others have already commented on it before. It seems like Obama's plan is to keep giving McCain more gasoline to pour upon himself so that he can burn more quickly. It is McCain who is playing defense, but it is the defense of a crazy person. It's Joe Pesci in "Goodfellas" saying "what do you mean funny?" Obama is looking to be the guy that has the opportunity at every turn to say "why can't we talk about the issues?"

I think this is all leading up to a "there you go again" moment in the debates.