"Lipstick on a pig" continues to obscure critical issues. - 14-Sep-2008 - Generational Dynamics

Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2008

"Lipstick on a pig" continues to obscure critical issues.

As McCain and Obama converge on the Iraq issue, Afghanistan is rarely mentioned.

Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation gave some Sunday morning advice to the candidates on using farmyard animals in their campaign speeches:

"If you were watching the campaign this week, you might have thought it was a debate over pigs that wear lipstick. Now I never saw a pig wearing lipstick, nor do I know anyone who has tried to put lipstick on a pig, or give one a manicure, for that matter.

CBS's Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation. <font face=Arial size=-2>(Source: CBS)</font>

CBS's Bob Schieffer on Face the Nation. (Source: CBS)

But if this campaign is going to be about animals in the news, here are some helpful references that I offer to which ever side wants them.

For example, if a candidate looks frazzled, describe him as "looking like a horse that was rode hard and put away wet." I got that one from a guy I used to work with here.

If it comes down to one of those "what if" situations, try the old bullfrog parable that "if bullfrogs had side pockets, they'd carry six-shooters, and wouldn't be afraid of snakes."

Or this one: "If the dog hadn't stopped to use the phone, he would have caught the rabbit."

If a candidate gets stage fright during the coming debate, his opponent may want to charge him with being "nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs."

Being from Alaska, Gov. Palin probably knows this one: "Unless you're the lead dog pulling the sled, the scenery is the same wherever you go." I have no idea how to use that one, but it does present an interesting word picture.

I hope the candidates find these suggestions handy.

On the other hand, they may find my suggestions "about as useful as socks on a rooster."

But no matter. I just think we need to get past this debate on lipstick. It's just sooooo cosmetic."

Newsweek cover, 15-Sept-2008 -- or is it 15-Sept-1968? <font face=Arial size=-2>(Source: newsweek.com)</font>

Newsweek cover, 15-Sept-2008 -- or is it 15-Sept-1968? (Source: newsweek.com)

So the lipstick debate continues to be a sign of the times. The debate all this past week has just been a rehash of the 1960s "women's lib" debate.

I can't recall hearing the word "Afghanistan" on the Sunday morning news shows (though I did see it appear on the bottom of the screen scroll on CNN).

If any candidate spends even five minutes during the week talking about Afghanistan, then that would be the most important five minutes of the week.

In whatever brief remarks they ever make, when they talk about Afghanistan, they're all generally extremely confrontational and warlike.

As we head for a major war in that region, it's a shame that we end up spending so much time talking about barnyard animals. (14-Sep-2008) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2008 "Lipstick on a pig" continues to obscure critical issues.

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 14-Sep-2008
"Lipstick on a pig" continues to obscure critical issues.