The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
McCain says Obama didn't call Palin a pig
By Brendan Farrington
APNews/Excite
© September 15, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Did Barack Obama really call
Sarah Palin a pig, as a John McCain ad leads people to
believe? "No," McCain said Monday. The Republican
presidential nominee defended the ad anyway, saying Obama
"chooses his words very carefully."
The implication: Obama was slyly up to something when he
said McCain's call for change in Washington is "lipstick
on a pig," days after Palin made a lipstick joke at the
Republican convention.
"He's very eloquent," McCain told The Associated Press
and Florida newspapers in an interview, and "it was the
wrong thing to say."
A day earlier, hard-nosed Republican tactician Karl Rove,
a former adviser to President Bush, said some of McCain's
ads were not truthful and both sides should cool the attacks.
McCain said of Obama's comment: "I didn't like it. So we
respond. I think the American people will judge as to
whether he and others have treated Governor Palin fairly
or not." But he said he won't let attacks go unanswered.
McCain stood up for Palin at other times in the interview.
He was asked about nearly $200 million in congressional
pet projects Palin requested for 2009 for her state,
despite her boasts that she opposes such projects and his
claim that she didn't ask for any. McCain responded by
criticizing Obama for seeking more than $900 million in
these earmarks, by one count.
"That's nearly a million every day, every working day
he's been in Congress," McCain said. "And when you look
at some of the planetariums and other foolishness that
he asked for, he shouldn't be saying anything about
Governor Palin."
Did he call her a pig?" McCain was asked. "No, I but know
that he chooses his words carefully, and it was the wrong
thing to say," he responded.
McCain cut off a question about the "Bridge to Nowhere,"
which Palin claims to have killed in Alaska even though
Washington pulled back money for the project before she
turned against it.
"The important thing is she's vetoed a half a billion
dollars in earmark projects - far, far in excess of her
predecessor and she's given money back to the taxpayers
and she's cut their taxes, so I'm happy with her record,"
McCain said.
In addition to her current requests, state budget documents
show Alaska requested 52 earmarks worth $256 million for
2008.
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Last Modified:
October 21, 2008