There was divided opinion in the Mercury‘s offices this morning about whether Obama was referring to Sarah Palin when he said “you can put lipstick on a pig” yesterday. My personal, and somewhat cynical take, is that Obama knew people would take the remark the wrong way, but that he could then plausibly deny having meant to refer to Palin, and pull some of the coverage back from Palin with a response like this:
Obama says he has had enough of “lies and phony outrage and Swiftboat politics,” adding that “these are serious times, and they call for a serious debate.”
The problem, for cynical me, is that Obama appears to be sincere. And I guess that’s something I’m not really prepared for in American politics (having witnessed more political cynicism than I think I’m prepared to stomach, even in little old Portland, over the recent months): Sincerity. God, this election campaign is ripping me apart, trying to figure out who’s being sincere, and who isn’t.
You actually think politicians are sincere?
Oh please please can we have an unscripted presidential (and vice) debate.