NECN video posted on Boston Globe website falsely suggests "lipstick" comment immediately followed Palin reference
SUMMARY: In a New England Cable News video posted on the Boston Globe website, two comments by Sen. Barack Obama are spliced together, falsely suggesting that his comment that "[y]ou can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig" immediately followed a reference to Gov. Sarah Palin. In fact, the "lipstick" comment immediately followed Obama's comments about Sen. John McCain's policies and political tactics.
In a New England Cable News (NECN) video posted on the Boston Globe website, two comments by Sen. Barack Obama at a September 9 campaign event in Lebanon, Virginia, are spliced together, falsely suggesting that his comment that "[y]ou can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig" immediately followed a reference to Gov. Sarah Palin. The NECN video shows Obama remarking that the "[t]he only [state] I haven't been to [during his presidential campaign] now is Alaska, and I realize now -- maybe I should have been up there." The video then cuts directly to a clip of Obama saying, "But you know, you can't -- you know, you can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig." But the "lipstick" comment did not immediately follow a reference to Alaska or Palin; the "lipstick" comment immediately followed remarks Obama made about Sen. John McCain's policies and political tactics. The video posted on the Globe site omits entirely the comments criticizing McCain's policies and tactics, which consist of at least 65 words.
The NECN video, as posted on the Globe website, includes the following remarks by Obama at the September 9 campaign event in Lebanon, Virginia:
OBAMA: Now, Lebanon, I've been running for president for about 19 months now. That's a long time. That means that there are babies who've been born and are now walking and talking since I started running for president. And so, as I travel around the country, people always ask me, "What have you learned from, you know, all these travels and meeting so many different people?" And I tell them, "Well, first of all, I've learned that the United States, it's big. I mean, I've been to 49 states now. The only one I haven't been to is Alaska, and I realize now -- maybe I should have gone up there. [splice] But you know, you can't -- you know, you can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig.
A video clip posted on YouTube contains Obama's comments directly preceding his use of the term "lipstick on a pig." The NECN video includes only the bolded remarks:
OBAMA: Let's just list this for a second. John McCain says he's about change, too. Except -- and so I guess his whole angle is, "Watch out, George Bush, except for economic policy, health-care policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy, and Karl Rove-style politics. We're really gonna shake things up in Washington." That's not change. That's just calling some -- the same thing, something different. But you know, you can't -- you know, you can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig.
PolitiFact.com wrote of Obama's lipstick on a pig comments that "[i]t is simply impossible to view the complete remarks by Obama and conclude that he's making a veiled and unsavory reference to Palin." From the article:
It is simply impossible to view the complete remarks by Obama and conclude that he's making a veiled and unsavory reference to Palin. Her name never is used in the preceding sentence. In fact, it's hard to see how one could interpret Obama's lipstick-on-a-pig remark as referring directly to McCain, either. We think it's very clear that Obama was saying McCain's effort to call himself the "candidate of change" is like putting lipstick on a pig, trying to dress up a bad idea to look better. Agree or disagree with Obama's point, but his remark wasn't the smear that McCain's people have tried to make it.
If anyone's doing any smearing, it's the McCain campaign and its outrageous attempt to distort the facts. Did Obama call Palin a pig? No, and saying so is Pants on Fire wrong.
From the Globe's website, accessed at 4:53 p.m. ET on September 11:
Dawuss.....
In a world where Grampy McBush actually wanted to run a decent campaign and not this sleeze fest being driving by the corporate owned media....... I might have otherwise agreed with your yawn!
Unfortunately..... the damage that has been done to this country by the media whores, political whores, and corporate whores...... we simply can't yawn at this stuff!
By splicing the video so that the context is changed..... IS NOT NEWS.........it is PROPAGANDA!!
1. Yes, Obama did make the lipstick immediately after Gov Palin did. What was it 48 hours? That’s immediately in the world of politics.
2. Who the hell cares? He was totally unable to deliver the joke anyway.
Max wrote:
>>Who the hell cares? He was totally unable to deliver the joke anyway.
Oh, good grief! Now that the right wing has been caught in their fake outrage, they try the line "who cares?" Well, all the freepers care, the media cares, and the Republican campaign cares.
By the way, 48 hours? Paliln gave her speech on Wednesday of last week, and Obama made the comment a few days ago.
What is "yawn" about a distortion of meaning so extreme that I have to regard it as deliberate? Why is having the media distort someone's words a yawn to you?
How about this: Some years ago I was involved in organizing a peace march to DC which was to culminate in a rally on the steps of the Capitol. I was asked in an interview if I anticipated any violence. I said that marchers had all taken a pledge of nonviolence but we had heard rumors that police intended to forcibly prevent the rally and of course I couldn't guarantee we wouldn't be the targets of violence even as we would not be perpetrators of it.
That got reported as my having said we planned on ending the march with a rally and "there may be violence if the police try to stop us" - which of course comes across as a threat.
Should I have yawned at that distortion?
The real fight is between Obama and McCain. All of the fuss about Palin only elevates her and makes it more difficult for Obama to focus on issues.
All of the wonderful things Obama brought to the ticket, youth, fresh ideas, eloquence, Gov Sarah Palin brings more.
I think Gov Sarah Palin is Obama’s worst nightmare, and in fact the worst nightmare of the Democratic Party. Unless Obama does something quickly, he will loose come November.
Here, I’ll let you in on a little secret (jot this down so that I will get full credit when it happens.)
The only way Obama is going to win this election is to dump Joe I’m-boring-as-hell- Biden and tap Hillary Clinton to be his running mate.
It’s his only hope.
Max wrote:
>> All of the wonderful things Obama brought to the ticket, youth, fresh ideas, eloquence, Gov Sarah Palin brings more.
Yes, like continual lying and an embarrassing interview yesterday. I guess a fresh new idea is saying you are against one thing (earmarks) when you are for them, and not knowing what the Bush doctrine is. That's what she brings to the ticket. I know the Repubs are repeating the same talking point, about how good Palin is and how Obama is going to lose, but if you look at the latest polls, McCain's bump has vanished, and Obama still leads in the electoral college.
Or the folks that cut up that one McCain interview to keep him from looking like a fool.
It will take more than tape slicing to keep Gramps from looking like a fool.
He needs a body double... that doesn't pause after every third word like he's gonna croak on the spot.
He HAD a body double. Unfortunately, George Burns passed away a few years back.....
Yah go ahead destroy one of my childhood fantasy's.
Oh Velma! The velveeta of my life!
I just thought this was particularly funny since some of my fellow posters have been running with the Caribou Barbie meme! ;)
My sister and I called the Boston Globe this morning to report this to them. The Globe employee we talked to was remarkably unconcerned. She actually argued that it was just "edited", as if to shorten it to save viewers' time.
This is so obviously bogus -- I can't believe that someone at NECN didn't make this edit as an electoral dirty trick. It dove-tails so precisely with the orchestrated fuss the Republicans were making at the same time.
The Globe employee admitted that others had complained about the matter, but said they they weren't going to do anything about it until they had a meeting. The video is not on the main page of the Boston Globe site any more, but it was there from yesterday until midafternoon today. There is no sign of a correction or admission of an error. The Globe employee promised to get back to us, but didn't, of course. We'll call the Boston Globe again tomorrow and ask if they are investigating how this deceipt occurred.