In a September 11 profile of former acting Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift, The Boston Globe reported that Swift “led the Republican charge” that Sen. Barack Obama's statement regarding Sen. John McCain's policies, "[Y]ou can put lipstick on a pig; it's still a pig," was “an echo of [Gov. Sarah] Palin's joke during her convention speech, naming the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: 'Lipstick.' ” In fact, Swift did more than charge that Obama's statement was “an echo of Palin's joke”; she actually accused Obama of referring to Palin as a pig. But the next day, during an interview with MSNBC's Norah O'Donnell, Swift backtracked, saying that she “can't know” if Obama's comment “was aimed at Governor Palin.” The Globe noted neither Swift's original accusation -- reportedly made in a quickly convened conference call with reporters shortly after Obama's comment and subsequently determined to be false by independent fact-checkers -- nor her acknowledgment the next day that she could not actually say whether Obama had been referring to Palin with his remark.

Swift -- who is a national member of the McCain campaign's recently announced “Palin Truth Squad” -- asserted on September 9 that Obama's remarks were "[d]isgraceful comments comparing our vice-presidential nominee, Governor Palin, to a pig." But during a September 10 interview on MSNBC Live, when O'Donnell asked Swift why she was “so sure that it [Obama's remark] was aimed at Governor Palin,” Swift said: “I can't know if it was aimed at Governor Palin.”

Rather than note Swift's original direct accusation or her backtrack, the Globe quoted her only as saying of Obama's “lipstick” remark: “It was a comment that obviously people in the audience and the press interpreted to be directed at Governor Palin. ... I interpreted it that way. I found it offensive.”

From the September 11 Boston Globe article:

Swift spent much of yesterday making media appearances criticizing Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama for describing Republicans' message of change with the adage: “You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig.” Swift led the Republican charge that it was an echo of Palin's joke during her convention speech, naming the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: “Lipstick.”

“It was a comment that obviously people in the audience and the press interpreted to be directed at Governor Palin,” said Swift. “I interpreted it that way. I found it offensive.”

What else does Swift consider over the line?

Questions about whether Palin could be effective as a vice president with five children, one of whom has special needs; speculation on blogs that her baby was not her own but her daughter's; the assertion that she attempted to ban books; and reporting about the MySpace page of her daughter's fiancé.