2. "Lipstick on a pig."
Obama, at a Virginia campaign stop in September, criticized McCain’s policies by saying, “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.” The well-worn folkism had also been used by McCain earlier on the campaign trail. But conservatives leapt on the line, accusing Obama of not-so-subtly referencing Palin's earlier lipstick on a pitbull remark. (The Alaska governor had joked that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull was lipstick.) The McCain campaign immediately rolls out an ad playing on Obama's lipstick comments: "Ready to lead? No. Ready to smear? Yes."