Obama blasted over 'pig' remark

Former Massachusetts governor Jane Swift went quickly to work last night as a leader of a new truth squad defending GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, blasting Barack Obama for a comment he made in Virginia earlier in the day.

Obama told voters that they shouldn't believe the talk from Republican nominee John McCain and Palin about reforming Washington. "You can put lipstick on a pig," Obama said. "It's still a pig.

"You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still gonna stink," he added.

Swift took offense, saying that was a personal attack on Palin. Palin, during her GOP convention speech last week, asked delegates whether they knew the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull. Pointing to her mouth, she exclaimed, "Lipstick."

Swift told reporters that Obama's comment was "disgraceful" and that "he owes Governor Palin an apology."

Challenged about how she could be sure that Obama was referring to Palin, Swift replied, "She's the only one of the four presidential or vice presidential candidates who wears lipstick."

The Obama campaign pointed out that McCain used the same idiom while criticizing Hillary Clinton's healthcare plan, saying it was a rehash of the one she pushed as first lady. "I think they put some lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," he said of her proposal.

But Swift argued that Obama's "pig" comment is only the latest in a series of derogatory remarks from his campaign, which after going against Clinton in the primaries, should "have figured out how to respectfully" debate a female candidate.

"This is just the same old low road," Swift said.