Newly formed Ohio Palin Truth Squad gets on ‘lipstick’ train with conference call, says, ‘Shame on you’ Obama

Ohio Women for McCain chair Betty Montgomery called the "lipstick" comments made by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "disturbing" because she doesn't think it was an accident that particular metaphor was used.

"This is a very sophisticated campaign," she said.

Montgomery and Ohio Auditor Mary Taylor held a conference call Wednesday with reporters as part of the newly formed "Ohio Palin Truth Squad." The purpose of the call was to address remarks that Obama made in Lebanon, Va. on Tuesday as he was speaking about opponent John McCain's plan to bring change to Washington.

"I guess his whole angle is: Watch out, George Bush -- except for economic policy, healthcare policy, tax policy, education policy, foreign policy and Karl Rove-style politics, we're really going to shake things up in Washington," Obama said in Virginia. "That's not change. That's just calling the same thing something different. But you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change, and it's still going to stink after eight years."

The McCain campaign jumped on the line, "But you can put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig," claiming that the line was referencing McCain vice-presidential running mate Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska).

Palin told a joke at the Republican National Convention that contained the word lipstick.

"What's the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?" Palin asked during her vice-presidential acceptance speech. "Lipstick."

Montgomery said that "most of us who are serious, professional women" are offended by Obama's remark.

"The campaign must have known, and certainly would have known at the moment the comment was made, because the audience reacted immediately, that it was a reference to Sarah Palin," Montgomery said.

Montgomery said that it was "very hard to understand" why a "very sophisticated operation" such as Obama's didn't apologize after being made aware of "how the comment was being taken."

Montgomery said that there should be a debate on substantive issues.

"We don't want to have a debate that's demeaning and personal as we've seen since the moment that the governor was announced as the nominee for vice president," Montgomery said. "She has undergone a great deal of commentary that's demeaning and, in many instances, uncalled for."

Montgomery said that her and Taylor were there to say, "Shame on you, Sen. Obama, you know better."

For her part, Taylor called Obama's comments "offensive" and said that they "have no place, quite frankly, in this campaign."

Taylor called Obama's defense that the uproar was a "silly diversion" equally offensive.

"A personal attack of this nature levied against a successful, professional woman, an accomplished governor and executive, is serious business, which, obviously, is what has necessitated this call," Taylor said. "This is only the latest in a series of inappropriate and demeaning comments from the Obama campaign that should be considered offensive to all Americans."

Taylor said that Obama owes Palin an apology.

The Obama campaign responded to McCain's blitz over the comments with a statement Tuesday from Obama senior adviser Anita Dunn.

"Enough is enough," Dunn said. "The McCain campaign's attack [Tuesday]is a pathetic attempt to play the gender card about the use of a common analogy -- the same analogy that Senator McCain himself used about Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care plan just last year. This phony lecture on gender sensitivity is the height of cynicism and lays bare the increasingly dishonorable campaign John McCain has chosen to run."

Montgomery said that the Obama campaign has been very disciplined, and said she didn't think use of that particular metaphor by Obama was an accident.

"We have seen a disciplined campaign over these many, many months," Montgomery said. "And then to use this kind of language this close to the convention is not a mistake. Frankly, if it were a mistake, and just a misstatement, the moment he heard the reaction of his audience, the moment that he heard the reaction of the country, is a moment that he needed to step back and say, ‘Wait a minute. I didn't intend that.' And by not doing that it only underscores for many of us that it was intentional to begin with."

Taylor said that if the comment wasn't intended as it was received then the "appropriate response and action is that Barack Obama should apologize to Gov. Palin for those comments."