Obama's taking a beating on all sides

Ever since the Palin nomination, Obama has found himself playing defense in just about every area in which he thought he was on solid ground. His message of Change is finally being put under scrutiny, and the results haven't been pretty. He's losing 8 out of 11 key swing states since the Republican National Convention. Obama's now trying to maintain that the Change message belongs to him alone, while the Palin selection has shored up the base and allowed McCain to be more persistent in his own message of reform. Just when it seemed things couldn't go any worse, he compared the McCain-Palin record to "lipstick on a pig," and all hell broke loose. Now, "lipstick on a pig" is an ancient expression and is familiar to almost all Americans. That's why it's stunning that Obama's defenders point to an 11-month old quote to make Obama appear acceptable. Obama made his comment a little over a week after Sarah Palin said the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull is lipstick. The laughs in Obama's standard exalting audience were laughs of recognition. His supporters made the connection instantly, but Obama would have us believe that his brain trust failed to notice the possible gaffe.

con·text [kon-tekst]
–noun
1. the parts of a written or spoken statement that precede or follow a specific word or passage, usually influencing its meaning or effect: You have misinterpreted my remark because you took it out of context.
2. the set of circumstances or facts that surround a particular event, situation, etc.

And Barry won't recover until he understands that.