HRC defends Obama on 'lipstick'
Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 5:47 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under:
Congress, Sarah Palin
From NBC's Ken Strickland
At a Capitol Hill news conference today, Hillary Clinton defended Obama's "lipstick on a pig” comment, accusing McCain of using the controversy to distract from substantive issues in the campaign.
"Barack has made this clear," she said responding to a question about the lipstick remark, which Republicans have condemned as a “disgraceful” and “sexist” attack on Palin. "It was no way meant as an affront."
During the press conference, which addressed equal pay for women, Clinton added that "Republicans need to lift up the dialogue" and blamed McCain's campaign for trying to "divert attention away from challenges facing Americans."
But, even given the opportunity through repeated questions from reporters, the woman who won “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling” continued to refuse to attack or criticize Palin.
Asked about Palin and her candidacy, Clinton responded only that the campaign should be about the issues. "What I see as critical in this election ... are the differences over issues." She added, "What happens in people's lives is what really counts... That's what it should be about."
Clinton and fellow Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin held the press conference to discuss the findings of a new GAO report on the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. When asked if Clinton was disappointed that Palin had not raised equal pay issues on the campaign trail, she directed her fire at McCain. Clinton said it is assumed that the VP nominee is in sync with the presidential candidate's views, reminding reporters John McCain voted against it. "McCain is at the top of the ticket," she said. "And we know where he stands on equal pay."
The former Democratic presidential candidate told reporters that she'll soon return to the campaign trail to stump for the Obama-Biden ticket, "working very hard to make the case for Sen. Obama ... being as forceful as I can to lay out the contrast" between the two camps.