Here’s how it works:

First, Barack Obama dismisses McCain’s talk of “change” with the old line that you can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig.

Second, ABC reporter Jake Tapper concludes this “pig” may have been a shot at Sarah Palin (based on her “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? Lipstick.” line).

Third, right-wing pundits immediately start screaming that Obama attacked Palin by calling her a pig.

Fourth, the mainstream journalists dutifully cover the “controversy.”

(By the way, McCain used the same phrase to dismiss one of Hillary Clinton’s proposals, so if Obama had been making a veiled insult, there’s no reason to assume McCain wasn’t doing the same).

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