Sex, Lies and Videotape

That seems to sum things up so far in the Presidential campaign.

Sex, as in gender, and whether Sarah Palin's nomination by John McCain was as brilliant a political move as the support from his Republican base suggests, or a crass political move by a candidate desperate to make inroads against a transformative opponent.

Lies, as in the grossly inaccurate and clearly distorted information that has been presented in several campaign ads, primarily those of the McCain campaign, as well as the distortations and farbrications that have been circumnavigating the web having to do with each candidate. It seems that truth squadding, once the province of a small cadre of newspaper researchers, has become the requirement of all engaged voters.

Videotape, for the time being, ties in directly with the question of lies, and whether one candidate's use of a standard line for bullshit, post Palin, suggests anything more than his desire to emphasize criticism of his opponent's language. We have seen several examples of John McCain saying 'that's like putting lipstick on a pig' in reference to then candidate Hillary Clinton's health care plan, and even seen that Republican activist and former Dod spokesperson, and former McCain Senate press secretary, Torie Clarke, titled her 2006 book 'Lipstick on a Pig.'

It's ironic that a tired catchphrase, and an apparent desire by the McCain camp to seek political gain from Obama's use of the phrase, may become a campaign marker.

And, of course, thank you Steven Soderbergh, for coining the title stolen and recast here.