"LIPSTICK": BIPARTISAN APPEAL "LIPSTICK": BIPARTISAN APPEAL "They put some lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." - Republican John McCain on Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care plan, 2007 "George Bush has given a mission to Gen. Petraeus, and he has done his best to try to figure out how to put lipstick on pig." - Democrat Barack Obama on the Iraq war, 2007 "You can put lipstick and earrings on a hog and call it Monique, but it's still a pig." - Democrat Ann Richards, about ineffective government programs, 1992 "When there is no agenda and there's no real direction ... you really can't have a message. You can put lipstick on a pig all day long, but it is still a pig." - Republican John Boehner, about House Democrats, 1998 Source: USA TODAY research WHAT'S ON THE AIR IN 2008? WHAT'S ON THE AIR IN 2008? USA TODAY's campaign ad tracker lets you watch selected ads, learn more about them and then rate their accuracy and effectiveness. WASHINGTON  From folksy Texans to today's presidential candidates, the line about putting "lipstick on a pig" has been a time-honored and bipartisan weapon in the political arsenal. Democrat Jim Hightower, then Texas' agriculture commissioner, used the phrase in 1986 when he lashed out at Ronald Reagan's farm-credit policies: "It's like putting lipstick on a pig," he said. "You can't hide the ugliness." Torie Clarke, a Republican and a former Defense Department spokeswoman, partly entitled her how-to book on surviving spin Lipstick on a Pig. CAMPAIGN: Both sides fight over 'lipstick' Vice President Cheney criticized Democrat John Kerry's national security proposals in the 2004 campaign using the same line. So did Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., as he attacked Republicans' Social Security proposals in 2005. Fast-forward to Wednesday, when "lipstick on a pig" became central to the increasingly nasty presidential race between Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain. McCain charged Obama with sexism, saying Obama's use of the line jabbed at GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. The Alaska governor said during her acceptance speech last week that "lipstick" was the only difference between hockey moms such as herself and a pit bull. Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at the University of Southern California, said "lipstick on a pig" is a cousin of another old chestnut, the one about making a "silk purse out of a sow's ear." "It means taking something that you can't change — that's a negative — and putting the best spin on it," Jeffe said. "It has nothing to do with sexism." Political analysts said the flap is further evidence that Palin's presence on the Republican ticket has literally altered the terms of the presidential race. "It reflects the fact that we're in a general election that is incredibly close — and the women's vote matters completely," said Carol Hardy-Fanta, director of the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. Palin, like Hillary Rodham Clinton, has been a target of sexism, according to Marie Wilson, president of the White House Project, an organization dedicated to promoting women in leadership. Wilson said, however, that Obama's "lipstick on a pig" remark doesn't measure up in terms of sexism to questions about Palin's parenting skills or hecklers at a Clinton campaign rally who said, "Iron my shirt." "I don't think this is about sexism," she said. "I think this is a phrase that both campaigns have used from time to time to talk about change." Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, said Obama's quote "seems like it's really being taken out of context." Walsh invoked another common campaign term for the flap, calling it part of the "silly season," in which seemingly minor episodes are given greater prominence than they warrant. "This seems to be taking us off discussion of serious issues," she said. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more