Clearly, I underestimated the pig vote in the November election
Senator McCain, October 2007, discussing Hillary Clinton's health care plan:I think they put some lipstick on a pig. But it's still a pig.
Senator Obama, September 2008, discussing Senator McCain as a change agent:You know, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
Former Massachusetts governor Jane Swift (Republican), September 2008: [Senator Obama compared] our vice presidential nominee to a pig.
The pigs had no immediate statement.
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The folklorist in me would like to note that the concept of shifting from human to pig and back, without the use of lipstick, is quite literally an ancient one, harkening back, in all probability, to the days when pigs were first domesticated. It stems, perhaps, from the days when people (and by people here I generally mean slaves) slept with their pigs, partly to prevent the loss of a valuable pig, partly for warmth, and even for company (the concept of pigs as pets did not begin with those little miniature pigs.) It's not too great a stretch to imagine a human soul trapped in a squealing pig, only half remembering its human life. It can happen for any number of reasons -- greed, the wrath of a sorcerer, attempting to run for a political campaign -- but usually, the pig cannot transform back alone; the pig needs a princess, an Odysseus, a magical golden branch, to find his human self. Intriguingly, something of the pig often remains in the human after the transformation back, in stark contrast to most other animal transformations (although, having written that, I suddenly remember the youngest brother from the story of the six swans, where the youngest brother is doomed to have a swan wing for the rest of his life.)
Pigs, too, have been known to transform into humans, yet these pig humans are generally utterly unable to lose their pig like qualities. They remind me, in a not so subtle way, of politicians.
As I said, lipstick is often left unmentioned.
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My prediction that I would lose all tolerance for this political campaign by September has proven utterly true. In mildly related news, Ron Paul, who you might remember gathered quite a World of Warcraft following earlier this year, is urging people to vote for third party candidates. In more closely related news, nutcase physicists are attempting to suck all of us down a black hole in an attempt to figure out the universe. They are making no attempt to figure out politics, health insurance companies, or human/pig transformations.
Senator Obama, September 2008, discussing Senator McCain as a change agent:You know, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.
Former Massachusetts governor Jane Swift (Republican), September 2008: [Senator Obama compared] our vice presidential nominee to a pig.
The pigs had no immediate statement.
**********
The folklorist in me would like to note that the concept of shifting from human to pig and back, without the use of lipstick, is quite literally an ancient one, harkening back, in all probability, to the days when pigs were first domesticated. It stems, perhaps, from the days when people (and by people here I generally mean slaves) slept with their pigs, partly to prevent the loss of a valuable pig, partly for warmth, and even for company (the concept of pigs as pets did not begin with those little miniature pigs.) It's not too great a stretch to imagine a human soul trapped in a squealing pig, only half remembering its human life. It can happen for any number of reasons -- greed, the wrath of a sorcerer, attempting to run for a political campaign -- but usually, the pig cannot transform back alone; the pig needs a princess, an Odysseus, a magical golden branch, to find his human self. Intriguingly, something of the pig often remains in the human after the transformation back, in stark contrast to most other animal transformations (although, having written that, I suddenly remember the youngest brother from the story of the six swans, where the youngest brother is doomed to have a swan wing for the rest of his life.)
Pigs, too, have been known to transform into humans, yet these pig humans are generally utterly unable to lose their pig like qualities. They remind me, in a not so subtle way, of politicians.
As I said, lipstick is often left unmentioned.
****************
My prediction that I would lose all tolerance for this political campaign by September has proven utterly true. In mildly related news, Ron Paul, who you might remember gathered quite a World of Warcraft following earlier this year, is urging people to vote for third party candidates. In more closely related news, nutcase physicists are attempting to suck all of us down a black hole in an attempt to figure out the universe. They are making no attempt to figure out politics, health insurance companies, or human/pig transformations.