Lipstick on a Pig

"Excuse me, Ma'am? Can I ask you some questions about the presidential election?"

Being called "Ma'am" instead of "Miss" makes me feel older than I don't know what. But how could I diss an earnest looking reporter camped out in a grocery store parking lot with two folks holding a boom mic and a video camera?

It turns out they were from Good Morning America so I agreed to talk to them. First I had to tell them my name and spell it, and then give them my age. (Trust me, they are now sworn to secrecy on that front.) And then came the fun part! I got asked what I thought about the whole "lipstick on a pig" controversy.

I have no idea whether they'll use my footage or not. We'll have to watch GMA between 7-9 AM tomorrow to find out for sure. But I know I told them that I know McCain used the phrase in reference to Hillary Clinton, and Dick Cheney has used it too, so the outrage is totally fake. In the meantime, my kids are going to a struggling LAUSD school and I want to know what Palin thinks about that when Alaska has one of the highest drop out rates of any state in the US.

I know I told them I don't like how we know next to nothing about Palin and she's being hidden from the American media and it's a total insult to all of us. In the meantime I'm talking to parents who are out of work, can't find a job and are hungry. What's she gonna do about that? What's McCain gonna do about that? What's Obama gonna do about that? We don't know because we have to talk about distractions like lipstick on a pig and pregnant teenagers.

Yeah, I said some other stuff too and tried to sound somewhat coherent and educated, but we'll see if they use my footage. Their producers might think my afro is too crazy looking to put on camera. For real, it was not a good hair day today. And while I'm at it, can I have a little self-conscious LA moment and tell you that I needed Tim Gunn's style assistance for my little post-6 PM errand-running? I'd just dropped one kid off at kung fu and was with the other one going to the grocery store and to Coffee Bean in what can only be described as an extremely casual outfit: red t-shirt that says "California" on it in the "Coca-Cola font" and some jeans.

Yeah, I was totally in my hockey, Wal-Mart kung fu, Coffee Bean mom outfit.
Lipstick on a pig? Heck, I'm not sure I even had any lipstick on.

So, what would you say if asked about that on camera? Would you even have agreed to be interviewed? And have you ever tried to put lipstick on a pig?

Comments

I loved that you were able to break it down. We know Gov. Palin can't speak off the cuff.

I hope you will put the clip on your blog if they use your footage.
Liz Dwyer said…
NYC/CR,
Just saw it... you know how it is: they talk to you for 5-10 minutes and use 5 seconds of it! It's on their site but I don't see an embed feature. I'm going to put a link to it up though.
Unknown said…
Liz -- I saw the clip on GMA this morning. You absolutely looked great - even though it was so quick I didn't notice whether or not you had on lipstick. I was just stunned to see you! I yelled – oh my gosh, that’s Liz!!! I heard what you said and, even though I figured you contributed alot more than what they actually televised, they got it in a nutshell. I do not even want to attempt to convey my feelings about the absurdity of the campaign right now. Instead I quietly read your poignant blog entries -- which speak to my heart – and say, yeh, what Liz said. Thank you so much for sharing your life experiences with us. Sorry I haven’t let you know before now. All I know is I’m glad that you were there in that parking lot with your kung fu, Coffee Bean self to speak to the “issues” on behalf of me and I know so many others. As Obama said on David Letterman last night, “this is silly season gettin’ sillier.” I just want to scream – ok, so I do scream (poor Pierre)! I fear that there are enough people in this country – the same people who voted us into this mess in the first place – that are actually falling again for the lies and manipulations. Ok – I said it. Could go on but I gotta stop here or – or – I’ll get all crazy. I’m just praying – praying really hard.
thailandchani said…
I wish I'd been able to see it! They do chop things up though so much that your point probably didn't come through. I wish it had! :)


~*
Florinda said…
Sorry I missed it - by the time I read this post, GMA was long over.

NPR talked to a farmer yesterday who put lipstick on a pig for the audience. He said that since pigs don't really have lips to speak of, it doesn't do much for them.
Jen said…
I'm past GMA time, but I'm going on their site right now.

BTW... One of the NPR reporters DID try to put lipstick on a pig this a.m., with hilarious results.

I'm glad GMA interviewed someone who is articulate and up on the issues.
Anonymous said…
hee hee.

I did this to a political candidate who had the misfortune of knocking on my door. I asked him what he was going to do about reasonable gun control (3 people were killed the night before but 2 were hispanic and one was black so why should I care? right.)

Anyway - no one expects a person to be educated and articulate. I'm proud of you! I'm glad they asked you and... as always...

You are so right!

I'm proud to know you!
Jen said…
What section of the GMA site is it in? I can't find it. ;(
Liz Dwyer said…
Charla,
I'm so glad you come over and read my blog! And gosh, I'm so glad you got to see me on GMA this morning, live! It was pretty interesting to see how they put together the story. I also watched Letterman last night and thought Obama made some great points about it all. Then after that, I watched Craig Ferguson. I'd never seen his show but goodness, he had some really great things to say about this whole ridiculous circus and how there are real issues and people need to take the initiative to educate themselves and freakin' vote! Whoo hoo for the coffee bean!

Chani,
Glad I figured out how to download and post it! :)

Florinda,
LOL, yeah, not really a lip on those pigs, huh? Just a gross snout! But maybe that's the point of the saying?

Jen,
Being asked my thoughts made me very glad I read as much as I do. I can't imagine what it would feel like to be one of those people who's all, "Gee, I dunno! I don't pay much attention to this kind of stuff."

Claudia,
That's exactly it. So many times the media doesn't think you should care if you aren't the demographic that fits the issue you're asking about. I wonder what the reporters thought I would say based on my (in my opinion) craazy appearance.

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