Lipstick on a Pig

So, I'm curious how other people feel about this. News is just coming out that last night Barack Obama made the following comment during a speech in Lebanon, VA:

"The other side, suddenly, they're saying 'we're for change too.' Now think about it, these are the same folks that have been in charge for the last eight years[...] You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. You can wrap up an old fish in a piece of paper and call it change. It's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough."

The McCain campaigners immediately took offense at this statement, arguing that it was clearly a sexist jibe at Governor Palin (who made the joke during the her RNC speech that the only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick), despite the fact that McCain himself has used the phrase "putting lipstick on a pig" in the past (in reference to one of Senator Clinton's proposals no less).

See The Washington Post and The New York Times for more information about the context of Obama's speech and the fall out.

Is this another example of the Republicans-who-cried-sexism, blowing everything out of proportion the way they have with Obama's proposal for age-appropriate sex education at all grade levels? Or is their anger actually legitimate?

What do you think?

Update: NYTimes article, Obama Responds to ‘Phony Outrage’

Update 2.0: A friend of mine posted this clip on Facebook--Stephanie Cutter on John McCain's hypocrisy re: women.