Lipstick

Geoff Nunberg concludes remarks on the recent vice-presidential lipstick controversy thusly: "What's remarkable is how naturally the idiom came to [Republicans], as if they had been speaking it all their lives. For all the ridicule that has been heaped on the language of political correctness and identity politics -- and the right has no monopoly here -- there's no group that hasn't learned to work it to its advantage. Whether or not you ultimately persuade people that your grievance is justified, you can count on owning the discussion for the next few news cycles."

You can listen to his essay, broadcast on NPR's Fresh Air, here:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94665918.
A transcript is posted at http://people.ischool.berkeley.edu/~nunberg/lipstick.html.