September 10, 2008 Obama on 'lipstick' comment: 'Spare me the phony outrage' Play video

(NECN: Norfolk, Virginia) - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama spoke at Granby High School in Norfolk, Virginia this morning.

Obama addressed his "lipstick on a pig" comment as the latest made-up controversy by the John McCain campaign.

"I don't care what they say about me, but I love this country too much to let them take over this election with lies," said Obama. "These are serious times, and they call for a serious debate about where we need to take the nation. We can't take another four years that are like the last eight."

"Spare me the phony outrage," said Obama.

"You can put lipstick on a pig," Obama said during a campaign stop. "It's still a pig. You can wrap an old fish in a piece of paper called change. It's still going to stink after eight years."

McCain's campaign accused Obama of "smearing" Sarah Palin in "offensive and disgraceful" comments and demanded an apology - though McCain himself used the folksy metaphor a few times last year, including once to describe Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care plan.

Palin referred to lipstick as she accepted the Republican nomination for vice president, saying that it's the only thing that separates a hockey mom like her from a pit bull.

*Material from the Associated Press used in this report*