From the Washington Post:
McCain himself used the exact same phrase to describe Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care plan just last year. "I think they put some lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig," McCain said in October of 2007, describing Clinton's universal health care plan when she was running in the Democratic primary. He also, in February 2007, used the phrase to describe conflict over a resolution on the Iraq War. "It gets down to whether you support what is being done in this new strategy or you don't," McCain said at the time. "You can put lipstick on a pig, [but] it's still a pig, in my view."
Palin Camp Takes Umbrage at 'Lipstick on a Pig' Comment | The Trail | washingtonpost.com