Look at this picture of Gov. Sarah Palin (in her Alaska governor days); she's loping around Juneau with her hair looking all crazy in that dog-tired brown warmup jacket and a pair of moose-skin boots. Fast forward to her appearances as Sen. John McCain's number two; see the flashy high-end shoes, upgraded and stylish outfits, expensive looking leather jacket. Hmmmm... something happened between then and now... something big... something with a bunch of zeros after it!It has been reported by Politico.com that the Republican National Committee (RNC) has spent more than $150,000 on fashionable clothes for Sarah Palin since she was named McCain's running mate. Yeah, all those Joe Six-Packs and hockey moms and Joe the Plumbers out there who make a fraction of that in one year, the ones who've been watching their 401(k)'s disappear like water swirling in the bowl after a successful visit by Joe the Plumber have been hootin' and hollerin' for a woman who has spent double or triple their income in clothes over the past seven weeks.
And mind you, she hasn't been shopping in Sears, or Steinmart, or Wal-Mart, or JC Penney, or Belk like the everyday people she claims to represent. No, Ms. Palin has been ringing the registers in places like Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan (to the tune of $49,425) and Neiman-Marcus in Minneapolis (at $75,062). Now I'm sure the McCain campaign wanted to spruce her up from her velour jogging suits and ratty house dresses that she wore in Wasilla, AK, but spending $150,000 on someone who would only be campaigning for little more than 10 weeks? That comes out to about $15,000 a week... just for clothes! Just imagine what its costing to fuel that jet that has her jumping from swing state to swing state?
Politico.com goes into detail with the expenditures:
According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.
The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.
The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.
September payments were also made to Barney’s New York ($789.72) and Bloomingdale’s New York ($5,102.71).
Macy’s in Minneapolis, another store fortunate enough to be situated in the Twin Cities that hosted last summer’s Republican National Convention, received three separate payments totaling $9,447.71.
The entries also show two purchases at Pacifier, a top-notch baby store, suggesting $196 was spent to accommodate the littlest Palin to join the campaign trail.
An additional $4,902.45 was spent in early September at Atelier, a high-class shopping destination for men.
The cash expenditures immediately raised questions among campaign finance experts about their legality under the Federal Election Commission's long-standing advisory opinions on using campaign cash to purchase items for personal use.
Politico asked the McCain campaign for comment on Monday, explicitly noting the $150,000 in expenses for department store shopping and makeup consultation that were incurred immediately after Palin’s announcement. Pre-September reports do not include similar costs.
Spokeswoman Maria Comella declined to answer specific questions about the expenditures, including whether it was necessary to spend that much and whether it amounted to one early investment in Palin or if shopping for the vice presidential nominee was ongoing.
“The campaign does not comment on strategic decisions regarding how financial resources available to the campaign are spent," she said.
But hours after the story was posted on Politico's website and legal issues were raised, the campaign issued a new statement.
The business of primping and dressing on the campaign trail has become fraught with political risk in recent years as voters increasingly see an elite Washington out of touch with their values and lifestyles.
In 2000, Democrat Al Gore took heat for changing his clothing hues. And in 2006, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was ribbed for two hair styling sessions that cost about $3,000.
Then, there was Democrat John Edwards’ $400 hair cuts in 2007 and Republican McCain’s $520 black leather Ferragamo shoes this year.
A review of similar records for the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee turned up no similar spending.
But all the spending by other candidates pales in comparison to the GOP outlay for the Alaska governor whose expensive, designer outfits have been the topic of fashion pages and magazines.
The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.
The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August.
September payments were also made to Barney’s New York ($789.72) and Bloomingdale’s New York ($5,102.71).
Macy’s in Minneapolis, another store fortunate enough to be situated in the Twin Cities that hosted last summer’s Republican National Convention, received three separate payments totaling $9,447.71.
The entries also show two purchases at Pacifier, a top-notch baby store, suggesting $196 was spent to accommodate the littlest Palin to join the campaign trail.
An additional $4,902.45 was spent in early September at Atelier, a high-class shopping destination for men.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The cash expenditures immediately raised questions among campaign finance experts about their legality under the Federal Election Commission's long-standing advisory opinions on using campaign cash to purchase items for personal use.
Politico asked the McCain campaign for comment on Monday, explicitly noting the $150,000 in expenses for department store shopping and makeup consultation that were incurred immediately after Palin’s announcement. Pre-September reports do not include similar costs.
Spokeswoman Maria Comella declined to answer specific questions about the expenditures, including whether it was necessary to spend that much and whether it amounted to one early investment in Palin or if shopping for the vice presidential nominee was ongoing.
“The campaign does not comment on strategic decisions regarding how financial resources available to the campaign are spent," she said.
But hours after the story was posted on Politico's website and legal issues were raised, the campaign issued a new statement.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The business of primping and dressing on the campaign trail has become fraught with political risk in recent years as voters increasingly see an elite Washington out of touch with their values and lifestyles.
In 2000, Democrat Al Gore took heat for changing his clothing hues. And in 2006, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was ribbed for two hair styling sessions that cost about $3,000.
Then, there was Democrat John Edwards’ $400 hair cuts in 2007 and Republican McCain’s $520 black leather Ferragamo shoes this year.
A review of similar records for the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee turned up no similar spending.
But all the spending by other candidates pales in comparison to the GOP outlay for the Alaska governor whose expensive, designer outfits have been the topic of fashion pages and magazines.
Read the entire Politico.com article about Palin's wardrobe upgrade here.
Read the New York Times article about Palin's clothes here.
Read Campbell Brown's opinion piece on CNN.com that forgives Palin's new wardrobe here.
plez sez: even plezWife - the stylista that she is - has been impressed with the outfits of the "new" sarah palin (but she's not a fan of the red leather jacket). until yesterday, i had argued that she was just a stylish woman who i didn't happen to agree with politically... my wife insisted that they had given palin the "eliza doolittle" treatment after she was picked as mccain's running mate... i guess my wife wins this argument.
the RNC did say that they would give the clothes to charity, but to my way of thinking, stuff from neiman-marcus (or "needless-markup") isn't very functional and may lead to riot conditions at the wasilla salvation army!
plezWorld thinks she should just keep the new and extravagant clothes as payment for being made an ass of as john mccain's running mate, when he knew damn well after 2 minutes of talking to the bimbo that she wasn't qualified to be his (or anyone's) vice president - right, carly fiorina?
i know that if she keeps the clothes, they'll be taxed as income. but like Beyonce', the RNC said, "Sarah baby, let me UPGRADE U!"
...and sarah palin did a marie antoinette, "let those hockey moms eat cake!"
"Upgrade U" - Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z
(C) 2007 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
(C) 2007 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
"UPGRADE U (Palin Mix)"
[Palin] let me upgrade U, flip a new page
Introduce U to some new things and
Upgrade U, I can up, can I up, let me upgrade U
[Palin] let me upgrade U
U sure to see stars, this is high level, not eye level
My bezel courtesy of Audemars
I'll Orders yours tomorrow now, look at the time I saved U
Mama let me upgrade U
Just when U think U had it all
Big ends, car notes, collectin' cars
Picture your life elevated with me
Make U my project celebrity
I'll keep your name HOT in the streets
[Palin] let me upgrade U, flip a new page
Introduce U to some new things and
Upgrade U, I can up, can I up, let me upgrade U
[Palin] let me upgrade U
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