Sarah Palin, everyone’s favorite Wal-Mart hockey mom, and her family were outfitted with threads worth $150,000, thanks to a shopping spree courtesy of the RNC. Here’s the list from Politico:
- Saks Fifth Avenue: $49,425.74
- Neiman Marcus: $75,062.63
- Hair and makeup: $4,716.49
- Barney’s: $789.72
- Bloomingdales: $5,102.71
- Macy’s: $9,447.71
- Atelier: $4,902.45
According to Politico,
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.
Nevertheless, because the goodies were purchased by the RNC and not the McCain campaign, they probably don’t break any campaign finance laws, but Palin may have to declare the gifts as taxable income. The McCain camp, after initially dodging the questions, responded predictably:
“With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it’s remarkable that we’re spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses,” said spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. “It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign.”
Indeed. The McCain camp has carefully crafted Palin’s image as an everyday mom who works hard to juggle work and family. I bet an everyday mom would love to have $150,000 worth of clothing and accessories.
Meanwhile, some of McCain’s donors were not pleased at all with the news:
“As a Republican Eagle and a maxed-out contributor to McCain’s general campaign, I’d like my money back – he can still have my vote,” complained one irate donor on Tuesday.
Look, McCain’s camp probably had to get her properly outfitted since they decided on her a day or two before having her appear as the VP candidate. She had to hit the trail and probably didn’t have time to head back to Wasilla to grab her things. Still, $150,000? Doesn’t that go against the image of Palin as a regular, old hockey mom? Someone in the campaign didn’t think that maybe they should tone down the spending a bit lest it becomes public and they ruin her carefully crafted image (of course, she’s done a fine job destroying that image on her own)? Remember how the media mocked Edwards for his $400 haircut because he’d positioned himself as a champion of the poor? It’s no surprise that Palin’s now getting the same treatment.
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