More Dirt on Sarah Palin's Fancy Duds http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2008/11/rs-palin7.html The McCain-Palin campaign is over, but Wardrobe-gate lives on. More embarrassing details have emerged about Sarah Palin's infamous shopping sprees -- including even more designer duds, plus sprayed-on tans and fancy underwear. On top of the $150,000 first outlined in Federal Election Commission filings, Palin spent "tens of thousands of dollars" on additional clothing, makeup and jewelry for herself and her family, including $40,000 in luxury goods for her husband, Todd, our colleague Michael Shear reports. The campaign was charged for silk boxer shorts, spray tanners and 13 suitcases to carry all the designer clothes, according to two GOP insiders. "The shopping continued after the convention in Minneapolis, it continued all around the country," one source said. "She was still receiving shipments of custom-designed underpinnings up to her 'Saturday Night Live' performance" in October. Sources said expenses were put on the personal credit cards of low-level Palin staffers and discovered when they asked party officials for reimbursement. Newsweek reports that top McCain aides were stunned by the huge tab, especially after adviser Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three outfits for the convention and three for the campaign trail, with a budget of $25,000; instead, the nominee racked up six-figure bills at high-end department stores. "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," a McCain aide sniffed to the magazine. Palin has always contended that she didn't ask for the extravagant makeover. The campaign previously said the used clothing would be auctioned off for charity; the L.A. Times reports that a Republican National Committee lawyer is headed to Alaska to inventory and retrieve the items still in her possession. Palin even raised eyebrows for what she didn't wear: In St. Paul during the convention, McCain senior staffers Steve Schmidt and Mark Salter arrived at her hotel room for a briefing and found her wearing nothing but a towel, with a second one wrapped around her wet hair, Newsweek reports. "I'll be just a minute," she said, ordering them to chat with the First Dude while they waited.
Considering the circumstances, and likelihood of herself being elected, Sarah probably chose the only reasonable option - enjoy the ride, get a few nice duds and perks out of it for her and her family, and the ride off into the sunset of obscurity. Considering the evisceration that she has recieved in the process, not sure it was worth it, but everyone has their price. Here's my theory - the reason mccain didn't choose his running mate until the last minute was that NOBODY wanted to be his running mate and run against the juggernaut of Obama's unlimited financing and anti-Bush sentiment. Palin was the only one obscure and ambitious enough to be willing to participate in the failed ticket in return for a future senatorship, etc... Someone's got to take one for the team at times.
I'm starting to believe this myself. If I were a true CT'er I'd say the repub establishment knew they were going to get their asses handed to them, so they needed someone to pin it on. Along comes Sara, a convenient scapegoat for 8 years of failed policy. Eight years that were orchestrated by the very people now blaming her. Let's put it this way. It's late in the fourth quarter. The repubs are down by about 5 touchdowns and they bring in a rookie RB of the bench. They're on their own 1 yard line with time enough for one play and the rookie gets the hand-off, fumbles and the game ends. In repub elitist world, the rookie gets the blame for the loss. True fans of the game know better.
More of the same.. abuse of the 'system' by politicians "enjoying the ride" at another's expense. period. where do they get off...
Not true. McCain had several options. He wanted Lieberman, and Lieberman would have jumped at the opportunity to run as VP again, if for no other reason than to make history as the first to do it for both major parties. But McCain's handlers told him that Lieberman didn't energize the base. He could have picked Romney who would have done it but he didn't like Romney. Crist gave McCain the cold shoulder post-convention for not being picked. McCain had several choices but he went with Palin to (a) energize the base (mission accomplished) and (b) pick up the mythical PUMA vote that wanted Hilary and wouldn't support BHO (FAIL). Most women found it insulting that they should vote for any skirt and ignore the fact that she was as anti-woman as the typical Republican male.
If Sarah Palin was honest with herself about being capable to be vp, then she would have not accept the offer. She was more concerned with opportunity to advance herself, and she took the opportunity. Then she used fear tactics about Obama to win votes for her side. She played the same game of lies that she is accusing the media of doing to her. I do not feel sorry for her. She was a willing player. She wanted the position of VP to advance herself.
I do not think Lieberman was viable for the GOP because of his liberal stance on abortion. I am curious why McCain did not pick Eliz Dole as his running mate, as she has much more experience than Palin. Palin may be a target of oil interests now. Whatever the perception of her as capable for the VP job, she did tweak the noses of the oil lobby in Alaska by getting them to cough up more money. Now that she is not under the protective umbrella of the campaign, they can use controversies - real or manufactured - to try and get her out of office.