Comments on: Feminists campaign with Palin in Nevada; media covers clothes budget

By: Legolas

Legolas — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:48:04 +0000

I’m sure auctioning off the clothes to charity was the plan all along, just as the campaign said…a few hours after the story was posted and in contrast to their initial “no comment” statement.

By: Warren

Warren — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:13:12 +0000

I am anxious to see how many hundreds that outfit will fetch for a charity after the election.

By: Eddy

Eddy — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 12:09:25 +0000

LOL. Being photographed and scrutinized endlessly….yep, that explains the $90 outfit (oops, I mean ‘uniform’) baby Trig was wearing.

By: Warren

Warren — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 05:21:26 +0000

minty – excellent observation. She is being photographed and scrutinized endlessly. I suspect if she wore her actual wardrobe, she would be getting hit for looking hickish.
Also, the clothes are to be auctioned off for charity after the election; they do not belong to her, but are more like uniforms for the job.

By: minty

minty — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 04:29:04 +0000

However, Sarah Palin’s clothes budget garnered major network coverage, an Associated Press article, and all told over 90 articles that I found in a quick search.

Well after endless stories about Bill Clinton’s $200 hair-cut and John Edwards’ $500 hair-cuts, the shoe is on the other foot. And not just any shoe, but a Manolo Blahnik. There’s the hypocrisy angle – wasn’t this the same Republican party criticizing Obama for being an out-of-touch arugala-sniffer, and wasn’t Sarah Palin supposed a folksy, downhome mom?
However – the hypocrisy angle doesn’t really hold up. The fact that the Palins needed this expensive make-over is proof that they were just regular folks, not living on the high on the hog. The story almost makes me sympathize with them.
Still, it’s a juicy, scurrilous bit of gossip, and a perfect sound byte. And actually this story reveals quite a bit about our politics: the importance of appearances (especially for female politicians); the enormous expense of looking effortlessly chic; and as just mentioned – the fact that the Palins weren’t living the glamorous life.