Sarah Palin's make-up artist paid over $22,000 by Mccain

McCain advisers have been scathing about the sexism of critics who dismiss Sarah Palin as Caribou Barbie. How odd then, to learn that McCain advisers have been treating their own vice presidential candidate like Valentino Barbie, dressing her up in fancy clothes and endlessly playing with her hair...with the economy cratering and the McCain campaign running on an average Joe theme, dunderheaded aides, led by the former Bushies Nicolle Wallace and Tracey Schmitt, costumed their Eliza Doolittle for a ball when she should have been dressing for a bailout.

The Republicans attempt to make the case that Barack Obama is hoity-toity and theyre hoi polloi has fallen under the sheer weight of the stunning numbers:

The McCains own 13 cars, eight homes and access to a corporate jet, and Cindy had her Marie Antoinette moment at the convention. Vanity Fair calculated that her outfit cost $300,000, with three-carat diamond earrings worth $280,000, an Oscar de la Renta dress valued at $3,000, a Chanel white ceramic watch clocking in at $4,500 and a four-strand pearl necklace worth between $11,000 and $25,000. While presenting herself as an Im-just-like-you hockey mom frugal enough to put the Alaska state plane up for sale on eBay, Palin made her big speech at the convention wearing a $2,500 cream silk Valentino jacket that the McCain staff had gotten her at Saks.

At that point, Palin should have been savvy enough to tell those doing her makeover that she was a Wal-Mart mom. The sartorial upgrade was bound to turn into a strategy downgrade, as Palin pressed her case as a homespun gal who was ever so much more American than the elite, foreignish Obama, while she was gussied up in Italian couture.

Politico broke the news that the Republican National Committee spent over $150,000 on a Pretty Woman-style shopping spree for Palin, including about $75,000 at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis and nearly $50,000 at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York and St. Louis.

It doesnt wash to cry sexism now any more than it did at the beginning, when the campaign tried to use that dodge to divert attention from Palins lacunae in the sort of knowledge you need to run the world. The press has written plenty about the vanities and extravagances of male candidates. (See: Haircuts, John Edwards and Bill Clinton.) Sexism would be to treat Palin differently, or more delicately, than one of the guys.

The governor who spent all her time talking about how she had cleaned up excesses in Alaska, and would do the same in Washington, also went over the top on hair and makeup. As a former beauty pageant contestant and sports anchor on TV, Palin already seemed on top of her grooming before the McCain campaign made her traveling makeup artist, Amy Strozzi, the highest-paid individual on the campaign for the first two weeks of October. Ms. Strozzi, who earned an Emmy nomination for her war paint skills on the TV show So You Think You Can Dance, made $22,800 for the first half of this month.

Governor Palin, who used to get her hair done at the Beehive in Wasilla and shop at an Anchorage consignment shop called Out of the Closet, paid her traveling hairstylist — recommended by Cindy McCain — $10,000 for the first half of October.

In The New York Times Magazine today, Robert Draper reveals that the campaign also hired a former New York stage and screen actress, Priscilla Shanks, to be her voice coach for the convention. The expense was listed in finance reports as Operating Expenditures and Get-Out-The-Vote consulting. Apparently getting out the vote includes teaching a potential vice president the correct way to pronounce nuclear.

The conservative big shots who have not deserted Palin and still think she can be Reagan in a Valentino skirt are furious at those who have mishandled the governor and dimmed her star power. They mourn that she may have to wait now until 2016 to get rid of the phony stench of designer populism. Makeovers are every womans dream. But this makeover has simply pushed back Palins dream of being president.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/opinion/26dowd.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&am...

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[simclassic]

Shonester, brought to you by an arse.

[ElunedDdedwydd]

You just can't fix STUPID. It will take a hell of a lot more than make-up to improve this bimbo.  She made such a fool of herself on Katie Couric, I doubt she CAN read. She protests abortion, then murders innocent animals from a plane, how brutal can she be? Sickening, utterly sickening, she is lucky if she can ever win PTA President, I hope she won't waste our time again in 2012. She's just PITIFUL, and her "fans" are even worse.

Thank God for Michelle Obama.

[violetgirl1996]

i dont get this

[silverhazeindeeair]

i dont care what anyone says i would go gave palin a good nailing shes hot

[tmyers2147]

who is this ugly woman reporting this? I would be embarrassed to be in public criticizing ANYONE if I looked like this woman!! 

[dxrinc]

STUPID TRANSVESTITE CUNT

[stevensrsp]

They will do anything to smear this lady. They are a bunch of hippocrites. What about the magic Negro taking 3000+ people with him to India and Indonesia to pray with his Muslim jihadist. Shut upppppppp!!!!!!"

[heavencanwaite]

quote "She needed clothes" .... umm quote "He needs a smack in the f**king face!!"

[lgbadromance]

How much does it cost for the Obama vacations that are taken every other week?

[mrstonyromo9]

SARAH PALIN DID NOT WANT TO HAVE THOSE CLOSE! SHE WALKS AROUND WEARING JEANS AND A CARTTHART JACKET!! its prettttyy sad that democrats are soo threatened by her that all they have to attack is her clothess?! bahahah!! 

[kanawa]

God this madcow is difficult to listen to, sounds like some smarmy high schooler. Although she does sound more masculine then kook that followed her.

This is news reporting?

[exbronco1980]

it's really scary to think that Mccain got 45.9% of the popular vote in 08. it's scary to think he got that much.