Keith Olbermann Special Comment: Sarah Palin $150k wardrobe

Since her selection as John McCain's running mate, the Republican National Committee spent more than $150,000 on clothing and make-up for Gov. Sarah Palin, her husband, and even her infant son, it was reported on Tuesday evening.

That entertaining scoop -- which came by way of Politico -- sent almost immediate reverberations through the presidential race. A statement from McCain headquarters released hours after the article bemoaned the triviality of the whole affair.

"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 spokesperson Tracey Schmitt. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

But even the most timid of Democrats are unlikely to heed this call for civility. For starters, the story has the potential to dampen enthusiasm among GOP activists and donors at a critical point in the presidential race. It also creates a huge PR headache for the McCain ticket as it seeks to make inroads among voters worried about the current economic crisis.

Mainly, however, Democrats (in this scenario) are not prone to forgiveness. After all, it was during this same campaign cycle that Republicans belittled the $400 haircut that former Sen. John Edwards had paid for with his own campaign money (the funds were later reimbursed). And yet, the comparison to that once-dominant news story is hardly close: if Edwards had gotten one of his legendary haircuts every singe week, it would still take him 7.2 years to spend what Palin has spent. Palin has received the equivalent of $2,500 in clothes per day from places such as Saks Fifth Avenue (where RNC expenditures totaled nearly $50,000) and Neiman Marcus (where the governor had a $75,000 spree).

Beyond the political tit-for-tat, however, the revelation of the clothing expenditures offers what some Democrats see as a chance not just to win several news cycles during the campaign's waning days but to severely damage Palin's image as a small-town, 'Joe Six-Pack' American.

"It shows that Palin ain't like the rest of us," Tom Matzzie, a Democratic strategist told the Huffington Post, when asked how the party would or could use the issue. "It can help deflate her cultural populism with the Republican base. The plumber's wife doesn't go to Nieman's or Saks."

Indeed, the story could not come at a more inopportune time for the McCain campaign. During a week in which the Republican ticket is trying to highlight its connection to the working class -- and, by extension, promoting its newest campaign tool, Joe the Plumber -- it was revealed that Palin's fashion budget for several weeks was more than four times the median salary of an American plumber ($37,514). To put it another way: Palin received more valuable clothes in one month than the average American household spends on clothes in 80 years. A Democrat put it in even blunter terms: her clothes were the cost of health care for 15 or so people.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/22/palin-clothes-spending-ha_n_136740.html
The attention from Jeanne Cummingss much-talked-about Politico story has naturally focused on the $150,000 in luxury clothing purchased for Sarah Palin at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Barneys. What hasnt yet gotten any attention is who bought it for her. But buried in the same FEC disclosure form that revealed Palins taste for the fine life is the name of the man who appears to have been her personal shopper: Jeff Larson.

Does the name Jeff Larson sound familiar? It should. Larson is the Karl Rove protégé whos a principal in the robocalling firm of FLS Connect (the FLS stands for Tony Feather, Jeff Larson, and Tom Synhorst*, all veteran Republican political operatives). Larsons firm is the same one that launched the scurrilous robocalls against John McCain in 2000, and that McCain has now hired to make robocalls connecting Barack Obama to Bill Ayers. Hes also well known in Minnesota for leasing his basement apartment at a steeply discounted rate to embattled Republican Senator Norm Coleman. Evidently, Larson also has quite the eye for womens fashion. Even hateful liberals would have to admit that Palin dresses awfully nicely.
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200810u/palin-clothes

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[stendulker2]

this wasn't about clothes. it was exposing the hypocrisy of the McCain campaign

[dylanofwomen]

he makes the parallel between the devil rays and rays to show how he can be "old manish" or "senile" at times, also, i wouldn't call it the liberal media or conservative media, they support whom ever is in their best interest. i consider my self fiscally conservative& socially liberal. i'm a constitutionalist Aka a true conservative, not a Neo-con bullshit believer. since when did liberal become a dirty word any ways, your party was founded on liberalism.

[thepoundsmoker]

@darkwarriorkane Yeah its really is sad what going on in the States these days. The rich and powerful have got the government and military in the pockets and most the country doesn't care as long as they get to see who is getting voted off American Idol lol its fucking pathetic

[darkwarriorkane]

@thepoundsmoker Please don't encourage them I like my country to work at least a little lol

[RagnarOdinsson]

They say people who bash gays are normally gay. I guess Palin must give Keith a boner and he hates it.

[syzygy502]

Ah, if only Palin would have spent 150k at Barnes and Nobel.

[gerri577]

@rvggarcon 

[gerri577]

@submersibledave actually, he has a large, devoted fan-club. just stick to your brainwashing Beck.

[Arcturistheballer]

@submersibledave Couldn't have said it better.

[TheGrandtheftTURTLE]

finally yay