Jim Stillman
M-KazSarah, Vanna and excesses
October 22nd 2008 19:39
Several years ago, my wife, The Lovely Joan, was watching Wheel of Fortune when I heard at the end of the program that Vanna White had been asked about whether she was able to keep the gowns and dresses worn and showcased on the program. If I heard the answer, I have forgotten; then came the news over the past days that Governor Sarah Palin, at a time when the GOP campaign is financially strapped, received about $150,000 for clothes, make-up and hairdressing. Ordinarily I would consider this an internal Republican problem and an issue that is frivolous and just an absurd allocation of resources. When she returns to Alaska in a couple of weeks, as polls suggest she will be, does she keep the clothes?
A spokesperson for the McCain-Palin campaign, Tracey Schmitt, called the news trivial and of no importance. I agree, except for the double standard and side issues involved.
Why do Democrats care? The story has angered and disgusted 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. Democrats also recall the GOP name-calling as they asserted that the $400 haircut of John Edwards. (If Edwards had gotten one of his expensive haircuts every week, it would take him over7 years to spend what Palin has spent. Palin has received the equivalent of $2,500 in clothes per day from as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
Beyond the political games, however, the revelation of the clothing expenditures destroys Palin's image as a small-town, 'Joe Six-Pack' American.
Indeed, the story could not come at a worse time for the McCain campaign. During a week in which the Republicans are 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.
So, does Vanna keep the dresses? Does Sarah?
A spokesperson for the McCain-Palin campaign, Tracey Schmitt, called the news trivial and of no importance. I agree, except for the double standard and side issues involved.
Why do Democrats care? The story has angered and disgusted 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. Democrats also recall the GOP name-calling as they asserted that the $400 haircut of John Edwards. (If Edwards had gotten one of his expensive haircuts every week, it would take him over7 years to spend what Palin has spent. Palin has received the equivalent of $2,500 in clothes per day from as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.
Beyond the political games, however, the revelation of the clothing expenditures destroys Palin's image as a small-town, 'Joe Six-Pack' American.
Indeed, the story could not come at a worse time for the McCain campaign. During a week in which the Republicans are 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.
So, does Vanna keep the dresses? Does Sarah?
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Comment by Lester Caudill
Round Politics