Will Palin's Top-Dollar Wardrobe Threaten Her "Joe Six Pack" Image?

By: Scott Conroy
Topics: Sarah Palin

(CBS)

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(DAYTON, OHIO) - With her unfavorable ratings sinking to new lows, the last thing Sarah Palin needed was a story that could jeopardize her carefully crafted image as an "average hockey mom" who is the candidate of the "Joe six packs."

So when Politico reported that the Republican National Committee had forked over more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize the candidate and her family, the McCain/Palin campaign turned to a tried and true target: the media.

"With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," Palin spokesperson Tracey Schmitt said. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

But Palin's clothing spending spree didn't just raise eyebrows in the media. CBS News chief political consultant Marc Ambinder reports, "Republicans, RNC donors and at least one RNC staff member have e-mailed me tonight to share their utter (and not-for-attribution) disgust at the expenditures."

John Edwards' infamous $400 haircuts were a favorite target among the Republican base during the primaries, but it is unlikely that Palin's core group of devoted supporters will turn away from the candidate they see as one of their own. Still, the fact that Palin's handlers shopped for her at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue could take some of the sting out of her repeated assertion that she is not one of the "elites."

Scott Conroy
Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.
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by cfcarlos October 25, 2008 5:51 PM EDT: If Sara Palin is the no-nonsense frugal hockey mom that she claims to be, why didn%u2019t say %u201CThanks but no thanks,%u201D to her handlers when they offered her a $150 K wardrobe and $11.4 K a week makeup artist, as she supposedly had told the U.S. Congress when they approved an earmark to Alaska for the infamous Bridge to Nowhere?; Reply to this comment


by girlsailor October 24, 2008 9:18 PM EDT: To spend that much money is obscene, unless it''s yours to begin with, and how come with the rich it never is? But anyway, have you looked at some old photos of Ms Palin? I could go into any Macy''s and come out looking ok. Not so Ms Palin. Really bad taste, no not just bad; her clothes were funny looking. So even though my favorite comment was the oldwhiteguy''s, I have this thought: It was always the plan that after the election, the clothes go to charity, they said. So if McCain/Palin win, godforbid, we get a frumpy v-p? This is the plan?; Reply to this comment


by sandin46 October 24, 2008 1:45 PM EDT: They also understand that an Alaskan wardrobe wouldn''''''''t cut it for campaining in .... well just about any state in the lower 48.
Posted by kceddy

That is an excuse if ever I heard one!!!! I lived in Alaska for 4 years and guess what I found out??? Alaska is where they start new fashions on the market to see if they will work in the lower 48 States. She is a govenor for goodness sake!!! Look at past pictures of her in a Alaska she didn''t dress like no back woods person with overalls and a flannel shirt; Reply to this comment


by joezap5 October 24, 2008 12:41 PM EDT: I was looking for a neocon to thump on this story...going somewhere else; Reply to this comment


by pjc27 October 24, 2008 10:57 AM EDT: Wanna really have fun? Check out the Alaskan newspapers, a lot of those folks are just waiting for her to come back so they can tar and feather her.; Reply to this comment


by pjc27 October 24, 2008 10:55 AM EDT: It won''t hurt her or McCains image at all, we all knew they were both full of ***. And she would never ever just admit, okay, it was excessive. After all, she is inoccent of everything, even when found guilty. It''s a conspiracy!!!; Reply to this comment


by susanram1 October 24, 2008 4:40 AM EDT: I wonder if Palin likes McCain''s idea of donating the clothes to charity. It''s not fair! Cindy has really expensive clothes. How is poor Sarah going to compete with that? Why should some one who shops all the time at Walmart and is a regular hockey mom, be denied the opportunity to dress up in $150,000 worth of expensive clothes and make up? She needs something else besides winking and sarcasm to distract the crowd away from her vacuous mind.; Reply to this comment


by lgl159 October 24, 2008 12:34 AM EDT: To you b_b1959
The difference between Obama''s spending $2 million and the $150,00 spent on Palin is, Obama''s monies did not come from the DNC. so what he spends is the money he raised. Just maybe, if Palin had done something to bring in the big bucks then ther would not have been nothing to talk about.; Reply to this comment


by geek143 October 23, 2008 11:59 PM EDT: It just enhances her image as someone with questionable judgment and a lack of common sense.; Reply to this comment


by oldwhiteguy1 October 23, 2008 11:54 PM EDT: So after the election the clothes are going to GoodWill?
Does the GOP realize that 150k would save my house, pay all my debt AND allow me to buy health insurance...; Reply to this comment