Sarah Palin's $150,000 Wardrobe--GOP Donors Should Ask For Their Money Back

By Bonnie Erbe

(US News)  Are these people for real? Sen. John McCain is being outspent by Sen. Barack Obama by more than 2 to 1 on TV ads in swing states, and yet his campaign still is flush enough to spend $150,000 on Gov. Sarah Palin's clothes and accessories?

Clearly some hyperkinetic member of the McCain campaign team needs to be reined in, perhaps medicated. There is a DSM for this type of over-the-top behavior. It's called mania.

If I were a GOP donor, I'd be furious and would rescind my contribution.

This money is being spent at a time when the campaign is reported to be pulling out of swing states (such as Colorado), where the McCain campaign might be able to do a bit better if he had the money to equal that of Senator Obama and his massive TV advertising budget. The McCain campaign denies it is pulling out, but clearly its problems are legendary and serious.

This is not the first time a presidential campaign has taken hits for spending money on fashion, but none so far has been of the magnitude reported spent on Sarah Palin's duds. From Politico:

In 2000, Democrat Al Gore took heat for changing his clothing hues. And in 2006, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) was ribbed for two hair styling sessions that cost about $3,000. Then, there was Democrat John Edwards's $400 haircuts in 2007 and Republican McCain's $520 black leather Ferragamo shoes this year. A review of similar records for the campaign of Democrat Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee turned up no similar spending.