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Photographs of Palin with daughter Willow and son Trig in Nevada (above) and in Colorado (below) from the AP
Based on financial disclosure records, Politico reports that the Republican National Committee apparently spent over $150,000 to "clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August." Some of the expenses: $49,425.74 in Saks Fifth Avenue bills in St. Louis and New York; $75,062.63 at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis; $789.72 at Barney’s New York; $5,102.71 at Bloomingdale’s in New York; and $4,716.49 in hair and makeup.
A McCain spokeswoman only responded to Politico's questions with, "The campaign does not comment on strategic decisions regarding how financial resources available to the campaign are spent," but later another spokeswoman said, "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."
Previously, candidates' expensive habits have been criticized and ridiculed, notably John Edwards and his $400 haircuts. And during the Republican National Convention, Cindy McCain's outfit was estimated out to cost at least $3,000 in clothing and almost $300,000 in jewelry and accessories. Palin, though, has staked a claim to being a regular hockey mom and a representative of Joe SIx Pack.
In other Palin-related expense reporting, the Associated Press reports, "Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business." Expenses include plane tickets for her daughters to see Todd Palin compete in a snow mobile event and "a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights" at the luxury Essex House hotel.
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What else is new with politicians. It's easy to spent money when it's not yours.
dear sarah, isn't it time you go back to wasilla? i'm sure the folks at the PTA meetings will be impressed by your new york style.
Another irrelevant Palin bashing piece on Gothamist. What a surprise. Chung-Queen is pulling out all the daggers with 2 weeks til election.
I hope a polar bear eats her before it is too late.
Hugo- its irrelevant that Palin is stealing Alaska's tax payer money to fly her kids to campaign events theyre not even invited to, (when they should be in school anyway)? Governer Spitzer resigned for much less. She just loves abusing her power in any way she can.
After Palin Loses the election, she should be Impeached as Governer
First, FoxNews is covering this story as well, so it's not some biased Gothamist exclusive.
Flip side, the parties on either side ALWAYS provide money to spruce up a candidate. IF anything, maybe a woman have more fashion needs as a man that just needs a couple suits and ties.
Lets not talk about Michelle Obama chowing down on lobster, caviar and champagne at the Waldorf hotel the other day. She spent nearly 500 bucks for her little lunch.
@ Pull My Finger:
Do a little homework buddy. The NY Post retracted that fish tale. Rather eloquently I might add.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10212008/gossip/pagesix/room_disservice_134490.htm
That said, the press seems overly fascinated by these types of stories. But before you Palin lovers begin boo hoo-ing the injustices done McCain's intellectually challenged mascot, remember all the fuss about Edward's $400 haircuts?
@ malebranche99:
There is NO valid comparison between Edwards' $400 haircuts and the RNC paying 150K to accessorize the entire Palin clan.
Edwards paid for his haircuts with his own money. The Palins, on the other hand, paid for nothing with their own money.
So, the two situations are completely different.
Edwards is a rich guy, spending his own money on himself.
Contrast that with the Palins, who are grifters, plain and simple -- (look the word up).
FTA: "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
@ Hawk,
Actually I agree with you, there is no comparison. I just personally think both stories are pretty irrelevant to the elections. Let the RNC spend $10 million on swimsuits and tiaras to prettify their cavewoman if they'd like, so long as it's not my money I couldn't care less.
Besides, it's less they'll spend campaigning.
Of more importance is the Alaska state tax money spent flying her daughters to NYC, and putting them up in the Essex House for 4 or 5 nights at $700/night, so Palin could attend a 5 hour conference!
There is certainly something parasitic about her.
to put it in palin's own words "smells like socialism". but in this case it's socialism to subsidize her family so it's alright.
The bar in this country is so low that when she actually says something intelligent, it's news.
Yeah I'm sure her outfits and such will go to a charity...that's the biggest load of shit. Can you see The Barrcuda in her room tears and snot running down her face after losing and packing her clothes into a piggly wiggly bag to send to The Salvation Army...
Can I just say that those clothes aren't that great anyway...most women look a million times better shopping just at Ann Taylor and other mid-level stores. For $150k they could at least put her in something more flattering.
Republicans have managed to rally on their side all of those intellectually lazy and all of those with only individualistic economic sense to create an identity of collective pride trough military force and corporate fraud!
What a nation that is.
I think women running for president or VP should wear a suit and tie just like a dude, and not wear friggin' tons of makeup. It would be way cooler, for one thing.
And how's she supposed to keep looking like that? Is she gonna spend two hours getting done up by a hair/make-up guy every day? (That also bothered me about Hillary! Way too elaborate make-up for a serious woman.)
I don't understand why a serious female politician has to try to look like a beauty queen. Literally, in this case.
BTW - what is the meaning of that hand sign Palin is making in the first photo?
edEx--when did she say something intelligent? i missed that and would love for it to happen at least once in her life.
@cucarachita, Palin is using sign language to say "I love you."
Didn't Obama raise some ridiculous figure like $100 million in a very short time recently? It might be interesting to see where that is going as well. What is $150,000 compared to several hundred million? And why does he have a half-brother living in destitution?
It's like putting lipstick on a pig.
so it costs 150k to look like one of ming the merciless's concubines.
@ Jen Chung,
I thought she was saying "Don't Cry for Me, America".
$150k is nothing compared to the cost of both candidates shuttling around on private planes and buses. If you really think $150k is a lot of money for a women vying to be the VP, you're pretty naive. Do you expect her to shop at tshirthell or something?
Un-realted: I'd hit it
addendum:
Thats what it looks like in the second photo, anyway.
Can't the RNC spend it's money as they see fit?
The bigger deal seems to be spending state money to take your family with you on trips and claiming they were there on official business. Of course, that story has no traction, where as the one about the Saks bill, will run and run.
$150k down the drain as soon as she does that with her hand. Mutton dressed as lamb.
Love how Gothamist highlights this "news" with a large item, multiple pics, etc. Can't miss it! Yet Jen bury's Biden's disturbing foreign policy comments re: an Obama presidency will "gurantee" a crisis.
Has anyone --- ANYONE --- looked into the cost of Mr. Obama's suits, shoes, etc.? I somehow doubt he's getting them at K-Mart.
as long as they keep putting her in heels & skirts, i'm all for it!
Apples and Peaches i love women in ann taylor clothes. no one does fashion on a budget like ann. except lane bryant, but you know, that's--that's for biggies. also, jones new york. actually very reasonable. great separates. but you can build a suit in any of those places.
#18 and Jen @20:
"I love you" may be one - contemporary, and bastardized - meaning of that hand gesture of Palin, but for centuries it has been an Italian gesture, indicating that the receiver - a man - has been cockolded.
The symbol is supposed to represent a horn, and the verbal accompaniment is to say:"you wear the horns", i.e. the horns of the horny goat, Bacchus, or the horny buck.
That is one reason why people jokingly put it behind people's heads when group photographs are being taken.
I pity the poor guy - and his wife - who were outed by Palin. Unless it is her putative new son-in-law.
So she spent private money? Big deal.
I'm sure Obama's suits are from Men's Warehouse, right?
Obama shops at "BAG MAN" on 34th, right?
#30 NYCSNIPER: Actually, people have looked at Obama's clothes and shoes. He doesn't blow thousands on new clothes and shoes, but he does have his shoes re-soled when they wear out from all the campaigning. This picture is one of many awesome ones in this series.
SP: Please link me to these articles that discuss the cost of Obama's shoes and suits so I can inform myself!
this is nothing, the conservatives spend money like crazy.
if you ever look at the job offerings around DC for conservative thinktanks or even their get out the vote community organizers, they pay crazy money.
ACORN got nothing on them.
Its okay
I mean
We True Americans are not stupid
You put lipstick on a pig (or a fascist racist hypocritical republican)
It'll still taste good after 3 hours on the grill.
Here you go stupid. Not an "article" but I think this is at your level.
"Obama shops at "BAG MAN" on 34th, right?"
"everything on the lower level must go. mens & ladies shoes. come downstairs. what are you waiting for?"
So...how much did they blow on her at Victoria's Secret?
thank goodness mccain was so gracious as to accept public financing...
SP: You're backing up your claim with a hard-hitting Access Hollywood clip???? Let me know when you find out the price of B.O.'s suits!
Snper you retard, if the Post hasn't come out with a scathing article about how much of a spendthrift Obama is, that's because he isn't. Give it up. You lose.
Her hand symbol is the GOP version of the shocker.
SP: Let me know when you find out the price of B.O.'s suits!
Now that the sugar's worked out of some people's systems...
I stumbled across this an hour or so ago:
http://daddytypes.com/2008/1/21/palin_comparison.php
It's an interesting take on another angle of the Case of the $150K What Not to Wear episode.
Here you go dickhead. $1500/suit, he has six of them. Sounds about right to me. You lose.
I have to say.. I'm not fan of Palin, but this story is ridiculous and overblown.
A man can wear the same suit day after day on the campaign trail and a) nobody would notice or b) nobody would care.
A woman has to look good because for some reason, judging her fashion sense, is part of the political discourse (i.e. Hillary's pantsuits, cleavage).
The RNC spent its own money and can do so however they see fit. If she was dressed in Fashion Bug clothes, the media would be talking about how poorly dressed she is.
The reason why it matters is because she promotes herself as an average, woman of the people hockey mom. This just further reinforces how much of a fucking hypocritical profiteering liar she is, the RNC is, and the McCain campaign is for promoting this image. She should be buying her suits at walmart if she's such an average hockey mom.
Is this REALLY a newsworthy story? How about B. Hussein Obama CAMP SPENDS $437,144 ON FOOD... $21,500,862 ON POLLING (http://209.183.235.3/pres08/expend.php?cid=N00009638&cycle=2008)
How about his wife's lunch bill totaling $447.39 (http://www.theobamafile.com/ObamaLatest.htm)
Wonder if anyone will be talking about that....
How about the fact that he may not even be eligible to run for President of These United States?
B Hussein Obama MAY NOT BE eligible to run for President of These United States?
Check it out yourself:
http://www.theobamafile.com/ObamaLatest.htm
Nimby - Get your head out of your bum.
The Michelle Obama lunch story has been debunked. It was a fake. The New York Post issued a retraction. This was even mentioned in the previous comments.
I don't really care how much they spend on clothes. That said it should be noted if they spent campaign money, RNC or public.
It does put Edwards' haircuts in perspective though doesn't it?
[32] Not exactly. The mano cornuta gesture is normally made with the thumb tucked in.
Kudos to Jen. She's more tolerant that I am. Hugo_Mego's incessant racist trolling and calling her "Chung King" or "Chung Queen" is so idiotic.
all that bitching and moaning about mccain running a dirty campaign. so let me guess, mccain is still the only one slinging dirt around? last week half this column was outraged that mccain was bringing up ayers instead of talking about real issues. now you hypocrites are criticizing palin for spending too much on clothing. if we can all agree on anything, lets try to be consistent and not hypocritical.
Except that McCain's smear campaign is all a bunch of lies.
This however is the truth:
$150,000 shopping sprees in two months, at all the best "elitist" shops, no less. Yes, RNC money, but still, not quite the "hockey mom" way of doing things is it?
$21,012 worth of free flights for her daughters, charged to the state - TAXPAYERS' MONEY
she charged $16,951 in expenses to the state, including 312 per diem allowances for staying in her own home
she made $22,883 in energy extraction royalties. Hmmm, and that's not "spreading the wealth?" Redistributing private industry profits to citizens isn't "socialism?" I guess IOKIYAR...
Don't you get tired of being wrong all the time?
you are an angry individual. i mean, not for anything, you start calling NYCSniper a dickhead adn a retard above simply for disagreeing with you. you need to get yourself under control.
smears. they're all smears. obama did have a relationship with bill ayers, therefore it is truth. however, none of this has anything to do with any of the issues that are on the table. you sit and bitch that the republicans are slinging mud, but you welcome it from the democrats. you, my friend, are a hypocrit. and there is nothing lower on the totem pole then a hypocrit.
There's a saying: "if you aren't outraged, you aren't paying attention." Yes, I'm outraged at how dishonest and downright criminal the Republicans behave. The fact that you can dish it out but can't take a taste of your own medicine is comical to me though. Especially when you are presented with facts, as above. You can only come back with vague innuendo and downright lies. Waaah waahh waahh, you cry baby.
you need help.
it wasn't a lie, obama has said that it was truth. does it have anything to do with his policies? absolutely not. just as this fucking joke of her spending money on her suits has nothing to do with her policies. i mean, honestly, this lady's a train wreck. but you're going to stoop to these levels? it was a joke when the republicans did it and its a joke that the democrats are doing it. take off your freaky deaky glasses and look at the thing unbiased for a second.
i'm not sure where i'm getting excited are. you're blowing up at people that feel differently than you. how positively mature of you.
calmer than you are
Thanks SP!
So according to the article you cite, Obama has recently bought "5 MORE" Marx suits (that makes him a Marxist, right?) which retail for $1500 each.
Any info on how many Marxist suits he previously owned to this month? Let's just assume an equal number of five.
By my calculations, that means he's spent at LEAST $150,000 on suits for this campaign. We have yet to include cost of shirts, ties, and shoes.
Nice try. But even with all your belligerence, you just painted yourself in a corner with your argument.
Of course, if B.O. were forced to discuss the economy, we know he'd lose.
And on the topic of B.O.'s birth certificate which another posted brought up, I'd like to see the 9-11 inside jobbers have a field day with that piece of forgery (Hint: Next time, don't use a "font" for something from '61, and don't forget to add some "official" signatures next time!)
It costs money to look good i guess
no matter what your political party is
of course
3 hours on the grill and Palin will be nice and juicy for serving
you just have to get by the rancid taste from her facist traitor to our country hypocritical republican beliefs
maybe a little oregano will cover that up
um... $1500 x 10 = $15,000 ... not $150,000.
Basic math, people.
Has anyone stopped to think that maybe Palin hasn't had a say in what they are dressing her in? Just a thought. I do think it is criminal that she is using money from the State of Alaska to fly her kids out to events that they aren't required to attend. They should be in school, it is not winter break yet.
I am not a Palin fan, but I really do think that women in politics are judged more then men. If a woman wears the same suit more then once, it appears that she has no style or fashion sense.
Palin spins herself as a regular hockey mom, but even hockey mom's have to dress up for the prom. This is her 'prom', she gets to put on lipstick, lots of make-up, and even got new glasses for the occasion.
The bit about Michelle Obama's lunch costing almost $500. A) I don't really believe it was that much B) Have you ever ordered room-service in a five star hotel? I have, it is insane. $30 for a hamburger! Maybe she was having a luncheon with several guests.....you can't really serve bologna and white-bread sandwiches to your contributors, it just reeks of social stupidity.
My whole family are republican's but we are all voting for Obama. I am not really ready to have another Bush in the White House for another four years. I do think that McCain is just Bush reincarnated.
This is just one girls opinion and I am stating it as so.
“So according to the article you cite, Obama has recently bought "5 MORE" Marx suits (that makes him a Marxist, right?) which retail for $1500 each.
Any info on how many Marxist suits he previously owned to this month? Let's just assume an equal number of five.
By my calculations, that means he's spent at LEAST $150,000 on suits for this campaign. We have yet to include cost of shirts, ties, and shoes.”
5 x 10 - x5 + 15... LOLZ, maths is difikult! I eats cheezburger now?
danisaint: http://www.nypost.com/seven/10212008/gossip/pagesix/room_disservice_134490.htm
colochita-
Thank you
It's good to see that when a news agency mis-quotes 'or out-right lies about something' that they will re-tract it. They should look into something call a 'RELIABLE' source.
I could call in saying that Palin ordered 200 dollars worth of lesbian porn while staying at the Essex hotel and they just might make a news story out of that.....damn reporters!
RELIABLE- 1) suitable or fit to be relied on
2)giving the same result on successive trials
I have never seen a picture of Ms. Palin and her older chilren holding the baby when the baby is awake. Has anyone else noticed this? Is it a real baby? What's up with the perpetually sleeping baby?
addendum +
Ah; I knew I'd seen these pictures before;
I believe they were lifted from the quarterly, Female Wiles and Their Ghastly Potential to Undermine and Destroy.
Thought so!
maybe they drug the kid....just kidding
that would be SICK!! (but has been done in the past!)
Is this the son of her's that has Down Syndrome? Maybe that makes them tired alot?? Don't know
It is weird that the baby is never awake....are there any pics of the baby awake.....some have to be out there....right?
If Palin campaigned in a Care Bears T-shirt and stirrup pants, people would be bitching about that.
Also, what is up with the kids' names?
Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig.....wow
Willow and Piper aren't that unusual
Bristol is pretty but very unique (I kinda like it)
Track and Trig....Those are ones I have never heard of.
Don't get me wrong, her kids are all very beautiful and handsome and will probably all grow up to do great things, but sometimes people give their kids very strange names...
Found a pic of him awake!!!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/21/trig-palin-photos-see-how_n_136582.html
Both are good pics of him awake and on the campaign trail
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/21/trig-palin-photos-see-how_n_136582.html
[73] I suspect Trig is short for "Trigger," which would not be surprising for gun-loving Palin. I'm waiting for her next two kids, "Lock" and "Load."
Geez- I was confused about the philosophical issues of the American Presidential race- but now that the 'main-stream' media has defined it for me as Governor Palin's Wardrobe- I guess I'll simply have to vote for Reid/ Pelosi/ Obama/ Frank/ & Dodd!
What a joke this is. . . -But the joke is on the American Electorate!
I feel bad for the baby. I don't know why but I do.