What $75,062 Will Buy You at Neiman Marcus
I am so stunned by this report that I am at a loss for words. From what little I know about the report, I understand that the figures come from the Federal Election Commission website. If this is true, I can’t see any scenario for this ticket other than defeat.
This report would seem to blow up the narrative of the populist soccer Mom, selling Alaska’s state owned airplane on E-Bay at a profit, stopping the campaign bus at a Wal-Mart to buy some cheap diapers, and being a cost cutting budget hawk.
Now we are told that after the election, the clothes will be donated to charity. Since I can’t read minds, there is no way for me to know if that was always the campaign’s intention or if they are in major damage control after having been caught with their hands in the cash register.
The soccer Moms I know don’t shop at Neiman Marcus. They also don’t have access to hard won, donated money that is supposed to be used to win an election. It will be interesting to see what the post Neiman Marcus polls have to say about Sarah’s excellent shopping spree.
~~John Cronin~~
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/webscout/2008/10/what-75062-will.html
What $75,062 will buy you at Neiman Marcus
When we heard that the RNC racked up a $150,000 department store tab for Gov. Sarah Palin, it was hard to immediately put that in perspective. The most either of us has ever spent at one time on clothes or other personal items is under $1,000. But thanks to the beauty of online shopping, we’re now very clear on what you can get for that kind of cash. We just got done going on his and hers online shopping sprees at Neiman Marcus’ website, where we each managed, after an undisclosed number of hours, to spend $75,062*, the precise amount that Palin et al. spent there.
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-9VW4ewI1M&eurl=http://www.dailykos.com/
This is funny, some things cannot be defended.
October 23rd, 2008 at 11:12 am
John,
Buying Sarah clothes for the campaign - a bit excessive. She did not have any kind of appropriate wardrobe to work with? Really? But buying clothes for the family. that’s really over the top. donated to charity. A lot of women, myself included, have donated business atire to charity’s that help women find jobs and get back on their feet. Since I am mostly a stay home mom now, I did not need the closet(s) full I had aquired while a working gal. None of my suits were worth more than 200 bucks. (and then it was only 1, which I purchased in London). I just can’t imagine going to DI and picking up something Palin or her family wore on the campaign trail.
But she’s just like us, right?
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:04 pm
So if they donate all the clothes to charity and then we somehow get stuck with her running in 2012, do we fund another big shopping spree. I never want to donate again! Please tell me again why Obama would be so horrible? I just don’t think I have enough nose plugs to stiffel the stink of McCain/Palin….
October 23rd, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Good point SCannon! If they plan on promoting Palin for the 2012 nomination, maybe the GOP should put those clothes in storage.
Romney provides his own suits- one more reason- Romney 2012.
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:18 pm
Tracy. dontcha know nutthing about fashion? It’s out of style in a day or two. Heck, even beauty queens know that one!
October 23rd, 2008 at 2:56 pm
4 years from now the kids will be grown up and the smell of moth balls is not so appealing. We need a candidate who can afford to buy their own clothing. Romney 2012.
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:04 pm
This is not a story. If anything it indicates that the ’soccer mom’ has not been spending money on her wardrobe. Would you expect otherwise? That she went high end is probably because Ms McCain was advising…
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Frozone. It is a story. Why? because we GOP are asked to give to the RNC, and now we find out it is NOT going to campaigns, but on the backs of the Palin family. And yes, she had a wardrobe, as this ’soccor/hockey/fake/ mom ran for gov. Or did the RNC pay her clothes then too? I can see buying her a suit or two. But 150K?
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
A reason it is a story is because Palin is being positioned as an everyday Mom, who now has a six figure wardrobe. With the market down from a high of over 14,000 - to 8,700 in a few months, it reflects on the inept campaign being waged by McCain and Palin’s lack of judgment to call out her advisor’s on such a stupid move.
Politics is about perception. If you are trying to sell the Joe the Plumber story shopping at high end stores undermines the “I’m just like you” slant.
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:23 pm
“The median monthly mortgage payment in the US in 2007 was about $1500. In other words, Sarah Palin spent very nearly as much on clothing in a single month as the typical American family will spend on housing over the next ten years.”
D Frum
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Sarah Palin - Fiscal Conservative?
http://wasillaproject.typepad.com/
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:40 pm
If you look at the dem’s they brag about their wardrobes being donated by designers (a campaign violation) Haven’t seen anyone offering to donate to Sarah!!!! I imagine she had very little say as the handlers took care of the details. If she shopped at Macy’s, Nordstroms, JC Penny’s, Sears or where ever you would approve, the opposition would take her to the cleaners. Look how they tore her apart for her hair!!!!(They would say she can’t talk or even knows how to dress the part.) I have no problem with her wardrobe, (Apparently Michelle Obama wore A dress (one dress) worth $450,000 for the convention (DONATED) No one mentions that. and I think Sarah looked better at the RNC convention. We really sound petty….. any one remember the way the media tore into Nancy Regan everytime she wore a new dress. THERE IS A LOT MORE AT STAKE THAN WARD ROBE COSTS. I know that Romeny was the man and he could buy his own suits…Sarah doesn’t have enough personal funds (check her tax returns) to spend that kind of money to create the image that CATTY WOMEN EXPECT. So you are suggesting she should have turned down the VP spot because of her wardrobe????? ..I’d like to see how much money has been spent (donated) to creat the OBAMA IMAGE?? $150,000 is that all…I say a small price to pay to have her look classy and make the liberal far left squirm.
Sarah
October 23rd, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Do CATTY women vote Republican? Oh, now I get it. . . McCain will win in a landslide.
October 23rd, 2008 at 4:30 pm
CT buying a suit or two, and spending under 5 or even 10K with shoes, I can deal with. But she spent double my household’s annual salary to put clothes on her back. Really, I’m glad I donated directly to campaings this year, and not to the RNC as they kept asking. I can barely afford to use the LOO at Saks. she’s not one of us. He’s an elite wannabe.
October 23rd, 2008 at 5:59 pm
When the news about the Palin family’s shopping spree hit, I was so glad we did not contribute to the RNC this time around. I’ll definitely think twice before contributing in the future if this is how they’re spending the cash.
McCain/Palin are nauseating, but I’m hoping and praying Obama doesn’t win.
I guess if the worst case scenario happens and we’re stuck with the Obamas in the White House, the only bright spot is that we’ll be rid of McCain, his family and his hideous hangers-on (Lindsey Graham & Co.) for good.
October 23rd, 2008 at 7:48 pm
Come on, everybody! GET A GRIP! CT is absolutely right on this issue. Remember that the RNC bought all of these clothes for Governor Palin–she did not buy them herself and she probably didn’t ask the RNC to buy them for her, either. Why are so many of you dumping on Governor Palin and the RNC for doing essentially what Senator Clinton and the DNC did? The main difference between the RNC and the DNC on this matter is that the RNC did it legally by purchasing Palin’s fashions and the DNC did it illegally with donated fashions. Or how about Michelle Obama? Do you really think that she has bought all of her own clothes and all of her daughters’ clothes? And how about the male candidates? I can see them easily spending many thousands of dollars on their designer suits, ties, dress shirts and shoes. And John Cronin, please get a hold of yourself. “This report”…does not…”blow up the narrative of the populist soccer Mom, selling Alaska’s state owned airplane on E-Bay at a profit, stopping the campaign bus at a Wal-Mart to buy some cheap diapers, and being a cost cutting budget hawk.” Governor Palin still makes and has less money than Biden, Obama, or McCain and most of the politicians in Washington. Surely you understand how visually oriented and fashion conscious our society is. It would be absolutely stupid for the RNC to not invest some big bucks in Palin’s wardrobe. Her appearance will potentially have a significant impact on whether people vote for her (sad as that may be). I’m amazed at how naive so many of you can be about politics. I just bet you that this story was written by a Democrat on the latimesblogs.latimes.com. Don’t let this crap sway you from voting for the still relatively more conservative McCain-Palin ticket!
Mark
October 23rd, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Mark,
Are you sure I am naive? Are you telling me you can’t conjure up an image in your imagination as to what Obama’s next TV ad will look like and what is will say.
This duncey shopping spree is right up the Democrat’s alley. Made to order. The voice over might say something like this: “At a time when Americans are being evicted from their homes, losing there jobs and seeing their life savings destroyed by the plunging stock market, Sarah Palin, fake hockey Mom, goes on a high end shopping spree, using the money donated by rank and file Republicans who bought into her populist message, only to see their money squandered on the kind of expensive clothing that their own wives will never wear. Typical fat cat Republicans. Say one thing to get elected, do something else as soon as the cameras are off.”
Now Mark, please get a hold of yourself! This “crap” is not going to sway the way I vote. You just don’t hand the Libs a perfect opportunity to portray the party as the representatives of the rich and powerful, especially when the headlines are full of fear and negative news stories.
I like Gov. Palin’s grasp of the oil business and I think she is a very talented speaker. My objection to the whole fiasco is in the powerful image it projects. The wrong image. Gov. Palin is an attractive woman and I think she would have done just fine in a wardrobe from Macy’s or any other store where middle class women shop. This whole episode smacks of elitism at a time when the American middle class is hurting.
October 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 pm
John: Thanks for explaining your thoughts further. I can certainly imagine how the Obama campaign might attempt to run with this factoid about Palin’s clothing purchases, but it won’t have any major impact on the election outcome. I firmly believe that the average American voter will not be that affected by this because it doesn’t hurt or threaten them in any direct way. The RNC purchasing clothes for Governor Palin doesn’t take money out of anyone’s pocket unwillingly. It won’t resonate with the average American voter like Joe the Plumber resonates. Only those individuals who gave money (voluntarily) to the RNC might be angered by this disclosure, but even for these folks, I do not believe that it will change their vote. Anyone who is committed enough to donate money to the RNC will be able to see through this DNC inspired news release. Thanks again for your insights.
Mark
October 23rd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Just a final note. Obama is not going to go for a TV ad as it opens up questions of the illegal donations he has accepted and if he does it will look a little snobby as Sarah Palin is the only one that is NOT a millionaire in this race. (She shops at a consignment shop in Alaska and she campaigned in FLEECE.) Oh would the elite like to discuss that. They already have discussed her POOR education due to not going to the “RIGHT” school. GET a grip ….. None of those clothes are hers,they usually are auctioned off and the proceeds go to a charity when they are no longer of use. The media must be VERY VERY VERY nervous if all they can talk about is a clothing bill.
October 24th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
What the $150,000 clothes story does is keep McCain’s message from getting through. If Republicans are talking about it, you know it isn’t, or wasn’t playing well.
October 24th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Saw a snippit of Hanity show, with Palin talking about that wardrobe. She said she and toddy shop much different. Really? And could you have said ‘Golly, thanks. But we brought our own clothes”. Guess those words never crossed your lips, huh?