McCain camp defends Palin in wardrobe flap (attacks media's "double standard")

[sabra]

Source: Reuters

<snip>

The McCain campaign, after first deciding not to engage in a public discourse about the clothes, decided to provide more details about them -- along with some scathing criticism of the news media.

"Governor Palin did not ask for or want any new clothes," said McCain senior adviser Nicolle Wallace.

"About a third of them have been returned, a third of them sit in the belly of the plane and are available to her and her family for special campaign events, TV appearances and ad filming," Wallace said. "Another third was made available to her family for the public events during convention week."

...


Wallace said the media storm about Palin's wardrobe was a terrible disservice to her and said there seemed to be a "double-standard for women in politics."

"That any aspect of her shoes, clothes or appearance has become a distraction is a terrible commentary on the state of the media and politics. Let's get on with our great debate about the best direction for the country in these challenging times for our economy and our nation's security," she said.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49N7JM20081024http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE49N7JM20081024

[VaYallaDawg]

1. IOW, move along folks, nothing to see here.

Yeah, right ....

[The Wielding Truth]

2. She has been wearing them. Right?

[Kali]

3. I agree. Talking about her clothes is superficial.

Talking about unethical and possibly illegal campaign expenditures and the hypocrisies of self-described "regular folk" is another matter.

[1Hippiechick]

29. Exactly. From the beginning she's been the "hockey mom." What was wrong with her wardrobe? Valid

question to ask the campaign, IMO. Her wardrobe was good enough to wear as governor, and we all know what a high-powered position she held, dealing with all those big ol' oil men! Whoa! That might have been the problem. Maybe fishnet hose and plunging necklines don't present the proper image to the far right fundies.

And $10K for hair deisgner/coiffure? Did I hear some such BS as that? And clothes for the #1Dude AND kids?

[hedgehog]

4. What does it say to Joe Sixpack when the clothes the Governor of

Alaska dressed herself and her family in aren't good enough for prime time? They made her clothes an issue when they spent $150,000!

[Tarheel_Dem]

25. Especially since most Joe Sixpack's didn't pay that much for their homes.....(nt)

[Lerkfish]

5. gotta hand it to them:their coverups are the LAMEST I've EVER witnessed on a national race

I mean, you'd have to be a braindead volunteer who scratches backwards letters into her face to believe this shit.

:)

[frylock]

6. eff you and the $400 haircut you rode in on

[POAS]

7. So all that fuss

over a $400 Edwards haircut being "elitist" was, what, appropriate? $150,000 flap over clothing, makeup and (oh yea) a hairdresser are inappropriate?

Well the base buys into it so all's good.

[Athletic Grrl]

26. Don't forget the makeup artist

She made $22,000 in the first two weeks of October to spruce up the Thrilla from Wasilla.

Officially the highest paid person in the McLame campaign at the moment.

Hair and makeup officially cancel any argument of this being "sexist."

[jmowreader]

33. Isn't McLame's makeup artist the second-highest-paid operative over there?

Tifanie White, who works on American Idol, made over $8600 in September working on John W. Bush.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2008/10/mccains_american_idol_make-up.html

Here you can see her working on McCain's forehead with a brush. A roller would be more appropriate.

[Realityhack]

8. What double standard... I remember something about a haircut. n/t

[1Hippiechick]

30. Exactly. It's not a double standard - it's the Repukes HYPOCRISY, as it's always been! n/t

[LynnTheDem]

9. And $400 haircuts??? That only applies in the "double-standard" when it's (D)???

What would the "double-standard" say if Obama or Biden or any other (D) had purchased close to a quarter of a million dollars for clothing paid for by supporter donations to the DNC?

[City Lights]

10. Double-standard for women in politics? Her WHOLE FAMILY got new clothes, John!

Your whining is so unbecoming. Especially when you whine about wanting to get back to discussing issues.

[Twinguard]

11. Double standard?

If a democrat had spent more in two months than most people make in two years on clothing and makeup, the rethuglicans would have jumped on that and stayed there. Remember Edwards' haircut? Of course you do, because it's brought up at every opportunity. The difference... he paid for that himself. How can she try to relate to joe sixpack when she spends 1000x (just guessing that good ol' Joe 6pack spends $150/month on clothing for himself AND his family) his monthly clothing budget? That sounds like "Sarah the welfare-from-the-RNC-accepting elitist" trying to put $5000 worth of lipstick on a dying pig. If she really wants to relate to typical blue collar voters, she should be sporting Carhartt, Levi's, Wal-Mart threads, Nike's, Hanes, and Wolverine work boots. Maybe an off the rack pantsuit or two for her "special" functions. Do you know who shops at Niemann-Marcus?? Neither do I, but I'm sure it's not factory workers, shoe salesmen, nurses, and secretaries.

[long beach liberal]

12. I couldn't believe it when I saw

a clip of Palin being interviews by Sean Hannity about this, and Palin said that in Alaska, her favorite store is "Out of the Closet"! If it's the same "Out of the Closet" chain that we have here in SoCal, it's a store that is run by mostly gay and lesbian men and women in order to raise money for HIV testing and other gay rights issues. The one in Long Beach has a big bowl of free condoms on the counter! Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it seems like a dumb thing for a super right wing pol to announce. Anyone else see this clip?

[kskiska]

20. Out of the Closet website for Anchorage

http://www.outoftheclosetalaska.com/

[long beach liberal]

21. Okay then

she gets a pass on that one. Not that it matters. Out of the Closet Alaska will very shortly be getting the Governor back as a regular customer.

[Zenlitened]

13. John McCain has trouble with basic reasoning skills.

It's not the clothing, Mr. McCain. It's the hypocrisy.

Really, how can he be an effective president if he can't even piece together simple facts and draw sensible conclusions?

[mod mom]

14. double standard? ok let's compare what is Joe Biden's make-up artist's allowance?

[truthisfreedom]

15. It's not the clothes, McBlame. It's where they were purchased and how much was spent.

Your claim: We're frugal. We're joe six-pack, everyday people. Reality: You're elitists who think you're better than everyone else (that's Palin's definition, remember.)

[BearSquirrel2]

16. So what if they're "in the plane" ...

You bought a $150,000 wardrobe for a family. That doesn't strike you as obscene? I know flood victims who are walking around in handouts and frankly with $5,000 they could put together a nice wardrobe from Target.

What's worse is apparently Sarah's hairdresser and makeup artist are the highest paid individuals in the McCain campaign.

[lynnertic]

28. "a nice wardrobe from Target"

By the way, big box stores are part of the problem.

Not that anyone's wondering whether Palin's new wardrobe is so costly because it's NOT the product of sweatshop labor...

[BearSquirrel2]

32. JC Penney ...

She could have done just as well at JC Penney. And BTW, the clothes are all made in southeast asia anyway. So what's the point?

[lynnertic]

34. I'll admit that my response wasn't to your point, but was nitpicking a tiny detail.

Clothes in big box stores are cheap because they're made with sweatshop labor. So (my point:) promoting Target and JCPenny as a solution is absurd, because it's only perpetuating the problem that created Sarah Palin to begin with.

People should care to buy quality clothing that will last, and that is not the product of slave labor.

I say that because I'm not in a position where I can be a little um, creative about my wardrobe. I don't have to dress in a particular fashion for work. So really I'm full of it. Thanks and Sorry.

[JimDandy]

17. So all the clothes for Sarah and her family were bought

without measuring any of them!! Then the RNC must have spent money to have a personal shopper buy all those clothes for them. Where is the campaign expense declared for paying the personal shopper to dress up Barbie, Ken and family? Sue the RNC for that too.

[Alcibiades]

18. But she needed clothes!

She had apparently been serving as governor of our nation's coldest state naked.

Let's be honest: if the DNC had spent $150,000 in contributors' money on clothes for Joe Biden and his family, and done so at Nieman Marcus and Sak's, the right wing would shit a brick. They would never say so publicly, but in their hearts of hearts they should be honest with themselves about where the real double standard is here.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

22. She didn't need clothes, she needed to look like a million dollars...

Since they only paid $150,000, they got a great bargain!

[ExPatLeftist]

19. "That any aspect of her shoes, clothes or appearance...

...has become a distraction is a terrible commentary on the state of the media and politics."

Strange, a totally different tune when it was about the price of certain individuals' haircuts....

[central scrutinizer]

23. Oh, so now we are back to talking about the issues?

But I thought you didn't want to talk about the issues. Make up your fucking mind!!

[yellowcanine]

24. Nice try dickheads. Sorry but you don't get to say what is a story and what isn't.

And it is kind of hypocritical to blather about "getting on with our great debate" when your campaign was quite open about the fact that McCain can't win if the campaign is about the economy and so therefore you have focused your energies on attacking Obama's supposed associations.

[Lorien]

27. Coming from a campaign with nothing BUT distractions to run on

that's rich.

[Kber]

31. Sure - Cause when the Obama campaign spent $150,000 on Biden's make-over

the media didn't even report on it.

Oh wait.