A Big Wrinkle in Palin’s $150,000 Clothing Allowance

Can we assume, Jake, that you are similarly looking into what the Obamas have spent on their clothing during their 20 months on the campaign trail?
That is a whole lot of fancy clothes!

If the RNC owns the clothes, and merely allowed Palin to wear them to one event, I don’t see how she would be on the hook for taxes. But I’m certainly no tax expert.

I’m sure she does know. She isn’t nearly as stupid as the media tries to portray her. (Wonder if this comment will be “allowed”…lol)

Michelle,
There is a fundamental difference. Barack and Michelle did not use money donated for their campaign to buy clothes for themselves. And Michelle Obama’s dresses fall far short of Cindy’s $350 000 whopper outfit.
Doesn’t Palin have plenty of these clothes at home already?

Gosh and Geez! $50,000 at Saks and $75,000 at Needless-Markup. Combine this with the Governor’s livin’ at home per diems and Alaska’s taxpayers havin’ to reimburse her for draggin’ her kids to five star hotels in Philadelphia and New York. Aint this a heckuva thing?
Sounds pretty elitist to me…definitely doesn’t reflect small town values like thrift and personal responsibility. The Governor and First Dude sure like livn’ off of other peoples’ dimes!
Darn it all. In Brooklyn (AKA Unreal America), we call people like this leeches. You betcha!

Yeah she sure does relate to Joe Six packs,And Joe the Plumbers! Anyone on board here ever go on that kind of shopping spree? One could only dream!

Alan,
If they hang in her closets they are hers. If she has to “check them out” from the party closets and return them like a rented tux, then she is off the hook!

Sarah Palin spent $150,000 of TAXPAYER MONEY on her frivolous wardrobe, Louis Vuitton handbags for her children, etc. This is like John McCain spending $5,000 of TAXPAYER MONEY on makeup to prettify himself, though I suppose the $300,000 outfit Cindy wore to the RNC was paid for by the McCain’s own vast personal fortune. This is no different than those AIG executives going on their lavish taxpayer-funded resort holiday. The McCain campaign hides behind people like “Joe the Plumber” (not his real name or occupation) while they lavish OUR money on luxury items for themselves. How on earth can McCain criticize Obama for NOT accepting taxpayer funding for his campaign? Let’s get rid of these Republican deadbeats…ALL OF THEM… on November 4.

I feel positive she did not…..don’t ask me why I doubt her ability to understand simple facts…..but you can bet that she is now talking to old Johnny about how to make the crooked talk express paying up.

I wonder when Sara will learn the United States Constitution LOL HA,She takes a Job Offer she know nothing about! oh by the way I am Pro-America real American voting For Barack Obama!

I’m sure she does know. She isn’t nearly as stupid as the media tries to portray her
========================================
I disagree. She is an intellectual lightweight with intellectual curiousity. Same as George W. Bush. If looks stupid in the media it is because she acts stupid.

i disagree. She is an intellectual lightweight with intellectual curiousity. Same as George W. Bush. If looks stupid in the media it is because she acts stupid.
==========================================
It doesnt take brains to be a greedy self serving Jerk….

I think all the candidates have expensive clothes that they either purchased or were purchased for them. If they were purchased by their party, then I take issue with that because when I contribute money to a party, I expect it will be used for the party, not clothes. That being said, the reason this is news is that Palin has gone around saying that she’s one of us, that she’s a hockey mom, that she understands what we go through becuase she’s just like us. The other 3 candidates have not said that.

I thought hairplugs told everybody the election is about the economy, not personal attacks.

ohhh, she’ll just wear em around the house in Wasilla, then charge it back to the state of Alaska like all her other home expenses!

I encourage everyone to check out Jake Tapper’s taxes, his shopping habits and his political affiliation. This is not unbiased reporting Jake. You are not fooling anyone. In fact I think Obama gives you a tingle down your leg just like Chris Matthews admitted to.

Jake , the real story here and now is the lack of the MSM reporting on the theft of the election by a sect of angry nuts; ACORN!! Alabama is now weighing in on voter fraud in its’ counties. ACORNS root prints are over it. I thought it was your job to R-E-P-O-R-T the news. Jake, voter fraud is NEWS!! ACORN being a partisan group when it takes tax payer money is NEWS. Try earning the money you are suppose to be earning. Grow a set and blaze a trail for others to follow. Lead by example….don’t be like the sheep of the MSM and boldly go where they fear! Someones clothes and whether they paid taxes is stupid!! Those that argue about it are brainless sheep. BAAAA!

If she has to pay taxes on it, it’s not public money!

ok…. kind of a non issue for me as an obama supporter
its not like she bought the clothes
or perhaps she didnt even know how much they cost or where they were even from…
i think the only point one could argue is that she is a candidate that is being tailored to fit a perception and isnt authentic
but that argument seems in and of itself stupid because what candidate isnt being tailored to fit a persona or a role…
i dont know… i mean.. maybe the number is shocking, but i just dont care
i hate that im defending palin on this one because i think she is a terrible candidate, but… yea… lets move on to some substance

And the endless Republican-backed lies continue to be exposed for what they are, one by one. The GOP used to stand for honor and decency – no more…And, by the way, the Obamas actually pay for their own clothes!
“Only Difference Is They Got Caught
New York Post forced to retract phony story about Michelle Obama dining on lobster and caviar in her room at the Waldorf-Astoria.
Her not even staying at the Waldorf was the first of several problems with the story.”

Palin made her grand debut at the Republican National Convention railing against unnecessary spending in government, boasting that she got rid of the private plane and private chef for the Alaska Governorship.
So if she then goes out wearing 150K in CLOTHES paid for by her own party, that certainly raises questions about her fiscal discipline, as well as her dedication to rufflin feathers and bein a reformer.

ACORN is a really lame tactic, they have to by law turn in every fraudulent registration
they flag them but they cant not turn those registrations in…
and if someone is registered sixteen times, that in NO WAY means they will be able to vote sixteen times
i have yet to hear a substantiated case of actual VOTER FRAUD by acorn.
I have yet to see anyone who has been able to vote twice because of acorn
this is a really really terrible tactic to purge voter roles by the republicans that happens every year…
registration fraud is not voter fraud
and it does appear that there are actual cases of VOTER FRAUD being done by republican operatives

Remember, Palin worked from home over 300 days as Governor (more than 50% of the time she was governor) and billed Alaskans a per diem expense. (This is illegal under the IRS, but they never forced her to pay her bills).
She charged Alaskans for her families traveling expenses, but never reported this to the IRS. (Again, illegal, but the IRS never did anything).

Is Caribou Barbie aka Sarah Palin smarter than a third grader? The answer is no. She doesn’t even know what a VP does in the White House.

Sarah Palin is Caribou Barbie. Hey McCain ain’t that pork?

So this is the best Jake Tapper can do? There is a lot greater issues out there rather than dissecting everything the republicans do. I am an independent, so I see both sides and I certainly don’t see anyone commenting on the finances of ANY democrats – Obamas, Bidens, and especially the Clintons (who are infamous for their spending habits!). So if this is only going to be one-sided and your not going to show us what the democrats have spent to do a comparison – this is an absolutely pointless story. As a senior correspondent, I would hope to see better news writings from you in the future.

grey matter,
oh i absolutely agree with that… for the republicans to call obama an elitist is THE STUPIDEST THING I HAVE EVER HEARD….
it was stupid when the clintons did it, its stupid when the republicans and mccains do it
i mean…. first off they all have far more money in their personal accounts than the obamas
and to demonize the word elitist to mean something bad is stupid
why would you want a non elite president?
we want the most elite sports people playing sports, we want the most elite military
i mean we thrive on elite, but for some reason we want some moronic unelite cant graduate high school to run teh country?
i mean what?
i want someone smarter than me running this country, i dont want sarah palin i can hardly answer a question running this country, or john mccain i have oen kind of ideology and no idea what to do about hte economic crisis running this country.
i dont want a plumber running this country, i want a highly intelligent leader someone who has a grasp of many areas of expertise and will be able to make intelligent decisions about any crisis that pops up
this is why im voting for barack obama

BREAKING NEWS!!!!!!
Wait a MINUTE!!!! Saks in St. Louis and New York, Neimann Marcus (spelling might be wrong, I can’t afford to shop there) -
Those are cities, right? Sarah Palin doesn’t shop in the real America!!!! Right? Cities aren’t in the real America, right? Don’t liberals shop there? She might have bought those clothes from a freakin’ liberal, everyone knows they’re anti-American. And one of ‘em, since they’re not in the real America, may be an Obama supporter. That’s about the equivalent of being a TERRORIST!!!!
So, are you telling me that Sarah Palin bought $150,00 worth of clothes in foreign countries, from anti American liberal terrorists?
I think she can get out of this with the Ted Stevens defense, right?
“I have closets full of clothes that aren’t mine” – that’d work, right?
last question, is she going to wear her Anti-American Foreign Liberal Terrorist outfit to the deposition today?

Simply disgusting. She is indeed a great imposter. When millions of Americans are suffering through the financial crisis, a wannabe VP candidate splurges on her clothes.And you expect her to emphatise with the pain felt by the rest. She is simply hoodwinking the voters!Please wake up.

maria: “Maybe you should check out who payed for Barack Obamas house in Chicago. Rezko!”
Obama’s house in Chicago was paid by Obama using the proceeds from his book royalties, which skyrocketed after his speech 4 years ago. He paid off his student loans from the same proceeds. He PURCHASED a 10′ strip of land from Rezko at market price to enlarge his back yard. It looks a bit dodgy that Rezko (his wife actually) bought the adjacent lot with pinpoint perfect timing to sell Obama a coveted slice of it.
This is all public record. Maria: Are you ignorant of these facts, highly-publicized almost a year ago during the primaries – or deliberately lying?

Hey, Jake. Next time you pass the esteemed Mr. Gibson in the corridor over there at headquarters, ask him how he feels about the Bush Doctrine, in light of the his flagging viewership. I’ve got a feeling (that goes right up my leg) that there’s going to be a realignment in more places than government after the election.

Governor Sarah Palin is a fine woman. That seems to bother people who can’t find anything else to disparage her for. I suspect the Hollywood crowd would like her much better if she didn’t have a husband and a good family. Their therapists can’t make money off normal people.
How much are the Democrats paying to dress Michelle?

len:
Answer: ZERO.
Because Michelle is paying with her own money. A check of the Dem’s expenditure turned up no such items.

The RNC can do whatever they want to with the money that was donated to them,if they felt that they needed to buy things for the VP nominee it’s up to them. If you have a problem with that, you should have a problem with Obama giving ACORN 800,000 of the money that was donated to him, this is ridiculous. And on MSNBC this morning they had the nerve to say that if she is supposed to represent Hockey Moms, why is she not shopping at Wal-Mart, so what are they saying Hockey Moms can only shop at Walmart? I am a Soccer Mom, but I am also a professional, on the weekends I’ll wear my walmart sweats but during the week. I wear my professional gear which I spend good money for, because it’s my money that I earned and I can do what I want with it. You people are unbelievable talking about it’s the taxpayers money, it’s money donated to the RNC. You people are so ignorant, you should be as equally outraged that Obama wants to spread the wealth and take money from those who go out and bust their butts to succeed to support everyone else, why is that not a problem for you? The Media is disgusting, that’s why they are reporting that the major networks have lost most of their viewers, it will get worst after these elections.

to Maggie Crawford -you are greatly out of touch like the McPalins. Michelle Obama was not registered at the Waldorf … you should check your facts before you open your mouth! Also, Obama buys his families clothing… not the Democratic Party. Close your mouth …. your racist side is showing.

Poor Sarah Palin, on November 5th she is going to be like Cinderella after midnight.

Kim,
As I have said, yeah, the RNC can do what it likes with their money, but they should shut up about Obama being elitist. Michelle doesn’t wear 350 000 dollar outfits either.

The fact that the RNC bought her clothes isn’t the most telling part of the story—it’s where they shopped. Target or Wal-Mart would show that they are in touch with the common people. But Neiman Marcus and Saks? Spare us the :”Joe-the Plumber” routine. McCain-Palin are so far out of touch with the “Real America” its absurd.

Michelle:
Actually, if you’ve been paying attention, Obama’s wardrobe was covered in April (during the McCain’s $500 shoes newscycle, to add balance of course). Google “five suit” if you really are dying to run through this irrelevant nonsense again (five suits, four pairs of shoes, blah blah blah).
How does Palin’s or anyone’s clothes impact the facts of this race? I think Palin would be a disaster as a governmental leader based on her – gasp – her actual record, actions and unimpressive achievements as a governmental leader. Carping about her clothes budget only helps hide the real issues that matter.

Character is what you do when you think no one is watching!

GOP should know this info would come out during a recession when their candidates are trying to convince us they care about ordinary people. Sarah would look fine in clothes from basic stores – the only reason they do this is to make HER feel better – like a bribe to BS the public. Palin supposedly has several (I read 7) pair of designer glasses (even before being chosen VP). This woman is vain and these facts will hurt the party more, but is good because it brings more truth to light. No wonder the GOP made such a big deal about the “lipstick on a pig” statement – she’s a fashion pig so it’s true. BOO! go back to Alaska. And other articles said she charged Alaska to send her kids with her on business trips – she/the GOP has no fiscal sense at all. No wonder the national debt has gone through the roof – and they seem to think they can pay the debt by printing more money. It’s past time to give these cornballs the boot.

To make Cheney look like a real woman in drag is expensive.
It will easily cost a campaign a 150,000 bucks.

The issue is important because it puts the lie to the whole “Republicans are for Joe Plumber” thing. Republicans are the party Of the Rich, By the Rich and For the Rich. Image is more important than substance (exhibit A: Sarah Palin).
The Republicans had to dress her up because, though the way she spoke appealed to the “common folk,” the way she dressed (I’ve seen the “before” photos) would have turned off the people with the real money.
Are any of you people actually LISTENING to McCain? He wants to give his tax breaks to the people at the top – businesses and the rich – so that it might “trickle down” to you. Same old stuff you’ve been falling for for years. Sheesh, wake up!

nookly
mccain was the key note speaker for acorn in 2006
he said of acorn in his speech that they are what makes america america
and acorn is not doing anything wrong here…
i would like to ask you how much did mccain spend on his associations with all the republican voter fraud going on?
or do you not want to address that because it destroys your argument?

The New York Post has retracted their story about the caviar lunch. Seems their “source” got it wrong. They are owned by Rupert Murdoch who owns Fox Noise. Remember Fox? The news channel you all say is so unbiased and tells the truth about Obama when the MSM won’t?
Here’s the retraction, read it for yourself:

So, are these Palin’s REAL AMERICA clothes???
HA HAH HAH AHA HAHA HAHA HA HA HA HAHHA HHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

And yet, the Empress still has no clothes.
No clothes never have been THIS expensive though.

This is so Old: “Here’s the retraction, read it for yourself:”
Kim, notice how Republicans are getting a reputation as bald faced liars just based on their nasty habit of lying, as you were just called out for? How unfair is that – it always used to work for them.

This woman is a JOKE and so FAKE!!! Real America doesn’t shop at Neimans or Saks. Heck, average America doesn’t shop there either. Give me a break, if this was the Obamas, this would be big news and all the republicans would start attacking him for being an Elitist!! Just one more title to throw at him to attack his character. She deserve the criticism she is receiving for all the negative, mud slinging she throws around!!

Add the taxes on $150,000 of elitist clothes to the $21,200 that she owes to Alaska for faking her expense reports to cover luxury resorts for her children as just disclosed by the AP today.
HA HAHA HAHHHAHAH AHAH AHA HAAAAAAA!

Sorry jhw539 , I meant the republican who posted the ACORN BS, not you!

I bet the needed the clothes for the coming Troopergate hearings.
It can be helpful to seduce the investigators.

This is so old-who paid for them to stay at the Waldorf, there are plenty of great reasonably priced hotels in New York? Who paid for them to stay there? Inoticed that you answered one question but not the other. If Sarah should shop at Walmart because she is for the little people, then Obama and Michelle should stay at the Holiday Inn since he is so concerned about the middle class. This is a slippery slope you people want to take it can go on and on.

Midnight Nov 4, EST, all that fancy stuff will turn into rotten pumpkins anyway.

I read somewhere that Cindy McCain called Sarah Palin–Trailor Trash Redneck–maybe that is why the Republican Campaign had to outfit her for $150,000–to try keeping up with Cindy’s $300,000 outfits!!! Reading an article in Good Housekeeping on Cindy McCain–worrying about putting gas in her car–feeding her family–making sure she keeps a roof over their heads-saying these things are very difficult for her!!!! Give me a break! Cindy alone lists – what- making 4-6 million dollars last year??? Difficult to make ends meet??? Read the two articles on Cindy McCain and Michelle Obama, people and see the difference!! I am a white 67 year old woman who recently retired from the Banking industry and have voted early for Obama/Biden–who are thinking of our needs–how can anyone in their right minds even consider voting for John McCain, who is too old and has lied repeadly and Sarah Palin, what can I say? she is so out of her league that it isn’t even funny, anymore!! Alaska needs to look into this Governor and checkout what has been going on in her administration! Obama/Biden–the only way to vote!!

DNC spent $ 10 Million on styrofoam support columns for his innaugural speech. You can’t even donate them to charity; what a waste. So $150,000 for clothes purchased by the RNC’s donated funding is another gimme-a-break Political liberal media stunt.

People need to wake up. Obama is not talking about taking Joe the Plumbers money and giving it to people without jobs. That is ridiculous and untrue. He is talking about Mega rich people who are raking in obscene profits while paying their workers minimum wage. If they complain too loud about the low wages, they look for workers in India or China to do the work so they can make even higher profit.
Think about the Walmart hiers making billions a year while their workers can’t pay rent. Think about mortgage and finance CEO’s with paychecks of 487 million over three years while they rape homeowners. Think about Oil execs making 500 billion a year in profit while they bleed America dry.
Wake up people. These mega rich 1-5% don’t let ANYTHING trickle down. They rape the American worker for everything they can and they DON’T PAY TAXES! They write off losses, find every loophole and then have folks like McCain subsidize them. AND YES … paying taxes is patriotic!! It is how we fund America. The problem is that the middle class carries the burden while the mega-rich carry off the rewards.

Kim: it will be interesting to see how Palin is received back in Alaska after the Repubs lose this election. There have been this “Miss Prissy Moose Hunter” clothing story, the AP story about Alaska paying to send her kids on the road with her, Troopergate (still guilty of ethics violations, yet she deludes she was cleared), and fellow Repub Ted “Sucking off the Nations Teat” Stevens is on the ropes (the jury is out). Alaska is not a “real fiscal state” anyway – they have more government subsidy than anywhere else, but that has been helped with oil revenues (which will be dropping now that oil price gouging is coming back down after taking it’s toll). There are few stories about opinions of her in Alaska, but as some have said, I don’t think she’ll be as well received – she was better off when they thought she had them thinking she was a typical hockey mom.

HP BOSTON SAYS WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO TO STOP THE MADNESS?
ANSWER- We are gonna make Barack Obama President!

Some reformer. Being a candidate brings a $150,000 shopping spree while most Americans are struggling before the winter heating season even begins?
While I can see how a young mother should be able to bring her family on trips she made as Gov, I don’t see how anyone could sign of on a 5 day hotel bill for a 5 hour meeting in NYC.
Last, on the clothing report, I can see how clothes could eventually (in theory) be donated to charity, but how would one ever return the 5,000 in hair/makeup?

i also find palin and mccain to be bigger creeps than the obamas or bidens

she’s off on an official visit to Sen Stevens for a date in court. Love the Republican trickle down economy thinking. We waste 150,000 dollars on threads and hair and then trash them into a recycling bin for the underprivileged…. duh– anybody get the economics of that? At least McCain gets dressed by his wife, but Palin really has no sense of shameless spending or sphoning of funding. She’s really building a fast pipeline to Alaska. So much for executive oversight and responsibility– so long as somebody else pays, she can overlook the expenses.

Bhrandon
You may want to get your facts straight before you post. Palin did NOT cut special needs funding, or Special Olympics funding, that too was a lie by the liberal press. In fact, she raised funding.
Perhaps if those voting for Obama would read more than their favorite liberal blogs they would know the truth.
The TRUTH is not Obama.

I know I refuse to work in anything that costs less than 10,000$.
Sarah is just like me!

Brenda: Amen!!!!

Mary,
Not just the tax implication, what about the legality of using campaign funds for clothing??
See 2 USC 439b(2)(B)
(a) Permitted uses
A contribution accepted by a candidate, and any other donation received by an individual as support for activities of the individual as a holder of Federal office, may be used by the candidate or individual–
(1) for otherwise authorized expenditures in connection with the campaign for Federal office of the candidate or individual;
(2) for ordinary and necessary expenses incurred in connection with duties of the individual as a holder of Federal office;
(3) for contributions to an organization described in section 170 (c) of title26;
(4) for transfers, without limitation, to a national, State, or local committee of a political party;
(5) for donations to State and local candidates subject to the provisions of State law; or
(6) for any other lawful purpose unless prohibited by subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Prohibited use
(1) In general
A contribution or donation described in subsection (a) of this section shall not be converted by any person to personal use.
(2) Conversion
For the purposes of paragraph (1), a contribution or donation shall be considered to be converted to personal use if the contribution or amount is used to fulfill any commitment, obligation, or expense of a person that would exist irrespective of the candidate’s election campaign or individual’s duties as a holder of Federal office, including–
(A) a home mortgage, rent, or utility payment;
(B) a clothing purchase;
(C) a noncampaign-related automobile expense;
(D) a country club membership;
(E) a vacation or other noncampaign-related trip;
(F) a household food item;
(G) a tuition payment;
(H) admission to a sporting event, concert, theater, or other form of entertainment not associated with an election campaign; and
(I) dues, fees, and other payments to a health club or recreational facility.

to Michelle on what the Obamas spent on clothes: It’s not what they spend but who they ask to pay for it. I guarantee you the Obamas spent their own money on their own clothes and didn’t tap their campaign coffers. (Because it is unethical, but it also means they can write the cost of the wardrobe off instead of pay taxes on it) The RNC is using your donations to buy clothes for Caribou Barbie. Wake up and come to the light side.

“I’m also curious…are these blogs part of ABC’s attempt to “raise the public discourse” about politics? If so…does anyone think they are succeeding?”
They serve as a testing ground for talking points. All sides are using them and the media can watch these to determine when a story is gaining traction. They are much cheaper than focus groups if not as scientific.
Are they succeeding? I think they have become part of the rage machine. The MSM has a lot to answer for when the election is over. Has anyone noticed that O’Reilly’s numbers are going through the roof as the viewership for the network news is declining?
To get anything resembling the truth, I have to watch all of the networks, the cable news, and sort accordingly. Even there, the different programs particularly on cable have been all over the map with the emphasis of their stories.
One part of the degeneration of the media news is the problem of having news as a profit center and another is the voracious 24X7X365 news cycle that trivializes even major stories. The last and most telling is the fact that the talking heads have become celebrities in their own right and like civil servants, outlast administrations. They have adopted advocacy journalism, a degenerate practice, in the belief they have the right to influence the election based on their superior access.
Is it succeeding? It depends on whose success you are measuring.

I have contributed to this campaign and I don’t mind at all that Sarah Palin buy clothes with it. Spend Baby Spend! However I do take issue that my tax dollars are being given to Obama’s ACORN.

Jake, could you look into Palin’s stand on the importance of education?
How has Palin brought up her own kids?
Her eldest son is a high-school drop-out. Her eldest daughter has had, so far as one can tell from press reports, very uneven attendance in high school, and no plans for college.
Her other daughters seem to spend a lot of time traveling the country with their mom at tax-payers’ expense. I’ve seen them at several rallies with the Palins this fall. Are they not in school? And why not?
It amazes me that so little attention has been paid to this subject.

hmmm, I wonder if the taxpayers money pay for Bidens trips back and forth on Amtrak everyday. If we are going to go down this slippery slope, let’s do it. I pay for may own commute back and fort each day, so I would like to know if my money is paying for him to go back and fort from DC Everyday, this could get ugly if this is the direction that you want to go in Jake and the rest of the MSM. It could get really ugly, let’s start following all of the money trais don’t we!!

“Is anyone going to comment on how Obama’s campaign is charging reporters for access to his coronation in Grant Park?”
It is shameful but predictable. Pelosi’s Amazing Money Machine has proven that the DNC can buy elections. Since they need a supermajority to keep Obama from being a first term lame duck, they are using any and every means to fill their bank accounts for the midterms.
Obama’s campaign is the single largest grab for domination of power in America in history. Our republic is on very dangerous ground with his campaign regardless of the merits or demerits of the candidate. Precedents are being set that should not be.
I thought Bush was bad. Bush was just dumb. Obama’s campaign is smart and very scary.

Okay about $5,000 from the NRC was spent on Palin’s hair & makeup..Does that go back to the NRC too with the clothes?? And the NRC claims that this $150,000 in clothes belong to them & not Palin & her family. (Clever tax evasion scam on the part of the Republican party.)
And Sarah…who in your “REAL America” earns $150,000 a year, let alone spends that in 1-2 months in clothing?? You really are out of touch with the Real American middle class!!

Repeat after me:
It’s ILLRGAL to buy personal clothing with campaign funds.
It’s ILLRGAL to buy personal clothing with campaign funds.
It’s ILLRGAL to buy personal clothing with campaign funds.
It’s ILLRGAL …..

Its amazing that she claims to be a reformer. We now know she billed Alaska taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for nights she stayed in her house, tens of thousands of dollars for her kids travel expenses, and Republican contributors $150,000 for clothes for herself and her family. I’d be seriously bitter if the candidate I had given money to spent it on clothes for his family, I can’t believe people are still buying into the Palin story.

Check this from the new WSJ/NBC poll: Sarah Palin is viewed more unfavorably than favorably by voters!!!
Here fave/unfave: 38%-47%
That is a VERY tough place to be as a national candidate and is a reminder of just how much her public image has been bruised by her performance with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, and the subsequent spoofing by Tina Fey.

Barney Franks has an affair with the guy in Fannie Mae hs is supposed to be overseeing and the media does a pass on it.
Listen we know the voting machines have already been stuffed. The bogus registration will cover any tampering that has gone with voting machines – and that was not even required becuase of the spectacular pander to 95% of America – bought off for a onl $500 per vote.
Now we are in for Pelosi, Reid, Barney Franks, Chuck Schumer, light headed Joe Biden, and Barack (he is not my pastor or my friend) Obama.

I’d like to know how much Obama has spent on his, Michelle’s and their kids clothes and accessories. Why is buying clothes a big deal, but spending over $450,000 on food for your campaign isn’t?
Considering that Palin’s tax reocrds show she falls into the middle class tax bracket, she obviously could not afford the kind of clothes it takes when you are running for VP and attending the events that require formal wear.
Get a life people, there is no story here.
Let’s talk about the real issues, like how Obama wants to take this country into the Marxist/Socialist direction and how Pelosi’s puppet has terrorist and criminal friends and how he sat in a Black liberation theology racist anti-american church for 20 yrs and his past cocaine and alcohol abuse.
Or how about how the media is running the election this year and the stupid American people are falling for it.
I seriously hope that if Obama is called the winner, that someone will suddenly jump out and say “You’ve been punk’d!”

a fashion wardrobe for the real celebrity
‘SARAH THE SHOPPER’

johnson (aka Einstein) wonders if Obama, Biden, and their wives will be investigated with the same vigor.
If Einstein had taken the time to read the investigative report on Politico, he would have read the words “an investigation of the Obama/Biden campaign failed to turn up any kind of similar expenditures.”
Next.

Check this from the new WSJ/NBC poll: Sarah Palin is viewed more unfavorably than favorably by voters!!!
Here fave/unfave: 38%-47%
That is a VERY tough place to be as a national candidate and is a reminder of just how much her public image has been bruised by her performance with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric, and the subsequent spoofing by Tina Fey.
Posted by: johnson | Oct 22, 2008 11:54:31 AM
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Talking points from NBC-National Barack Channel, that is doing extremely poorly in ratings since it has been in the pocket for Obama and is skewing the facts to the American people. Obviously we have caught on, since NBC and Couric has the lowest ratings of any news program.
Funny how Palin is drawing large crowds everywhere she goes and her appearance on SNL drew the largest ratings in 15 yrs.
I do not believe the leftwing nutjob polls. Who was polled? Where were they polled? What was asked? When was the polling done? You can’t just throw numbers out and expect people to fall for it.

so…
Michelle Obama snacked on caviar, lobster and champagne @ 4pm at the Waldorf while hubby was at a meeting…
Posted by: aw | Oct 22, 2008 12:09:22 PM
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Don’t forget, it was IRANIAN caviar and the bill was $450.00! Unless she regurgated that food and ate it again I call that a waste of money.
Meanwhile, in a far off land called Kenya, Michelle’s in-laws are living on $1 month in 6 x 9 huts.
Absolutely shameful!

This story on fashion is to cover the fact that Joe Biden is counting on a disaster if Obama gets elected. There is no “if” about it. The election is done and Obama has won.
And we have Biden hoping for something juicy like maybe a thermal nuclear attack in a suitcase bomb. We are arguing about standard campaign expense of putting clothes on the candidate. I am more worried about New York turning to glass myself.
If we asked for the Obama family clothing expense we would be called racist. The women haters can say what they want about Palin because they know the media will back them up.

Jake- doesn’t ABC have a wardrobe department? It would be a similar deal. The people wearing the clothes don’t own them, even if they are purchased for them to wear for a specific event.

Can we assume, Jake, that you are similarly looking into what the Obamas have spent on their clothing during their 20 months on the campaign trail?
That is a whole lot of fancy clothes!
Posted by: Michelle | Oct 22
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Politico who reported this story said they were unable to find similar expenses while looking through the Obama campaign expenses.
Doesn’t mean they didn’t purchase any new clothes, but that they weren’t using campaign funds to do it.

$150,000 to try to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear? That’s more than our house cost!
Palin should pay for her own clothes. Maybe she’s too busy charging the State of Alaska for dragging her brats all over to conduct “state business.” Will somebody please tell me what “state business” can be conducted by a 7-year-old?
Next she’ll be charging the taxpayers for Trig pooping in his diapers. I suppose that’s some kind of “business.”
What a tool this woman is…and so is anybody who makes excuses for her.

I work for a county Democratic party and I’ve had a steady stream of Republicans come into our office to get voter registration forms to switch parties. This hasn’t slowed down since the deadline for registrations came and went, these folks don’t want to be associated with the RCP anymore, regardless. Their reasons range from the money they’ve lost in the last few months to the pick and promotion of the clearly unqualified Palin, to the aimless wave of mud that has become the Republican campaign. This story just reinforces the sense that the Republican Party is clueless.

That’s a good point.
Are the Palin children homeschooled?
Because they seem to be everywhere Palin goes.

How much money did Obama waste on the negative ADs?
No matter how michelle Obama makes up, she is still not as pretty as Palin.
So, she is jealous.

I love when Palin supporters try to protect her from attacks – she goes in a blink from a pitbull to a victim of sexism
all this woman does is lob attacks – remember her speech at the convention? out of nowhere she popped up and lobbed attack after attack
you all complain about how Obama declares every attack against him as racist – but then you ahead and declare every attack against palin as sexist

“Biden pays the daily train trips to DE with is own money, and owns 1 house. … McCain owns 7 houses and 11 cars”
Biden supports every federal budget expenditure for AMTRAK ($1.2 billion annual for a group that can’t run a profitable monopoly), AND gets reimbursed for much of his daily travel.
McCain’s 11 cars also cover 5 kids of driving age, and staff in Arizona. More than “regular Joe” but does that really disqualify him from being president?
As for 7 houses — check out which ones are investment/rental properties, which ones are for his kids, and which ones he lives in.

How, exactly, is a legitimate question about how Gov. Palin’s school-age children are able to spend so much time with her on the campaign trail an “attack”? Or are they on “official business” for the McCain campaign?
This woman is going to go down as one of the biggest frauds in U.S. political history.

today – I think your point would be taken more seriously if you could spell “Ahmadinejad” correctly.

Now we are back on McCain’s 7 houses – investments and family dwellings. Being rich is not a crime – or it was not. Why are we thrilled to asscoiate with terrorists than we hate people whose families work hard and succeeded? Calling that socialist would be an understatement.

Don’t forget the “gotcha” questions the media throws at the poor woman, like “Can you tell us some Supreme Court decisions you disagree with?” and “What newspapers and magazines do you read to keep up with current events?”
“Gotcha”?

today,
No one is begrudging rich people. Cindy and John were born into wealth. Well, if they can’t help it, fine.
But they have no business calling Obama elitist when he came from a modest family background.

Do you think Joe the Plumber shops at the same stores that Sarah got her clothes from? I mean, if “Joe the Plumber” is now the paradigm for “real American values” according to the good Governor, what does that say about her choice to shop at some, well, “elite” stores?

Golfgirlusa -
you do realize how your comment about michelle obama manifested how insecure and shallow you are?
So – looks are all that matters to you? So, because someone is better looking than me, I am necessarily jealous of them?
Considering that Michelle Obama is more educated, smarter, has raised her children better, has more professional success than Palin and actually will get to live in the white house…well, I would think that Palin would be the jealous one.
But hey, in your world, looks are all that matters

Grey Matter says “But they have no business calling Obama elitist when he came from a modest family background.”
Being an elitist does not require your family to have ever worked hard and succeeded. Being an elitist only requires one to think that they are some how better than others.
Unfortunately we have the tapes of Obama berating the people of Pennsylvania with of elitists in San Francisco.

I don’t understand Obama’s continuous push for money. Every single day I get an email to contribute. Yesterday it was donate $10 for a car magnet-limited time only-the deadline is looming! They want to put it ‘where it’s needed the most!’ So is he going to take all his extra cash and give it to the poor after the election? They’re going to need it because they are still going to be poor. How about putting his money where his mouth is and “Spread the wealth.” He could start with his old district in Chicago. It’s just as he left it. Poverty stricken, rat infested and unheated.
Oh, yeah…A million dollars was put into the campaign fund to try and defeat the woman who went on Hardball with Tingle-Leg Matthews and bashed Obama. Can you say “buying the election?” Can you say Priorities?

so in two years we will be seeing some other female rep. cand wearing those clothes,and then in four years we will see palin in them again.
so now that the RNC does not have a Cand. for president.
they are starting a “Thrift Store”
thanks to bush with support of mccain.
and
Hey, I’ll buy some of those hand-me-downs

Grey Matter – On November 4, I think a lot of the Obama-bashers and their “more American than thou” crowd are going to be shocked at the margin of victory for Sen. Obama. I, myself, am retired military, and I work on an Air Force base with defense contractors, U.S. government civilians, and (obviously) military personnel. I couldn’t begin to count the number of people who were originally McCain supporters (following the traditional military/Dept. of Defense mindset) who now say some version of “no way, no how am I voting for McCain.” And the primary reason? Sarah Palin.

Grey Matter says “Elitist? I would call it a poor choice of words.”
You are the one who first used the word elitist. Snobbery is part of the definition. Do you think of moose hunters as snobs?
Well, most of America, at least us non-elitists, think that Obama is an elitist and Palin is not.

cheer up,smile,nertz! says “Sarah Palin for SNL”!
I like it. We all know Obama has won. THere is no quibbling about that. He bought the election fair and square b=y giving 95% of the voter a $500 check to sell out.
Sarah Palin for SNL. She is going to be having fun in Alaska while the Obama is palling around with Pelosi, Reid, Barney Franks, Chuck Schumer, and light headed Joe Biden in sweaty DC.

Reminds me of a movie…
Pretty Woman.
Except picturing McCain as Richard Gere makes me feel kind of queasy.

You mean she spend $150K for the boring, dated, matronly crap she’s wearing? She should have sought my advice. At least she could have lost in style.

So these clothes were purchased for Palin but she will return them to the RNC and they won’t count as gifts? Perhaps some tax lawyers/accountants out there can shed some light on this.
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Isn’t Ted Stevens on trial for bribery and defending himself with a similar argument?

The RNC says the clothes will be donated to charity. This is very confusing to me, most people receiving charity are those in need, those that have lost their jobs mainly due to trickle down economics that McCain supports, those that have lost their homes due to McCain’s support of deregulation of financial institutions. Where in Hades are the people that receive such expensive item going to wear them, maybe they can be the best dressed people in the unemployment line, the best dressed people at the soup kitchen, it make no sense. I find it very impolite to laugh at people that do stupid things, but what the heck, I can’t help laughing at the people that donated to the RNC. HA!,HA,HA!,HA,HA,HA!!!

These posts are so full of wrong information its hard to know where to begin. Obama did not give $800,000 to ACORN – maybe that is on Rush Limbaugh, but it is false. The number is $80,000, which was given by another organization. I do know, however, that a man was just ARRESTED in California for having voters sign a petition and then changing their party to Republican without their knowledge. His group is called Young Political Majors, and he was hired directly by the CALIFORNIA GOP. I imagine he made far more than $80,000. Read the Calif newspapers. Michelle Obama did not call for caviar at the Walfdorf. She did not even stay at the Waldorf. Page 6 has very nicely retracted and corrected its story. I don’t know what Michelle Obama pays for clothes – but I do know she appeared on the View in a dress that looked great and cost a little over $100.
Most of my famiy is rich – and they worked hard to get there. They deserve it. But they are not hypocrites. They are not multimillionaires, who were raised in the most privledged circumstances possible, like John McCain. This is a guy who has never been worried about money a day in his life and pretends he understands the working man. He can’t call on his own experiences, so he finds props like Sarah Palin and a guy from Ohio. My guess is that he cannot even speak the language of his hired help. The McCain/Palin ticket is a vote for the rich. We have always redistributed money in this country. The problem is that under Bush/Cheney and McCain/Biden, the money is redistributed to the rich, instead of education and health care. We’re going to need more of that as this market crisis trickles down.
And if Obama is a socialist, why is Warren Buffett, the richest (and maybe most capitalistic) man in America suporting him? Buffett is an incredibly bright, generous and patriotic American – and he is not putting his money on John McCain.

Well, considering she didn’t “know” she had to report reimbursements for all those per dia she claimed for meals at her home as Governor, it wouldn’t surprise me that she doesn’t know this too.

Actually, there are alot of women’s organizations who COULD use the generous donation from Sarah Palin. I know because I run one. The Career Wardrobe is in Philadelphia and we help women throughout Southeastern PA transition to work by providing them with free professional clothing. Imagine how many women we could outfit and help to break the cycle of poverty with Governor Palin’s generous donation! I’d love to get a letter to her campaign asking them to do what they claim and donate to our charity. I don’t think the women we help care who donates, as long as they can go into a job interview feeling good about themselves and looking professional!

The Pitbull’s lipstick put on by a make-up artist is way too expensive!
$8,672.55 for ONE month!

Ooops… it was HIGH than that!
$13,200 – to put lipstick on the pitbull!
….The Sleuth has learned that Palin’s high-paid traveling make-up artist is Amy Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as head of makeup on “So You Think You Can Dance.” Strozzi was paid $13,200 by the McCain-Palin campaign last month alone, according to the campaign’s latest financial disclosure report filed this week.

hey joe ur $100 donation to RNC is used for Palin’s boot polish expenses..

All I can say is this is the gal who is telling other women she is the ‘Wal-Mart’ mom, and the hockey mom, and the ‘just like them’ mom. Funny, I was at the local Wal-Mart a few days ago and the women in the check out line in front of me were not talking about going over to Sacks afterwards and picking up a couple hundred bucks worth of new clothes. Although they all looked like they had done a nice job of brushing or combing their own hair and putting on their own make up. I suppose it shouldn’t be so much of a surprise that they just wanted to dress Sarah up for the part she is ‘playing.’ I would imagine that eventually the State Of Alaska will receive an expence report requesting reimbursment for at least some of this silliness anyway. Why not, one reporter already said that the same guys who built the 15 million dollar hockey center for her, also helped her hubby put up the new house. Gee, there sure is a lot of free stuff comes with her job huh? My big grumble is real regular folks paying to dress up her husband. Come on people, give us a break. (Is he on ‘Official secret V.P. business?) Course the instant Republican response is always to point at somebody else when a question is brought up. Mrs. Obama dresses within her means and within their budget. It is not important for her to be ‘beautiful’ for all the rest of us, only for her husband. As far as Palin paying taxes on the clothes…seriously, don’t you think she knows how to get out of that one already? Dah.

Opps. That should have been ‘wears’ not ‘weats.’ My error, I apologize. I think the point still stands.
You also asked why the news media cares anyway. Cause it ‘aint her dough. And she is attempting to play herself off as ‘one of us.’ And there ‘aint a whole lot of us can spend 150,000 clams in a two month period without breaking a sweat. In fact, that 150,000 buckoroos would have kept quite a few people in their homes for awhile, instead of living in the street or in a shelter or with relatives. And lastly, I seriously doubt that if the McCain/Palin (or is that the Palin/McCain campaign?) had of openly said, ‘Hey, we want to do a special fund raiser so we can dress Sarah up real nice for you photo bugs, and so she doesn’t have to look like you regular folks, a huge line would have formed with their checkbooks out.
:)

Well, if the plane trip to Hawaii costs around 150,000 bucks, WE all would care. Obviously you have nobody you love enough to buy a plane ticket to go see when they are sick. Take a look at the photo of Obama sitting at his desk with his feet up. Yea, those are holes in the bottom of his shoe soles. And they are NOT 500.00 dollar shoes either. Wake up folks…

Palin, as a running mate, absolutely needed a new wardrobe, no one is disputing that. What’s the fuss all about? She claims to be a hockey mom from Main Street, and (like all hard working Americans, yes you Joe The P) sits at the kitchen table with Todd wondering how they’re going to pay the bills. The fuss is about the $150k!! No big deal if she didn’t repeat over and over how she’s just like struggling, small town Americans! Only in the GOP: Having 7 houses = you’re a hard working American. Having intellect and education = elitist.

You betcha! They said about $5,000.00 worth. But his sled dogs got nothing.

This does bear an uncanny resemblance to the situation with Ted Steven’s fancy massage chair. It must be nice living in a fantasy world where you can make up your own tax and ethics rules.
The other candidates are wearing their own clothes on the trail. McCain has a fondness for fancy shoes, but there is no indication that he has had the campaign buy any for him. Michelle Obama has stated a fondness for The Gap and H&M. She can afford her own clothes since she shops like a normal person, not like a millionaire on holiday.

Once Sarah Palin wears the clothes that she accepted from the RNC (gifts), they are “used.”
What do you get when you donate your clothes to charity? Do you get to write off the full price?? No, they no longer have the same value (maybe $30/bag full).
If the Republicans were honest about it Sarah Palin would pay the tax for the $150,000 in gifts and then write off the depreciated value.
If these elitest Republicans paid their fair share of taxes and didn’t use all their loopholes to avoid paying them, we & the country would be better off.

Sarah Palin recently told Brian Williams should would release her medical records. What is the hold up? Voters want to know about your health before they vote – not after.