i had to check out this story about the $150K of campaign money spent on styling sarah palin. is this sexism "rearing its head", as ms. palin might put it? after all, we haven't really heard anything about money spent on styling the men in this race... we don't even really hear about what they are wearing.
well, after reading up a little on this, i'm concluding that the story is not sexist. first of all, it was campaign money, not personal expenditures, and the money was apparently used to style the entire (extended) palin family. there are laws prohibiting expenditure of campaign funds for personal use, so there are potentially questions about legality and ethics here. second, when men have spent campaign money on personal styling, they've gotten just as much media attention (for example, al gore's image and color consultation from naomi wolf and john edward's $400 haircuts). and finally, i will repeat myself and say that sarah palin can't be mrs. middle class hockey mom and approve of this kind of spending on clothing and accessories. maybe if it was just for herself (after all, if one needs to look professional and polished and comfortable for 18 hours a day, it makes sense to spend more for good quality stuff), but baby stuff too?
UPDATE: this was not technically campaign money. according to this nytimes.com piece, because the money came from the republican national committee and not the mccain campaign, there is nothing illegal or unethical about the expenditures.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I love how the $ went towards outfitting her family too- seriously was that a necessity, and do they HAVE TO go EVERYWHERE she goes (and show up in designer clothing)? Here's an interesting perspective from the Huffington Post also- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/23/palins-clothes-cost-rnc-m_n_137283.html
Her clothes actually cost more than what the McCain campaign was putting towards advertising!
why can't our politicians be like evo morales and wear the same sweater everyday?
this may not be the appropriate spot, but i also want to say that bryn is absolutely adorable and i can't believe she is almost 1.
it is really lame that we only see each other once a year.
ah sarah palin, we hardly knew ye. at least i hope she's not going to remain on the national political stage.
and, heather, you really need a blog or at least a photo sharing site!
Post a Comment