Saks-pack Sarah

No matter how much politicians try to persuade Americans otherwise, there’s no denying that U.S. politics is all about image.

Americans last week went gaga about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s $150,000 wardrobe dysfunction. The barely-a-story hogged the headlines all week and almost faded into the ocean of other non-stories about the presidential candidates when the candidate herself resurrected the story yesterday at a rally in Florida.

Of course Palin and the McCain camp say it was the media that scared up the story about McCain’s campaign paying 150 extra large to outfit the “frugal” Sarah Palin. That’s a lie. A good part of the money, as in tens of thousands, went to pay a makeup artist to get her on stage every day.

The story grew legs faster than Joe the Plumber could keep the headlines unclogged, not because the media was intent on peddling it, but because Americans craved it.

About the same time, the Associated Press unrolled an extensive investigation detailing how Palin wasted Alaska taxpayer dollars dragging her uninvited children on expensive state trips.

No outrage there from the persnickety public.

Instead, Americans died to hear about the expensive clothing labels the campaign purchased for Palin to promenade in all across the country.

First the campaign, and now Palin, have tried to persuade Americans that Palin’s the victim here. We’re all to believe that a well-meaning wardrobe agent couldn’t find anyplace but Saks open after Palin was surprised onto the political scene in August. What’s shopper to do?

So just when the story was about to die, Palin, appearing in Sunday Florida, breathed life into the wasteful tale again by telling the crowd that the media invented the whole thing, and that the clothes don’t even belong to her. She said she would never buy such things and that half of her fancy new togs are still in the belly of the jet that flies her all over the country to wear those clothes.

It begs the question that if this woman can’t tell the RNC wardrobe department, “no,” lobbyists from the insurance, pharmaceutical and oil industries are going to have a field day with Palin.
It seems that the only difference between this hockey mom and a pit bull is that a pit bull will let go of 150,000-volt live wire after biting into it. Palin wants to hang on.