Maybe it is superficial and stupid, but our political landscape is filled with symbolic outrages that stemmed from a larger frustration.  Of course its not the most important issue out there- but it is one that voters can grab on to when they think about the W.S. bailout and their shrinking pensions. They may not even analyze it- but just react out of anger. It wasn’t a very smart move by the political operative who planned the shopping spree and then tried to market her as “one of us”.

And yes the coverage does seem a bit skewed- but the Dems have certainly been in THAT position in other election years. Remember how they obsessed over Gore’s sighing during his presidential debates and mocked him for wearing earth tones? And they certainly were ready to jump down Hillary’s throat at the slightest gaffe-even tho she  outperformed her primary opponents consistently at the debates. 

In 2000 they loved John McCain and dubbed him the “maverick”.
 
 
 

McCain in his earlier years criticized the $200 dollar Clinton haircuts, and did not want campaign funds spent on luxuries like tuxedos. Well, he must have flip-flopped big time on that one- right Christine?

Honestly, it’s beyond me how anyone could still be falling for the ‘change’ rhetoric when Obama appears to be the most far left AND most dishonest candidate in recent history. Well, I should say that I can understand the fact that a bunch of wide eyed kids are falling for it, but the adults who still think he’s the real deal just blow my mind.

I’d be happy to talk about campaign spending being exhorbitant on both sides, by the way- if we actually had information to compare side by side and criticize both parties wherever that criticism was due. Seems that the MSM is only interested in SOME spending though (I do remember, as I mentioned earlier, reading about Biden’s huge landscaping bill that was footed by his Senate campaign with the reason given that he was holding a fundraiser there- if I remember it was something like $30,000 worth of landscaping, so we’re not talking about paying the lawn company $100 to cut and edge and blow off the trimmings here). So how does that square with Joe’s regular guy, least wealthy member of the Senate image?

All I’m saying is you can harp on this all you want but it doesn’t really reflect on Sarah Palin’s own lifestyle. She obviously has led a comfortably upper middle class lifestyle in AK, but one which is pretty down to earth and focused on outdoor activities. If you think Joe Sixpack is going to object to the fact that the campaign has glamorized her image, I dunno, I think a lot of those guys are rather enjoying the show.

This is all pretty stupid, don’t you think? It’d be like saying the White House ought not to host lavish dinners because our economy is in bad shape. Maybe symbolically some Americans would like that, but in the scheme of things it’s extremely unimportant and certain traditions and protocols are pretty well accepted even though there are expenses involved in ‘keeping up appearances.’

And, I personally  would never vote for anyone who shoots wolves out of a helicopter or kills moose, even if that is her real personna. If it is let her dress out of LLBean instead of Neiman Marcus for those who like that kind of woman. If Obama was a hunter or a fisherman, it wouldn’t help him with me– I’m a vegetarian.

CS-  I thought You conservatives are the ones who hated McCain-Feingold.  Something about interfering with free speech. Now you support public financing all of a sudden? Obama is doing what it takes to win- maybe he learned how fromt the GOP. If his donations came in through bundlers- that’s nothing new is it?

Just like McCain rails against the lobbyists in Washington then hires them to run his campaign!

And I don’t know about you, but I buy my shoes at discount stores and would never spend that much on accessories. You can make any excuse for Palin that you want but to me  it comes down to wasteful spending. Its no shame to be thrifty and Michelle proved you can look great on a budget. Michelle may be the candidate’s wife but she is out there for Obama making speeches while he’s in Hawaii with his grandma. They are a team. She made a speech at the convention- just like Palin.

The average joe-six pack person is going to look at this and conclude that Palin is not of the same world as they are. The political operatives are selling a product- and the most important thing to remember when doing that is that most people want someone genuine, So, I and a lot of others think they made a mistake in taking her on a shopping spree when so many are struggling, and it goes against the personna they are trying to sell.

Just as she got good press for buying diapers in Walmart, she will get bad press now. In the end its not what you and I think that matters: its what people think who saw Michelle on the View and then read about Sarah and her $150,000 wardrobe. Because most people are not going to rationalize it the way you are.
You are doing quite a bit of spinning yourself, Christine.
If the shoe was on the other foot, do you think you would be talking about the exhorbitant costs of campaigning on both sides?
 

Even if you want to talk about Michelle Obama- how much does an entire outfit cost if you start with a $150 dress? Absolute minimum would be $500 when you add in shoes, accessories, and makeup/hair-so then the total Palin amount comes to 300 outfits (a lot, but then remember again that that amount was for her whole family- husband’s suits likely cost a lot more, and there are 5 kids, etc.) Again, I think the amount is a lot and I wouldn’t have chosen to do it that way (if it were up to me, people wouldn’t care about clothing and appearance so much- but since they do, I don’t fault the strategists for using campaign money as it is meant to be used, to present their candidates in the best way possible.)
And you continue to spin for your candidate, Kim, when you complain that campaign spending is exorbitant but you completely give Obama a pass for having upped the ante to the most expensive campaign in history- and you use the usual talking point about the ‘$20 donations (you know, the ones from jkl;iuasd and Mr. Good Will.) Anyone who doesn’t realize that a huge number of his small donations came through the efforts of bundlers or laundering schemes is being either deliberately naive or incredibly foolish.

If you’re capable with google – Google Palin, find images of her hunting, fishing, every day stuff.
Try to find the same with Obama

Where  did I say  its illegal?. It is perfectly legal. He accepted public financing then realized it would put him at a disadvantage-so he asked for help from the RNC, BTW, I attempted to post a NYT’s article where he announced that this was his intention- but it never showed up???

 Its easy enough to find if you Google McCain gets financial help from RNC.

And, Actually the DNC asked for money for its candidates from Obama– since he was doing better than they were. Harry Reid asked him, but Obama turned him down. I’ll try to post proof if you don’t believe it.  I’m not writing about this to attack or defend either candidate- as far as I know both have stayed within the campaign finance laws- tho Palin’s wardrobe may be a gray area. My only beef is that it goes against the image of Palin as this outdoorsy one-of-us soccer mom.

And my question is – show proof that McCain is accepting money from RNC
so – show it.
And further – since you couldn’t earlier – lets add more.
Now show where it’s illegal.  and if it’s not illegal show why it’s wrong.
Then carry it forward and see how much the DNC has done for the Obama campaign and what differs that from the RNC.