Message #66558

[raindance]

Mrs Palin's wardrobe costs are quoted in this country as £90,000 (Sterling).  That's a vast amount of money for clothes for a short campaign.  I expect this amount covers a whole lot more than just her suits and dresses and probably accessories and grooming as well.  However, it probably isn't a lot of money for clothes for someone in her position over, say, a longer period of time.  The cost of really good clothes - and I'm not talking couture or expensive designers, but well tailored items - is quite high.  

Unfortunately, women, whether they are candidates in an election or wives of candidates, are very much judged by their appearance.  Everyone would notice and remark on their clothes.   Every political wife or female politician, whether it was Mrs Kennedy, Mrs Reagan, Mrs Clinton, Mrs McCain or Mrs Obama, has been subject to the same scrutiny. Cruel, stupid and pointless but there it is.  

Perhaps Mrs Palin might have made political capital out of "I'm wearing my old clothes and not spending on luxuries in these straightened times", but she didn't.  It may seem arrogant, but the simple fact is that she went out and bought a new wardrobe to look good on the campaign trail.

The question voters in the States should be asking themselves is not whether Mrs Palin's expenditure on her wardrobe is appropriate, but whether she will make a good President in the future.