Stay tuned guys, I have a feeling the feeding frenzy has hardly begun.
NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
Ahhh, Schadenfreude.
12 comments:
I wish I could say I was surprised.
It was only a matter of time b/f they blamed the woman. Seriously.
Either she did it or she didn't, I can't see how gender has anything to do with it.
She rails against "socialism", yet she is all to willing too shovel in as much for herself as possible.
Greed is gender neutral.
That being said, I think she was a drag on the ticket, but I blame McCain for selecting an unqualified person. She is who she is, and if he knew, shame on him, if he didn't know, shame on him.
Bottom line: The first important decision he had to make was running mate, and he blew it.
I think that there are criticisms of her, and of her role in the campaign, that can be made in gender-neutral ways. That said, I think that some of them are being made in ways that play to negative stereotypes about women, such as the bit about her being "hard to control emotionally" in this segment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZHTJsR4Bc
IMO, the bit about going on a shopping spree is on thin ice, too--it might all be true, but I'm kind of uncomfortable about it.
More broadly, perhaps what ouyangdan is getting at is that rather than examine things that McCain and his advisors did wrong, they're pointing fingers at a convenient scapegoat, and are more willing to do so because she's a woman.
With that aside, the funny thing about this is that as you said, this was the first presidential decision that he had to make. Whatever problems they say she caused or had, it all goes back to him for picking her.
I agree that some off what I'm hearing shrill, hysterical is rooted in sexism.
The shopping spree doesn't strike me that way at all. I think she was a liar and I think she led the charge of racist, nasty, hate-mongering radicals that came after Obama.
I want her to be exposed for what she is - unqualified and a liar.
I find the most interesting bits to be at the end of the article -- when it is suggested that McCain almost never talked to Palin during the campaign, and that she was denied the opportunity of speaking at concession time. Maybe I'm being naive, but I've often wondered if McCain was pressured into picking Palin -- and ended up regretting his Faustian bargain with the Religious Right.
I just hope that Palin has been discredited enough that we won't have to see her in the national arena again. Unfortunately, my brother-in-law has reported that many of the Houstonites that he knows thinks she is marvellous. I DON'T GET IT.
And one more thing: the minute McCain picked Palin his campaign went off the rails. The one thing that the Republicans really had on Obama was his relative lack of experience. Compared to McCain's history in Washington, that was indisputable. By picking someone so patently unqualified, with an inferior education and far-right (and in my opinion, wacky) views, McCain discredited himself and his entire campaign.
Bee - Your last comment is dead on. That is exactly the truth, and pointing that out is not sexism.
I think she was a liar and I think she led the charge of racist, nasty, hate-mongering radicals that came after Obama.
Agreed. Apparently the number of threats against Obama that the Secret Service was investigating went up as the temperature of her rallies went up. No surprise there.
Bee, there's little doubt in my mind that a) he was pressured to pick Palin (he wanted Lieberman, but was told he couldn't pick him), and b) that he wound up resenting her. And I completely agree with your second post.
Anne,
What an interesting piece of information from the Secret Service. How do I dislike thee, Sarah Palin. Let me count the ways . . .
In my personal opinion the woman is extremely dangerous, because she is power-hungry and self-centered to the nth degree.
She knew what she was doing when standing there on a podium whipping her followers into a frenzy.
If it had taken a dead body for her to step into office, she would have stepped over that dead body while admiring her new high heels.
To make my point, I would suggest that you take a closer look at the video of the concession speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bss6lTP8BJ8
She and her husband are standing there on the podium, stiff, with faces barely kept from scowling. When they are mentioned, they manage to smile, but just so. Then go to 8:30 in the video. The speech winds down, the people listening are booing again at the mentioning of the name Obama, and at 8:33 Sarah Palin smiles, while listening to the booing crow.
That is one dangerous woman who revels in stoking people up. She feeds on hate against others.
Apparently the number of threats against Obama that the Secret Service was investigating went up as the temperature of her rallies went up. No surprise there.
Sadly, the first jobs created by the Obama administration may be an increase in the number of Secret Service agents.
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