# So when is Palin giving back all the clothes? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 6, 2008, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457 "2008-11-06T15:45:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 22
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/421 "2008-11-14T07:29:34Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > This is what Palin said happened: > \ Really? Has Palin said _all_ of that? Or is there a lot of you filling in the details in there? Because, really, if you can show me that Palin has described the whole situation in that much detail, I (and only me, I can’t speak for all the others) would be willing to take her word for it, until and unless any contravening evidence showed up. But, the main thing that seems to be keeping these allegations alive, at least for me, is the fact that I haven’t heard any good explanations from anyone close to Sarah Palin herself. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/422 "2008-11-14T09:26:31Z")
Well, you can watch her interview with Matt Lauer here: [Palin Interview](http://www.monacome.com/2008/11/palin-matt-lauer-interview-video.html). It’s actually rather interesting - it shows her positive side, but she also comes across as annoying from time to time. To me, anyway. Anyway, from the transcript: > [@](#): > > Lauer: Said that – anonymous leak that some top McCain advisers were, quote – and this is from Newsweek – “flabbergasted by the amount of money you spent on clothing and accessories for yourself and your family.” > > S. PALIN: Well, I’m flabbergasted that anybody would say that I spent any money on clothes for me or my family. When I arrived at the Republican National Convention, there were stylists there, there was a wardrobe there. **Receipts show that the wardrobe was being purchased before I even arrived at the convention for me and for eight members of my family.** So I’m flabbergasted that anybody would still say that I purchased clothing from these… > > Lauer: So the leaks that say you were told buy a certain number – you had a clothing allowance almost – but you were told buy a certain number of suits and then you exceeded that and that other people go out on their credit cards and buy things, patently false? > > S. PALIN: What is patently false is that I ever asked anybody at this convention to go out and buy me anything. Certainly, I arrived with an overnight bag. I mean, that wasn’t much. But if I would have had two minutes out of the day, I could have gone to a store myself and purchased these things. > > Also, though, it’s been reported that, you know, I insisted on going to Neiman Marcus and to Sachs. > > Lauer: Right, designer duds. > > S. PALIN: I’ve never been in these stores, you know… > > Lauer: But did you have other people go to those stores for you? > > S. PALIN: No, I did not order up these clothes. The New York stylists who were already there and already orchestrating what the wardrobe should look like. Just like they have people to figure out what the staging and the lighting and everything else, the wardrobe, I guess, was a part of that. > > But, no – and here they say that it was $150,000 worth of clothes. I haven’t seen $150,000 worth of clothes. What I understood now is that about a third of those clothes got sent back right away because they weren’t going fit or weren’t – you know, that didn’t fit what they wanted the family to look like. \*\*Another third did follow me along the trail, and those have all been sent back. \*\*And then another third stayed in the belly of the airplane the whole time. > > Lauer: I understand – and I think your father made this comment today – that you actually spent some time this last weekend at home… > > S. PALIN: Yes. > > Lauer: … going through things. > > S. PALIN: Yes. Yes. > > Lauer: … preparing because the story is that there is a lawyer either on his way – or I don’t know if that person’s been here, he or she – coming to Alaska to kind of do a wardrobe audit on you. > > S. PALIN: That’s absolutely false, unless they’re doing that without telling me that. **But, no, we don’t have any of the campaign’s clothes in our possession. And it was never anybody’s intention to keep these borrowed clothes from the RNC.** > > When staffers traveled with us from the lower 48 up to Alaska and we had boxes of campaign stuff – which include, like, stickers and campaign buttons and hats and T-shirts – loading all that stuff back up after emptying the belly of the plane of all this stuff. And that took place in our living room… > > Lauer: Right. > > S. PALIN: … over the past couple days. We put it all in boxes, put it in the FedEx plane and sent it back to the headquarters. Seems like a fairly straightforward account to me. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/423 "2008-11-14T12:03:13Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Palin doesn’t believe the $150,000 number. She says she can’t imagine that the clothes she had could be worth anything like that amount. That could be just her provincialism showing, or the number could be grossly inflated. So you believe the RNC may have filed false information in their financial disclosure documents? [Because that is where the $150,000 number came from.](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14805.html) That’s a pretty serious charge. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/424 "2008-11-14T12:54:57Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Palin doesn’t believe the $150,000 number. She says she can’t imagine that the clothes she had could be worth anything like that amount. That could be just her provincialism showing, or the number could be grossly inflated. The problem with the $150k is that it comes from campaign records. Either the campaign spent it (and spent more than that originally as returns would have been deducted from the line item), or they spent that, misapplied the returns to another account on the books, misapplied other expenses to the account, or someone was embezzling from the campaign. Any one of these things should come out when the RNC does an audit. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/425 "2008-11-14T12:59:42Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Anyway, from the transcript: > … > > > [@](#): > > > > S. PALIN: … over the past couple days. We put it all in boxes, put it in the FedEx plane and sent it back to the headquarters. > > Seems like a fairly straightforward account to me. Yup, finally. All we need now is an acknowledgement from the RNC that they got the clothes, and if they value their word, news of their disbursement to charity. It’s good to see the Republicans following the letter of the campaign finance laws like this, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/426 "2008-11-14T13:32:39Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > When she was chosen to be the VP candidate, the RNC sent image consultants and stylists out to buy wardrobe for her and the family. This is known as ‘framing’ the candidate, by the way, and it’s a time-honored tradition. Is Palin arguing that it’s a “time-honored tradition” for huge amounts of campaign money to be spent on a candidate’s wardrobe, or are you? If it’s you, I’d love an example of this being done before. I asked for one earlier in the thread, but I don’t remember seeing one presented. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/427 "2008-11-14T14:01:32Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Well, you can watch her interview with Matt Lauer here: [Palin Interview](http://www.monacome.com/2008/11/palin-matt-lauer-interview-video.html). It’s actually rather interesting - it shows her positive side, but she also comes across as annoying from time to time. To me, anyway. > > Anyway, from the transcript: > > Seems like a fairly straightforward account to me. Yes it does. I guess we have to decide whether we think it’s true or not. Should we consider the stories we heard about her use of taxpayer funds to pay for family travel and the rest when deciding. It doesn’t strike me as a big deal except to reveal a pattern of behavior and an attitude that convinces me she shouldn’t come anywhere near the presidency. For that reason I’d like to see the\* facts \* come out, if not about this specific incident then about how she governs. I get the feeling she’ll be encouraged to run and stay in the public eye. Let’s get real thinkers and problems solvers in office, conservative or not. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/428 "2008-11-14T14:53:05Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > So you believe the RNC may have filed false information in their financial disclosure documents? [Because that is where the $150,000 number came from.](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14805.html) That’s a pretty serious charge. Oh, come on. No one’s saying it’s impossible that it was $150,000. Palin is just saying that it didn’t look like $150,000 in clothes to her. It could be that she just doesn’t have a clue what clothes cost at upscale stores in New York. Or it could be that the really expensive stuff was in the 1/3 that was sent back that she never saw. I have no idea. But no one’s accusing anyone of falsifying documents. BTW, if the RNC actually flew in stylists and image consultants, I imagine that’s probably a pretty big part of the $150,000. How much does a high-powered image consultant or top-drawer stylist cost? How many days did they spend working on her image? I have no idea, but it can’t be cheap. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > s Palin arguing that it’s a “time-honored tradition” for huge amounts of campaign money to be spent on a candidate’s wardrobe, or are you? > > If it’s you, I’d love an example of this being done before. I asked for one earlier in the thread, but I don’t remember seeing one presented. That’s just my commentary. It wasn’t specific to the amount of money spent on clothes, but just on the idea of ‘framing’ a candidate by presenting him or her in a certain way. You’ve never heard of image consultants? ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/429 "2008-11-14T14:53:48Z")
Oh man. Watching certain posters try to defend Palin on this is pretty damn funny. Keep it up. I’m enjoying this theatre of the absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/430 "2008-11-14T14:59:07Z")
Why? I said in the original thread about this that it’s basically a non-story. It’s the RNC’s money, and if they think it’s better spent on Dolce & Gabbana than on attack ads, bully for them. Plus, the RNC (and DNC) spend plenty of money prettying up their male candidates too. At what point does the spending get labeled “excessive”? $10,000? $20,000? $50,000? I bet at least $20k was spent on Obama’s suits and makeup artists, and probably twice as much on making sure none of Biden’s hair plugs fell out. There are much better things to be going after Palin for. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/431 "2008-11-14T15:06:41Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Remember all the Republicans running around saying Hillary killed Vince Foster and Clinton was up to his eyeballs in crooked land deals? You guys sound just like them. There were official Democratic Party financial filings with line items for Hillary killinig Vince Foster and Bill engaging in crooked land deals? News to me… ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/432 "2008-11-14T15:09:18Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > You’ve never heard of image consultants? I’m sure everyone here has heard of image consultants. What we’ve not heard of is spending $150,000 to decorate your VP candidate during a 2 month campaign. I’ve also never heard of a campaign where the highest paid person was a makeup artist, though I do know what a makeup artist is. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/433 "2008-11-14T15:26:33Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > when the RNC does an audit. Which I’m figuring will be the Thursday after “never.” The Pubbies are great at taking credit for doing noble things (donating clothes to charity, saving money by selling airplanes on e-bay, etc.) but on the providing evidence part, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/434 "2008-11-14T15:27:51Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Anyway, from the transcript: > \ > Seems like a fairly straightforward account to me. If someone else has to go through the transcript, cherry pick certain lines, and bold them, that’s not my idea of straightforward answers. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/435 "2008-11-14T15:53:25Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That’s just my commentary. It wasn’t specific to the amount of money spent on clothes, but just on the idea of ‘framing’ a candidate by presenting him or her in a certain way. You’ve never heard of image consultants? I have indeed heard of image consultants. To repeat my question: Do you have a cite for campaigns spending this sort of money on a candidate’s wardrobe? ETA: Or even a cite that shows what campaigns have spent at all on a candidate’s wardrobe would be illustrative, since people keep arguing that there’s nothing unusual in this. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/436 "2008-11-14T15:57:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > I bet at least $20k was spent on Obama’s suits and makeup artists, and probably twice as much on making sure none of Biden’s hair plugs fell out. Twenty thousand dollars spent by whom? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/437 "2008-11-14T15:58:19Z")
Who are the 9 people? She said the clothes were for “her and 8 members of her family”. I only count a total of 8, her, the husband, five kids and the redneck babydaddy. Who’s the other person? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/438 "2008-11-14T16:21:49Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Who are the 9 people? She said the clothes were for “her and 8 members of her family”. I only count a total of 8, her, the husband, five kids and the redneck babydaddy. Who’s the other person? Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/439 "2008-11-14T18:00:12Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > BTW, if the RNC actually flew in stylists and image consultants, I imagine that’s probably a pretty big part of the $150,000. How much does a high-powered image consultant or top-drawer stylist cost? How many days did they spend working on her image? I have no idea, but it can’t be cheap. It may not be cheap, but you are definitely math-challenged. > [@Politico](#): > > The RNC also spent $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September after reporting no such costs in August. Try re-reading, **Sam** , but this time do it with your eyes open, not shut. > [@Politico](#): > > According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74. > [@Politico](#): > > The records also document a couple of big-time shopping trips to Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September. > [@Politico](#): > > September payments were also made to Barney’s New York ($789.72) and Bloomingdale’s New York ($5,102.71). > [@Politico](#): > > Macy’s in Minneapolis, another store fortunate enough to be situated in the Twin Cities that hosted last summer’s Republican National Convention, received three separate payments totaling $9,447.71. > [@Politico](#): > > An additional $4,902.45 was spent in early September at Atelier, a high-class shopping destination for men. Feel free to argue that $4,716.49 is “a pretty big part” of the issue. I know I love to watch a contortionist at work; it’s fascinating to see people bend and twist to such extreme postures. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2008, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/440 "2008-11-14T19:13:16Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Which you clearly don’t. With all due condescention. Nice spelling of “condescension,” you phony-literate moron, you vile pretentious scumbag, you world-class fraud and would-be elitist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457.md?page=23)