# 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:** 6
**Author:** ![villa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/101 "2008-11-07T20:43:20Z")
She tried to take them back. But given she spent weeks in them rolling around in shit, trying to drag everyone else down into it with her, the store was not keen to offer a refund. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/102 "2008-11-07T20:44:36Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > “From her cold dead hands.” Those clothes aren’t going anywhere but her closet. I don’t think that’s fair. I have it on good authority that Governor/Soon-to-be-Senator Palin is a crack shot, and I know she keeps at least one rifle. I am sure the cold dead hands will belong to the person trying to take the garments in question, and, as she walks over that person’s corpse, she will pause to wink at it in an altogether delightful & sexy fashion. ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/103 "2008-11-07T21:00:37Z")
I’d like to know what they’re going to do with the clothes too. Some of them were really nice, and if they’re going to auction them off, I’d like a crack at a couple of those suits. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/104 "2008-11-07T21:05:48Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > What kind of Mom “gives” her kids all these fancy Gucci clothes, knowing perfectly well that they’re going to be taken away from the children and auctioned off? the kind of mom that sees a chance and takes it. “i’ll dress piper in a flyers jersey. they won’t boo a 7 year old.” please… i’m reckoning she didn’t think think the story would break, and they’d be able to sneak some of the campaign swag home. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/105 "2008-11-07T23:11:03Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Okay, as a fellow leftie, I need to call you on this. That was Tina Fey who said that. While Sarah Palin did try to make the case that because you can see an island that belongs to Russia from another island that belongs to Alaska, she had foreign policy experience, she did NOT use the words you quoted. > > While SNL did use a lot of her own words in those sketches, try to remember that they ARE a comedy sketch show, not even a comedy news show like The Daily Show. I know that’s what she actually said, but that makes it even worse, if anything. > [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > “And now up for sale, Auction Item # 233: [a pair of men’s silk boxer shorts](http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2008/11/rs-palin7.html). Slightly used. What’s my opening bid?” Wouldn’t it depend on whose they were? (Todd Palin’s? No. Ewan McGregor’s? Viggo Mortenson’s? Where’s my credit card?!) ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/106 "2008-11-07T23:27:03Z")
Something tells me the Palin family also has a suitcase filled with hotel towels, little bars of soap and tiny bottles of shampoo. Whatever. I just hope the woman goes home and stays there. ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/107 "2008-11-07T23:33:18Z")
> [@Seven](#): > > Whatever. > > I just hope the woman goes home and stays there. I’m waiting for the 10 year or 20 year special “where are they now” which shows Joe the Plumber on foodstamps and Palin hosting a topless political television show on FOXNews8 (the Fauxcho!) from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. EST. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/108 "2008-11-07T23:36:39Z")
I presume the silk boxers were for Todd. I’m at a loss to see how his public appearances benefited from his wearing them though. Enlighten me please. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/109 "2008-11-07T23:38:08Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I presume the silk boxers were for Todd. I’m at a loss to see how his public appearances benefited from his wearing them though. Enlighten me please. Maybe when wearing wool he had an _uncontrollable_ need to constantly scratch and reposition his crotch? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/110 "2008-11-07T23:38:42Z")
This is all patently ludicrous. Candidates spend a lot of money on their wardrobes. Get over it. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/111 "2008-11-07T23:45:59Z")
**mswas** there is lots ludicrous about this. Characterizing these expenditures, by the candidate but not with the candidates money, and that everyone should just get over it, as just what is done is among the most ludicrous of all. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/112 "2008-11-08T00:04:38Z")
No, you’re so right. This is a very serious issue that I hope Obama tackles right away. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/113 "2008-11-08T00:10:24Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > This is all patently ludicrous. Candidates spend a lot of money on their wardrobes. Get over it. Once again: They. Usually. Spend. THEIR. OWN. MONEY. _sigh_ ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/114 "2008-11-08T00:26:35Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > No, you’re so right. This is a very serious issue that I hope Obama tackles right away. Has ANYONE here suggested that this is something that an Obama administration should be involved in? ---
**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 8, 2008, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/115 "2008-11-08T00:30:54Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > As for the governor, I suspect the people still willing to support her are true believers who will only be dissuaded by her being caught in public engaging in exotic sexual congress with Canadian geese. Is there video of this on youtube yet? I searched but didn’t find any. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/116 "2008-11-08T00:36:40Z")
[Palin speaks, Nov 7:](http://community.adn.com/adn/node/134161) > [@](#): > > Here’s what she said about the much-discussed clothing: > > “We know that for instance with the whole clothes issue – the RNC-purchased clothes – those are the RNC’s clothes, they are not my clothes. I never forced anybody to buy anything. I never asked for anything more than maybe a diet Dr Pepper every once in a while.” > > “It’s just very, very disappointing because this is Barack Obama’s time right now and this is an historic moment in our nation and this kind be a shining moment for America in our history. And look what we’re talking about again, we’re talking about my shoes and belts and skirts. This is ridiculous.” She seems a little conflicted. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/117 "2008-11-08T00:47:38Z")
> [@Dripping](#): > > So if Palin promised to give the clothes back, then claimed to have “lost” a bunch of them, then absconded to Alaska with all the rest (resulting in legal action against her), what does that make her, exactly?😕 A republican of course. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/118 "2008-11-08T14:48:47Z")
What I like is that she claims she buys her clothes normally as a consignment shop. The great thing about that is that you can sometimes get new, up-to-the-minute fashions at a consignment shop, if someone buys something and then decides it doesn’t fit or isn’t suitable for the person they bought it for, but lost the receipt or is too lazy to take it back or whatever. So anything Palin particulary wants to keep can be swapped with something she already had that isn’t showing any wear, and that can be passed off to the auditors as the new clothing, while she gets to keep the new clothing. They’ll fall for it; they’re men. I repeat someone’s earlier point - if she had planned to give them all back, why did she take them to Alaska with her, as she has stated in the wilderness of words to the press since returning that she has issued forth? BTW, she doesn’t have any lawyers dispatched by the campaign, just people to take inventory so that the RNC can be held properly accountable - apparently it’s nothing to do with her. Palin and her husband are opportunists. That has been obvious from the earliest point in her public career. The line for them between her public office and her private life has always been extremely blurry, whether it comes to spending money or using power. I’ve felt sure all along that the reason they haven’t released their financial records is that they’re a lot richer than they’ve been admitting; I suspect that they’ve done extremely well out of Palin’s governorship thus far. Todd in particular seems to be quite the operator. Palin clearly loves the respect and trappings of power, but it’s apparent from her previous career that she can’t be bothered with the minutiae of actually governing - a very George W. Bush attitude. That’s why I strongly wonder if it will ever become clear to her just how poor her national-level politcal future is, and grab the job from FOX that I’m confident has been offered to her while she’s still young and pretty enough for it to win her big bucks, and while she’s still relevant to the ultra right-wing community. She doesn’t have that long a shelf-life; I wonder if she realizes it. I’m not sure she’ll be the right wing darling once she’s not youthfully pretty anymore; she’s built so much of her appeal on, in essence, flirting with the voter. This has worked exceptionally well in Alaska, where the male:female ratio is the highest in the country. But the problem with this strategy is that it can’t work forever. The advantage for Palin of working for FOX over running for national office is that it’s a sure thing, likely to last longer, and she doesn’t need to persuade the majority of voters that she’s not an utter idiot in order to get the job or keep it; she need only get and keep the faithful (and those looking for comedy gold). Also too;), they’ll pay for a lot of her clothes, or at least allow them to be deductible, and let her get out of Alaska. She’ll still have the option of getting back into politics as long as she stays as a straight political/news analyst, and doesn’t allow herself to get distracted into stories about celebrities and white-woman kidnappings and missing children. And who knows? She might even (God forbid) learn something, much as she has apparently avoided doing so thus far. Given the opportunism of the Palins, as demonstrated by this entire clothing incident, that is what I would recommend for Sarah Palin’s future. It gives her the most money while retaining flexibility. But I doubt that, having had a taste of the political limelight, she’ll be willing to admit that she’s finished as a contender for 2012 so soon. I imagine she’ll take the Senate seat when Stevens is forced to resign (unless Heaven willing, the absentee ballots or whatever other ballots appear to be missing, since all of the polls and the turnout seem to be so off, are counted and the Democratic Senatorial candidate wins) and finish out her career as a lack-luster senator, having fizzled early in the primaries in 2012. At least she’s likely to be liked a bit better than Stevens in the Senate itself. Otherwise I doubt you’ll find a nail-file’s worth of difference between them, up to and including the indictment and conviction for unreimbursed favors. It seems to be the way politics works in Alaska, and it certainly seems to be the way Sarah and Todd Palin work, from everything I’ve seen about her record as mayor and governor. ---
**Author:** ![Oy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bc8723/32.png) [@Oy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oy)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/119 "2008-11-08T14:55:03Z")
er, that would be the indictment and conviction for _not declaring_ unreimbursed favors. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2008, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457/120 "2008-11-08T16:10:52Z")
> [@mswas](#): > > This is all patently ludicrous. Candidates spend a lot of money on their wardrobes. Get over it. you missed a pronoun. candidates spend a lot of THEIR own money on their wardrobes. that is not the case here. money that was marked for the campaign was used to buy clothes (and other items) for the entire palin family. this goes agaist campaign fund laws. in my working life there is a big line between what is my money to spend how i want it, and what is the companies money and how it is spent. if i use company money for something it is not intended for; i get in big trouble. that trouble can range from a slap on the wrist, to losing my job, to prosecution in a court of law. campaign funds were misused. that is why it is a big deal. now “shopper gate” is in the big trouble stage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-when-is-palin-giving-back-all-the-clothes/471457.md?page=7)