Is it the metaphoric "Emperor's New Clothes" of the campaign or just blatant sexism in disguise? The seeming wardrobe malfunction of the McCain campaign, the $150,000 spent on outfitting Gov. Palin has been elevated from campaign curiosity to full-blown talking point.
This weekend the View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck campaigned for Palin in Florida where she addressed the furor over the cash spent on costuming the family for the convention. Hasselbeck admonished the attention paid to the price saying, “Now, with everything going on in the world, seems a bit odd. But let me tell you, this is deliberately sexist.” Her point being more or less, 'Hey Joe! How much did your suit cost?'
Either ironically or pointedly, Hasselbeck continued the gendered theme as she made her case for Palin saying, “Did I mention that this woman, she’s got a real knack for cleaning. She cleaned up house in Alaska. Yup. All that corruption went out with the trash.” Hasselbeck concluded, “It’s getting hot up here, and I promise you, when it gets hot in the kitchen, she may be from Alaska, but this woman can take the heat.”
Palin continued to address the sartorial snafu yesterday saying, "This whole thing with the wardrobe, I try to just ignore it because it's so ridiculous. Those clothes, they are not my property, just like the lighting and the staging and everything else the RNC purchased. I'm not taking them with me. I'm back to wearing my old clothes from my favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, Alaska."
Is the very fact that the issue has to be addressed on the campaign trail, clear proof that it's sexist?
How is it sexist exactly? Because we are mocking her for spending 150k on clothes? Well if she wants to complain the boys aren't getting picked on for their clothing there are two points she needs t address -
1 - Did Obama or Biden spend 150k, or anywhere near 150k - unless she can show they spent a colossal amount like that she can't talk.
2 - Did Joe Biden make the huge pitch to America that he was indeed average six-pack joe? No he did not, so if he spends money on suits like a politician it is not as hypocritical as Palin since she wants everyone to think she's like your next door neighbor who wants to go to the white house so your average person views have a representative.
Bonus: 3 - those who will argue there is a double standard and women need to look good and need to spend more money then men to get votes - well that is sexist and by spending that much money on her clothes and makeup rather than her foreign policy advisor or economic advisor the McCain campaign is pandering to sexism and treating us like dummies who want a pretty face and don't care what intelligence she brings to the ticket, or at least we don't value it as much as her awesome bronzer!
I am happy to see Americans want more than a pretty face and it has backfired that she has great shoes and nice pencil skirts but can't name a newspaper she reads or a supreme court she disagrees with (you know, real gotcha questions in places where no one would expect to be questioned - interviews!)
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