So now we have the answer to the eternal question that arises as you peruse the doll section at Toys 'R' Us: Just how much more does Vice Presidential Barbie cost than Caribou Barbie?
As Politico reported this week, about $150,000.
That, the Web site learned from financial disclosure statements, is how much the Republican National Committee has spent dressing and styling Sarah Palin since she was picked as John McCain's running mate in August. Included in the expenditures were a $75,000 haul at Neiman Marcus, a $4,700 tab for hair and makeup sessions, and various and sundry items from Barney's to Macy's to Pacifier, apparently an upscale baby store.
In the same way that it takes a lot of expensive cosmetics to create a "natural" look, apparently it costs a lot of money to look anti-elitist.
Let me retract my claws for a minute - because, of course, any woman who critiques another obviously takes her milk from a saucer - and say this: Palin looks maaahvelous. After years of watching female politicians frumping around in boxy pantsuits and nun shoes, it's refreshing to see someone who dresses like a lot of professional women: the bright top over a basic black skirt, the cropped, fitted jackets, the sly, sexy shoes. Some of the details need a bit of work - the French manicured toenails and facial bronzer are a little, um, strip mall - but most of the time, Palin looks both polished and appropriate.
Whether she looks $150,000 worth of maaahvelous is another matter.
And whether that's just the cost of doing business when the politician is a woman is yet another matter.
The men have it easy. Barack Obama, for example, has said he buys five of the same suits (Burberry - nice!) and just keeps wearing them. Who or what he, McCain and Joe Biden are wearing at any point on the trail is hardly worth noting since it's usually either a dark suit or a dark suit. Although sometimes one of them will go slightly crazy and turn up in a dark suit.
Women, though, lack the comfort of the agreed-upon uniform. Hillary Clinton tried for one, running for Senate in a series of indistinguishable black pantsuits, but that somehow morphed into a veritable rainbow of pantsuits when she ran for president. I've always felt the poor woman is just endlessly searching for whatever clothing - or hairstyle - people wouldn't talk about. And so she went from a who-cares look (headband, glasses) to OK-I'll-play-along (Oscar de la Renta, cover of Vogue) to, finally, I-give-up (pantsuit, Washington hair).
