Real Hockey Moms buy Louis Vuitton

By now you've heard that the RNC spent $150,000 outfitting Sarah Palin for the campaign trail. It's not so much the new clothes. It's the designer labels that are creating an image problem. And the stores where the clothes were purchased. As Robin Givhan puts it, "And in our culture Neiman Marcus stands for "elite," not for "Everyman." The same is true of Saks. Barneys? Make that soy chai latte-sipping, champagne-swigging elites."

Exactly. That Louis Vuitton bag Piper is carrying for her mom costs about $800 and I suspect Saks or Barneys are not the usual shopping destinations for hockey moms. Quite a contrast to Michelle Obama's off the rack $148 Donna Ricco dress.

Adding to the oddity, Palin didn't do the shopping herself. That appears to have been mostly done by Jeff Larson, "a prominent Republican consultant whose firm has been tied to the onslaught of negative robocalls from Senator John McCain’s campaign." Further, it wasn't just Palin who got new clothes, it was her entire family. Hard to see how they qualify as a campaign expense. In fact, it's hard to see why it's necessary to have the whole family appear at every single event. It's certainly not customary.

Apparently, because the purchases were funneled through the RNC coffers, the expenditures don't break the law, but many Republicans are disgusted by this boneheaded ostentatious display. As well they should be. Even the wealthy are feeling the pinch and it's bad enough their donations are being spent on outfitting the entire Palin clan, including the poor baby that's dragged on stage as a photo prop at every opportunity, but it's just bad politics.

[grahic via watertiger]

[More posts daily at The Newshoggers and The Detroit News.]