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Politics | 11/12/2008 6:00 am

Palin Innocent in Shopping Spree Scandal, Says Source

Insider sources exonerate Palin in clothing debacle, but raise even more mysterious questions…
By The Staff at wowOwow.com
© AP

Sarah Palin caught a lot of flack for spending an alleged $150,000 on her campaign-ready wardrobe. The matter’s been fodder for plenty of press, but Gov. Palin finally spoke out this week and told Fox News’s Greta van Susteren that she had nothing to do with the controversial shopping sprees at upscale shops. Said the former vice-presidential candidate, "[I] did not order the clothes. Did not ask for the clothes. I would have been happy to wear my own clothes from day one."

Today, a source close to John McCain’s presidential campaign revealed exclusively to wowOwow that it was two stylists who often do work for CBS journalist Katie Couric who were hired by former CBS News political analyst and McCain senior strategist, Nicolle Wallace, around the time of the Republican National Convention. Wallace had worked for CBS Evening News until May 2008 when she left to work on the McCain campaign. Said the source, "They weren’t given any budget or parameters. They just told the stylists to work for her, because coming from Alaska, she needed a new look. She was a small-town girl who needed to look like a big-city girl."

Wallace is close friends with Couric. Couric would go on to get the second major interview and the longest television time with the former Republican vice-presidential candidate.

The two stylists, whose names have not been released, were the ones who bought the controversial wardrobe that Palin went on to wear. The source said that Sarah Palin "was used to wearing Ann Taylor and then all of a sudden, clothing was being brought in for her family." Concluded the source, "They simply picked out the clothes for Gov. Palin and told her to wear it. The stylists were told not to tell her how much the clothes cost but just to put them on."

Palin went on to distance herself even further in her van Susteren interview, "[I] didn’t know the New York stylists who they had hired or anything else. They were really nice gals. They were wonderful people. And you know, it was, I guess, productive, in a sense, in that they picked out some really nice clothes to borrow for a while there. But that was not anything that the Palin family would have chosen for ourselves."

112 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Frannie Em
Lori I haven’t been paying that much attention to all of the picks. I didn’t hear who the picks from the Carter Admin were. Who are they thinking about from the Carter Admin?
By Frannie Em on 11/14/2008 12:52 am
Andromeda Jakes
Lori F Give the new President elect a chance. He’s not even President. This undue focus on change as it relates to “people” is short sighted. People elected him for a change in ideas and policies and that’s what he’s working on. As a recall the country was in pretty good shape during he Clinton Adm. Notwithstanding any scandals. There are new faces being considered.
By Andromeda Jakes on 11/14/2008 12:31 pm
Frannie Em
Andromeda Clinton came in with a democrat majority and a recession was starting. Bush 1 had also raised taxes, so the federal coffers were beginning to increase. Clinton ran on a platform of not raising taxes, but he did raise taxes, and he and Bush 1 before him, took away many deductions from small businesses, which essentially was another raise in taxes. Many of our friends went out of business. Unemployment reached 6.5% which is what was reported last week for the current unemployment. This environment swept in the republicans in 1994 and they proceeded to do the Contract With America which began to balance the budget. It took both parties to get it straight. It was reported that when Clinton entered the White House the congressional dems had a meeting with him and told him not to interfere with their dealings with the repubs, they would handle them. In other words, they were saying don’t interfere with them. They pushed Clinton from the center and that is when his ratings dropped, he told someone in the White House that he didn’t recognize himself anymore, because congress had pushed him into a corner.
By Frannie Em on 11/14/2008 1:49 pm
Andromeda Jakes
Thanks for the reality check Frannie Em.
By Andromeda Jakes on 11/15/2008 12:41 pm
Frannie Em
Andromeda Your welcome. Hey, you changed your avatar. Looks cool, so did the other.
By Frannie Em on 11/17/2008 12:46 am
Barbara Taylor
Lori F. So true. All politicians tell us one thing and do something else when they get in office. We as Americans need to speak out again as we did during the bail out. Sure it did not do much good, the politicians ignored us and voted the bail out. But what would happen if we continued to be heard, that just might be the CHANGE WE need.
By Barbara Taylor on 11/13/2008 10:43 am
DeBúrca obj
By DeBúrca obj on 11/13/2008 11:42 am
Lori F.
You were the one who was telling us that Palin needs to go away, yet here you are bring her back! You love her don’t you, you were were love her! HA!
By Lori F. on 11/14/2008 10:55 am
DeBúrca obj
I couldn’t let a Palin thread go by without adding Jon Stewart’s take on it.
By DeBúrca obj on 11/14/2008 12:26 pm
Lori F.
Great, have others do your thinking for you.
By Lori F. on 11/14/2008 6:49 pm
DeBúrca obj
Lori, what’s your problem? People put links in her all the time to give information, make points, share a laugh… you name it. Move on.
By DeBúrca obj on 11/14/2008 8:32 pm
DeBúrca obj
TYPO: in HERE all the time
By DeBúrca obj on 11/14/2008 9:29 pm
Sherrie Crews
I never thought the story was about PALIN buying the clothes, it was about the McCain campaign spending that kind of money to dress her up as a doll to go out and call Obama an “elitist”. By DeBúrca obj on 11/12/2008 7:16 pm” Precisely. Judging by what she wore before I never thought for a minute that she was responsible for deciding what she was to wear. It was just the hypocisy of the whole thing.
By Sherrie Crews on 11/13/2008 1:02 pm
Julie Smith
I do not understand what’s the big deal with those cloth. I am glad the RNC pay for those clothes. She’s from the working class and not rich like the other candidates. She’s out in the campaign day in and day out. Unlike men, women have to look good. People would criticize her if she did not dress properly.
By Julie Smith on 11/13/2008 6:10 pm
starry Nite
I don’t care about the clothes - . I just want her to go back to Alaska but alas she will not go quietly into the good night. I hope Tim,Bobbie or Newt can bring some order to the party.
By starry Nite on 11/13/2008 8:07 pm