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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

Ro M.
The impression I had of Gov. Palin was that she was a nice lady, a bit undereducated for her position, and thrust in too deep, too quickly, and hopelessly over her head. If this article is correct, it reinforces my impression. Obviously, the campaign wanted to “package” her and are a bit embarrassed that the details are coming out in the aftermath . They should have just let her be herself or, if that wasn’t sufficient, selected someone who was sufficient. Although, one is left to wonder, if she is so pliable as to just follow along, allow them to dress her in a manner she wouldn’t choose without even questioning, well, that doesn’t feel like a leadership quality. I wish Ms. Palin and her family all the best and hope they soon feel a return to normalcy.
By Ro M. on 11/16/2008 7:47 am
Walter Wallis
I just hope the crap that came down on Palin does not discourage other competent women from the slimy climb to public office. Everyone knows the criticism was overtly anti-woman and of a nature seldom seen in criticism of men. Amazing that racism was missing from the contest while sexism was welcomed with open arms. What is the sexual analog to Uncle Tom?
By Walter Wallis on 11/17/2008 5:51 am
Rainbow Power
Even though I didn’t support Palin (as she definitely wasn’t qualified) the Republican party used her for their own purposes. That backfired on the GOP, which serves them right. Let her keep the dang clothes as a “fringe benefit”, even though I’m sure she isn’t quite as innocent as she lets on.
By Rainbow Power on 11/17/2008 8:59 am
Char Star
……..Y- A -W -N…………
By Char Star on 11/17/2008 9:58 pm
C jay
What does “innocent” mean? Is it the same as “an innocent?”
By C jay on 11/19/2008 4:14 am