Right or Wrong, you Decide

The beauty or scandal of Sarah Palin8217;s new look appears to be in the eyes of the beholder.

She portrays herself in campaign appearances as an average working woman with small-town values, a hockey mom who shops at Wal-Mart, the wife of a union member who works with his hands.

So the news that the Republican National Committee has bought Sarah Palin and her family nearly 150,000 worth of clothing has fueled charges of hypocrisy by her detractors and sparked questions about the legality of the expenditures. At a time when McCain is struggling to convince voters that he understands their economic pain, his running mate8217;s shopping spree at the most rarefied retail temples may undercut his message.

8220;What is shocking is that in the middle of a credit crunch8230; Sarah Palin would go shopping at the high end of 7th Avenue,8221; said Susan Scafidi, a professor at Fordham University School of Law who specialises in fashion law.

The purchases occurred primarily on September 10 in New York and Minneapolis at Neiman Marcus 75,062.63, Saks Fifth Avenue 49,425.74 and Bloomingdale8217;s 5,102.71.

The shopping spree cost about 75 times more than the average American spends per year on clothing. It also totaled more than the 125,000 Palin makes annually as Governor.

In the February issue of Vogue, Palin joked that her preferred designers were 8220;Patagonia and North Face8221;. But by the time she arrived onstage in St Paul, Minnesota, last month to accept the nomination, her wardrobe transition was well underway 8212; She wore a narrow black skirt and a Valentino silk jacket worth 2,500.

8220;It8217;s hypocritical for her to say she8217;s a hockey mom on one side and then spend 70,000 at Neiman8217;s,8221; said Floyd Allyn, 45, who was shopping at Target in West Hollywood.

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But McCain supporter Christy Huber of Omaha was accepting.8220;If she had worn crappy clothes,8221; Huber said, 8220;then everyone would have made fun of her for it8221;.

Election law experts are split on whether the RNC8217;s expenditure is allowable under federal regulations.

However, one wardrobe expert was impressed. 8220;I am an Obama supporter, but when I heard that for 150,000, they dressed her, her children and her husband, I thought, 8216;that8217;s not much8217;,8221; said Vicki Sanchez, a costume designer who dressed Geena Davis as the first female US President on the TV show Commander in Chief.