Friday, December 5, 2008

The Eye of the Beholder

By Zamboni

Fifty-five thousand dollars. That's getting close to what we cats have made in a year for our writing abilities. (Yes, we've had a writing life beyond this blog, believe it or not.)

But never mind. That's what the RNC paid to have a "stylist" advise Governor Sarah Palin when she became John McCain's running mate.

Goodness gracious. The Republicans are fond of a Janey-come-lately feminist outrage when it comes to the coverage of money spent on Palin's image — but even they must be scratching their heads over this latest allocation of scarce campaign resources.

Didn't Sarah Palin already have somebody who knew how to do her hair? As the Governor of Alaska, didn't she have a set of professional outfits that she wore to work and which would have been appropriate for the campaign trail? And why did the Republicans think that outrageous expenditures on hair, clothes and makeup would help Palin appeal to the working class Republican voters that make up the party's nutbag religious base?

We cats apologize for harping on this, but we truly see a cultural disconnect here. We keep thinking of the wide, polyester-clad women who turned out so enthusiastically for the early Palin rallies in August and September. The perks that their darling Sarah gouged the RNC for must be as alien to their lives as the daily existence of Angelina Jolie. In short, we don't see how they can possibly relate.

"Why are you here?" we recall a T.V. reporter asking a dedicated Republican rally attendee in early September. "Sarah," the woman firmly replied, a dopey smile creasing her face. Well, dopey-Sarah-smile person, have you ever had a spa treatment, or a fashion stylist, or a wardrobe from Saks and Neimans worth tens of thousands of dollars? And will you ever figure out that that makes your idol a fraud?

Hm. Probably not.

No comments: