Let the Blame Game Begin
John McCain and Sarah Palin may have lost last night, but there is still plenty of work for Republican strategists to do. Like shift the blame for McCain's embarrassing defeat! There is lots of blame to go around, of course, and the finger-pointing will likely go on for weeks and months (years?) as the GOP struggles to come to terms with the loss. But watching Sarah Palin get pummeled by anonymous GOP insiders and get handed the blame for everything that went wrong in the final weeks of the campaign will certainly be the most entertaining thing to watch. Several former "top advisers" to John McCain, for example, are now speaking with Newsweek about Sarah Palin's spending spree, and they now say her shopping expeditions were actually even more outrageous than previously reported. (Naturally, they go on to share just how upset the McCain team was by her "outrageous profligacy.")
One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as 'Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast,' and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
Also: Palin wanted to speak during McCain's concession speech last night. Her request was denied.
