What Happened To GOP Outrage Over $400 Haircuts?

I suppose when the Republican vice presidential candidate is discovered spending $150,000 on a campaign wardrobe, it’s hard for the GOP to remember being shocked – Shocked, I tell you! – over John Edwards $400 haircut.

It’s even harder to be publicly outraged over the price of haircuts when the party can’t really figure out what it spent Sarah Palin’s wardrobe allowance on. Turns out the numbers don’t add up – and it looks as if somebody is taking the Republicans for a ride.

On Thursday, the New York Times political blog tried tracing the money reported by the GOP on Federal Election Commission filings. For example, the blog reported, the RNC said it spent more than $4,900 on clothes for Doughty Dude Todd Palin at Atelier in Manhattan. Except Atelier carries what The Caucus describes as expensive cut-up T-shirts and tricky suits from avant-garde designers. I haven’t spotted Todd Palin wearing any “tricky suits” as he stands behind his wife at campaign stops. It is possible he is wearing “cut-up T-shirts” underwear but he doesn’t strike me as the type who wears a $400 T-shirt – let alone one that is cut up in advance and not from too much wear – under his Wal-Mart sport coats.

Atelier says the purchase was made by Jeff Larson, a “consultant” to the Republican National Committee who then put in for the expense reimbursement, according to RNC filings. The question is why dies a Republican consultant like Mr. Larson wear “tricky suits” and pre-torn T-shirts? Isn’t this what “elitist celebrities” wear?

Meanwhile, The Young Turks have taken up the Palin wardrobe malfunction.