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So much for "the respectable Republican cloth coat"

    by Will Bunch | Columnist
    Published 
But Pat and I have the satisfaction that every dime that we've got is honestly ours. I should say this, that Pat doesn't have a mink coat. But she does have a respectable Republican cloth coat, and I always tell her she'd look good in anything.

-- Richard Nixon, "Checkers" speech,  Sept. 23, 1952.

Cloth coat? That is soooo 1952, apparently:

The Republican National Committee has spent more than $150,000 to clothe and accessorize vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and her family since her surprise pick by John McCain in late August.

According to financial disclosure records, the accessorizing began in early September and included bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

The GOP response?

"With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," said spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

You know what? I totally agree -- it's true today and it was also true in the era of the $400 haircut (which in hindsight was a pretty minor problem on several levels). I was watching Bill Richardson on "Morning Joe" today and it seems like the Democrats are mostly taking the high road on this -- why not take it one step farther and declare a mutual cease fire on this kind of nonsense?

I'm not saying there aren't legitimate issues to be looked into and discussed about what kind of campaign expenses are legit and which are not, but that is a back-burner issue; we need to be spending all our time and energies on the raging fire on the two front burners right now.