The issue of $150,000 to dress the Palin family - not just the candidate herself - is an issue if they're trying to sell her to the public along side Joe the Plumber. It adds up to a lot of money at a time most Americans are struggling financially. The net result is a tone-deaf campaign.

The Republicans chose Palin in part because of her looks. They mistakenly thought Obama's appeal was based on cult of personality. They were wrong. Obama possesses a lot of substance while Palin doesn't. The Republicans were clearly more focused on image than anything else, so the excessive clothing and hair and make-up budget are relevant.

Exclusive items out of the reach of the average person will always be an issue. Jackie Kennedy's designer dresses and pill box hat were celebrated because she was young and beautiful and the country was in the mood. Nancy Reagan's designer dresses were celebrated because she had a nice figure and, once again, the country was in the mood.

Playing down such extravagances is also an issue, such as Pat Nixon's cloth coat. Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Barbara Bush, and Laura Bush chose to be more understated most likely due to personal style preference, but also at times when it was wise to be less conspicuous.

Of course, these are all first ladies and not candidates. Major party candidates Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, Elizabeth Dole and Carol Moseley Braun chose classic styles that were most likely within the budget of the average working professional woman so a lot of women could naturally relate to them.

Hillary Clinton made the pantsuit iconic. You can't buy that from Neiman Marcus or Barney's for any price. She has earned her status and women recognize that.

Palin is wearing expensive clothes she didn't earn at a time when the country isn't in the mood.

It's a legitimate issue.

The first time McCain cited the reason for going negative was due to Obama declining the town hall proposal, I thought to myself why does McCain think he's in charge of how the two of them should campaign? By extension, I think McCain would continue to employ this kind of self-centered pretzel logic to his presidency.

They're sad, paranoid, nasty people and when Obama said enough is enough he spoke for the majority of us. Time to be creative instead of reactionary. Time to kick the Republicans to the curb for awhile until they can recruit more like Chuck Hagel to their ranks.

This clown knows better and saying fuck you to the 911 operator is inexcusable.

Bust up a chiffarobe - good one! I always think of Boo Radley around Halloween...

Frequently, when there are words or letters written or "carved" on the skin, the person who was "attacked" is discovered to be at fault. I was dubious of her story since it was first reported.

I don't know the circumstances of this young woman, but I hope the press doesn't make too much of it since I think she has larger mental health issues to deal with.

I agree. I've worked phone banks, donated and hosted fund raisers. I'll keep doing it through election day. I live in Arizona but I'm not giving up.

I can't sleep through the night. My stomach is in a knot. I forget where I am in my work out. (5 reps? 12? Who cares?) I'm spending too much time online looking at polling data and writing letters on Salon. I count bumper stickers in parking lots while I'm walking from my car to the grocery store. I'm watching too much CNN, MSNBC, Lehrer, CSPAN, and listening to NPR. I don't even know when the season premier of The Office is. Maybe it already happened. I can't go an hour without wanting to know the current status of the election. I pray for strength, sanity, and an Obama win. I'm having two glasses of wine at night instead of one to wash back the adrenalin. I recognize all of the pundits, know their names, who they work for and know what they're going to say before they say it. This morning my husband wrote "soy Obama" on the grocery shopping list. I'm taking nothing for granted. Only 12 days. 12 days. I can make it. We can make it. But don't use the L word. Please. No L word.

My husband got one last night and I forwarded it to my mother and several friends.

I worked a phone bank yesterday and I think is a better reminder to vote.

Joe the Plumber ass crack?

Dick Tuck! I see him fairly regularly walking down Campbell Avenue here in Tucson. I pointed him out to my niece and nephew one day and explained to them what a political prankster does.

Elephantman has never posted anything that would lead me to think he knows or understands anything about the Vietnam/Watergate era, so I'm sure he doesn't know the difference between Dick Tuck and Donald Segretti. Here's a clue: one did time in jail and later became John McCain's campaign co-chair in Orange County in the 2000 presidential primary. (It wasn't Dick Tuck.)

I do want to thank Elephantman again for helping get Palin on the ticket. As I posted back in September, if McCain had selected a more formidable candidate, this may have been more daunting.

It didn't take long to learn that Joe isn't a plumber, and then everyone agreed that the whole Joe the Plumber thing wasn't selling. Now they have a Joe the Plumber ad. At this rate they may lose Kansas, a state that would vote for the kid from Deliverance if he had an (R) after his name.

Would he like to bet on that?

Sarah Palin doesn't drive feminists crazy. Her addition to the ticket concerns a majority of American voters because she isn't qualified. By her own admission, she doesn't even know what the job entails.