on palin's clothes etc: you know, after the rnc, palin basically disappeared for a couple of weeks, got intensely briefed on various issues and mccain's positions, and made over for the national stage. this was completely legit, if you ask me: no one is going to deny that she took a hell of a leap and had to work to make it plausibly. now there are a lot of women (and some men) who, if you gave them an endless credit line at neiman-marcus, would go a bit overboard, especially if they're going to be on stage for the next couple of months and doing interviews with katie couric. on the other hand, $150,000 is completely stupid and ridiculous.
now on the third hand, i think palin has basically acquitted herself very well. you can keep saying she's an idiot all you like, evidencing every single slip of the tongue etc, but she's not. at all. this morning i heard her speaking in pittsburgh on "special needs" kids, her son trig and what he's taught her. it had this religious undertow, but that has got to be fine. it had policy implications: she specifically talked about increasing the funding for various programs. but more: it was moving, genuine, and inspiring. i think you're likely to find that she'll be an important leader in the republican party for the foreseeable future (though not vice president of the united states).
so you can make fun of this if you like, because it's a republican speaking, because it's a christian speaking, because it's sarah palin speaking. but maybe you should listen to the intensity and importance of what she's saying. this is exactly why we need all kinds of people running the state, and it's why some of them ought to be moms.