Republican BFF Elisabeth Hasselbeck hit the campaign trail over the weekend and, for once, got to deliver the GOP message without getting interrupted by her co-workers.
Daily Palin: Hasselbeck calls the focus on Sarah Palin's wardrobe expenditures "deliberately sexist" and then says Sarah Palin "sure is a woman who knows how to dress." And accessorize. Liz's evidence?
A flag pin, which is not in the expense report, because it's priceless. Mmmkay ... huh? Liiiiiiz, as long as it's free or priceless or whatever, it doesn't have to show up in the expense report.
Anyway, McCain says the cost to outfit his running mate isn't nearly $150K. More like, $100K, because they're returning a bunch of the stuff. (Fine. File the receipts.)
Now, McCain didn't say what the true cost of Palin is to his campaign, but his aides aren't holding back. Top level advisers are saying Palin's gone rogue. Following Hasselbeck's wardrobe comments, Palin explained to the crowd that the clothes weren't her property. A McCain campaign aide said (we can only imagine with slumped shoulders and shaking head) that those "were not the remarks we sent to her plane this morning."
That maverick thing is biting the original maverick in the ass. So while John McCain's political future implodes, Palin is trying to preserve hers for 2012, insiders say, right before they call her a diva.
Salon calls her the ultimate reality TV star (which brings us full circle back to Elisabeth!).
In Florida over the weekend, Palin criticized Barack Obama and the media and said the "coronation is already set." Wait ... she knows we don't do that in the U.S., right?
Incidentally, her hometown paper, the Anchorage Daily News, made its endorsement yesterday. They picked Obama. (Awkward.)
Some polls are reporting that Obama's lead over McCain has
dropped five points (they credit the fact that McCain actually started talking about the economy). Nonetheless, some are reporting the Illinois senator will makes his
closing arguments today in Canton, Ohio.
It might not matter what the polls -- or the voters! -- say. Salon's Machinist blog reports a bunch of screwed up ballots cast during early voting. The machines are vote-flipping. So if you cast your ballot for Obama, it's going to McCain (or the Green party).
In happy news, Amy Poehler had her baby, live from New York on Saturday Night! Actually, it's kind of sad news, because she's not going back to SNL. But, wait, there's another bit of happy: she and husband Will Arnett named the boy a Morning News approved Archie Arnett. Awwwwwww.
Video: YouTube.com [via The Page]