The NY Times is reporting that Palin's make-up artist was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October.
In addition to that, her hair stylist received $10,000 so far this month.
This makes the make-up artist the highest paid McCain campaign staffer.
Here is the beginning of the story from the Times:
Who was the highest paid individual in Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign during the first half of October as it headed down the homestretch?
Not Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser; not Nicolle Wallace, his senior communications staffer. It was Amy Strozzi, who was identified by the Washington Post this week as Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night.
Clearly, this reflects on the McCain campaigns priorities. The Hockey Mom with the $150,000 wardrobe, and now, it appears, the $30,000 face and head of hair - at least.
It would be interesting to know how much other high profile politicians pay for such things. Oh wait, in one case we do. It makes John Edward's $400 haircut seem insigifnicant by comparison. Last month the McCain campaign paid Palin's hair stylist $13,200 for "GOTV consulting." The hair stylist, Angela Lew, worked out of a hair salon that was recommended to Palin by Cindy McCain. Ahh yes, the rich baronness tossing a bone to the help by way of the hockey mom. You have to love patronage-based America.
Just another slap in the face to the American taxpayer.
Update
LNK points out in the comments, that it isn't just the amount of money being discussed here. It is the fact that the McCain campaign lied about what they were spending the money on. "Communications" equipment, GOTV consulting, etc. The whole story is a can of worms for the McCain campaign.
And in reference to another comment regarding Cambell Brown labelling this kind of reporting as sexist - do you really get to have it both ways? If the media is to argue that this is sexist, then they certainly shouldn't have been commenting on Clinton's appearance, wardrobe, et. al. any more or any differently than they did the male candidates during the primary. But they did, and that just feeds into all of this.
Everything about this story upsets me. The ugliness of our "beauty" culture, the ugliness of a political campaign that buys into it and takes it to a level beyond the understanding of anyone who isn't part of the Very Rich Super Upper Class, and the lying to cover it up simply because, it appears, that's what they do best.