Cost of Putting Lipstick on a Pit Bull?

$68,400. That's the total of figures being reported in campaign finance reports by the Republican National Committee. The figure went for makeup for vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. From the New York Times:

Gov. Sarah Palin's traveling makeup artist was paid $68,400, and her hairstylist received more than $42,000 for roughly two months of work, according to a new campaign finance report filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Ms. Palin's makeup artist, Amy Strozzi -- who was nominated for an Emmy award for her cosmetics work on the television show "So You Think You Can Dance?" -- was paid $32,400 by Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign between Oct. 16 and Nov. 24, the period covered by the most recent reports filed with the commission.

This amount came on top of the $36,000 she had already been paid in previous reports, dating back to September.

In addition, Ms. Palin's traveling hair stylist, Angela Lew, was paid a total of $42,225, with $23,400 coming during the period covered by the latest reports to the commission, which were due at midnight on Thursday.

That sounds elitist to me, but some who normally spend those kinds of bucks on makeup and hairstyling may not think so. It's not like the RNC paid $150,000 for a wardrobe for Palin that she's still wearing, even though they promised it was going to charity, or an additional $30,000 on "accessories."

These are the folks who drove the record deficits in the last eight years. It is a wonder why anyone would trust them with government if they can't keep even simple spending down.