I needed clothes too. I buy from J. Jill, Coldwater Creek, and Travelsmith -- all on sale*

Only a guy who's married to a $100 million heiress who has somewhere between seven and ten houses and thirteen automobiles would defend spending $150,000 of campaign funds on clothes for his running mate by saying "She needed clothes":

John McCain defended the Republican National Committee’s decision Thursday to spend more than $150,000 dollars on clothing and accessories for running mate Sarah Palin.

“She needed clothes at the time,” McCain told a group of Florida reporters.

The Arizona Republican said that the clothing will be donated to charity and that there was nothing unusual about spending the committee’s money on Palin’s look.

“They'll be donated at end of this campaign. They'll be donated to charity,” McCain said.

“It works by her getting some clothes when she was made the nominee of the party and it will be donated back to charity,” he added. “It works that the clothes will be donated to charity. Nothing surprises me.”

She's the governor of a state, and we're supposed to believe that Sarah Palin had no suits, no professional-looking clothing whatsoever to wear on the campaign trail? And even if you want to believe that, where is it written that she needs $150,000 worth of clothes from Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman-Marcus?

John McCain can invoke all the Joe the Plumbers he wants, it doesn't change the fact that by saying that this expense was justified because "she needed clothes" is the biggest Let Them Eat Cake moment since Leona Helmsley said that only the little people pay taxes.

And they call Obama the elitist?

And by the way, John Aravosis made an excellent point yesterday about this "donating the clothes to charity" nonsense:

Sarah Palin can't accept $150,000 dollars in goods, use them, then later give them away to charity and not pay taxes on the gift she received. By the time she gives them away to charity, they're used clothes - and worth about 1/3 of their original value. So, sure, she can take a tax deduction on the $50,000 in clothes she's giving away (a savings of perhaps $15k or so), but she still has to pay $50k or so in taxes on the $150,000 gift she received in the first place. That means Palin will owe $35,000 net in taxes due to her big shopping spree at Neiman Marcus and Saks. And the Republicans can't help her pay for it, or she'll be paying taxes on their help as well.

Of course, Palin is no stranger to failing to report her taxable income - she did the same thing while serving as governor of Alaska.

Let's just hope the voters of America remember what a shtik dreck this greedy, trashy woman is when she announces her candidacy to be the Republican party's standard bearer on November 5.

*Here's what I do when I need clothes: I wait till J. Jill sends me an e-mail offering 25% off all sale, clearance, and outlet items. Or till Travelsmith sends me an e-mail offering 20% off all sale clothing. Or till Coldwater Creek has one of its 25% off everything on the site sales. I get lovely, well-made clothes for a fantastic price. And I don't go around the country talking about what a Regular Josephine I am, either. Nor do I have the chutzpah to believe I'm qualified to be Vice-President. I am, however, well-informed and I do read newspapers.