a partial defense of Sarah Palin
I saw an image of Barack Obama with resoled shoes. It made me think of two things. #1: Adlai Stevenson, one of many presidential candidates Obama has been compared to, who famously was caught with holes in his shoes — in his case adding to an “Absent Minded Professor” image. Obama’s shoe-shot was meant to add to a minor “Working Class Hero” image of sorts, as against Sarah Palin’s expensive outfits.
And that was the second thing I thought about. The gender double-standard that helped lead to Palin’s expensive wardrobe. Surely it is part of the “uber-attractive” image they have cut out for Palin, but how would we respond if she was photographed with holes (patched up or not) in her shoes? The tabloids and news media would go wild. Which, I suppose, they have in the case of her expensive outfits.