NEWSWEEK has learned that Palin’s shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain’s top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent “tens of thousands” more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as “Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast,” and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.
A Palin aide said: “Governor Palin was not directing staffers to put anything on their personal credit cards, and anything that staffers put on their credit cards has been reimbursed, like an expense. Nasty and false accusations following a defeat say more about the person who made them than they do about Governor Palin.”
Other shocking campaign disclosures, below the fold:
John Podesta, Valerie Jarrett and Pete Rouse have been named co-chairs of Barack Obama’s and Joe Biden’s transition team, according to Nick Shapiro of the Obama-Biden campaign. A new 501(c)(4), to be known as the Obama-Biden Transition Project, is being formally planned.
Podesta served as Bill Clinton’s chief of staff and is currently president of the Center for American Progress. Jarrett is a long-time associate of Obama’s from Chicago and has served as senior advisor to his campaign. Rouse has served as Obama’s chief of staff during his U.S. Senate tenure, a position Rouse also filled for former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle.
In a heavy drizzle shortly after midnight on November 5, 2008, several thousand people filled the barricaded segment of Pennsylvania Avenue between 15th and 17th streets in front of the White House dancing and chanting “O-ba-ma!” and “Whose house? Obama’s house!” Some sang “America the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
At 14th and U streets NW, hundreds of Sen. Barack Obama’s supporters chanted, “Yes, we can!” People danced on bus shelters. Strangers hugged.
Here is some video of the event recorded on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House:
Election night ended an extraordinary day in the Washington region, one charged with deep emotion and a vivid sense of history. Older African Americans wiped away tears as they cast their ballots, overwhelmed by the reality that in their lifetime a man of color was at the threshold of the presidency. Some went to the polls with icons linking them to loved ones: a poll-tax receipt, photos of long-dead relatives. Many brought their children to bear witness.
President George W. Bush said Wednesday (11/5/08) that he had congratulated Barack Obama on his historic election as the first black president of the United States, saying that voters had “showed a watching world the vitality of America’s democracy and the strides we have made toward a more perfect union.”
The president, in brief remarks from the White House Rose Garden, also said he had spoken last night to Senator John McCain to congratulate him on what Bush called “a determined campaign.”
“The American people will always be grateful for the lifetime of service John McCain has devoted to this nation,” Bush said, adding that he felt certain that the Arizona senator would “continue to make tremendous contributions.”
Here is video of George W. Bush making a public statement from the Rose Garden of the White House to congratulate President-Elect Obama.
The president, who will hand over power to Obama on Jan. 20 in what surely will be one of the most widely watched inaugurations ever, promised to do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition.
In Washington, D.C. on Wednesday (11/5/08), President George W. Bush said Wednesday that he had congratulated Barack Obama on his historic election as the first black president of the United States, saying that voters had “showed a watching world the vitality of America’s democracy and the strides we have made toward a more perfect union.”
The president, in brief and gracious remarks from the White House Rose Garden, also said he had spoken last night to Senator John McCain to congratulate him on what Bush called “a determined campaign.”
“The American people will always be grateful for the lifetime of service John McCain has devoted to this nation,” Bush said, adding that he felt certain that the Arizona senator would “continue to make tremendous contributions.”
The president, who will hand over power to Obama on Jan. 20 in what surely will be one of the most widely watched inaugurations ever, promised to do everything possible to ensure a smooth transition.
