ELECTION CAMPAIGNERS yesterday admitted spending more than $90,000 (€70,000) on clothes and make-up for Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
The party's national committee splashed out at top stores, spending $46,000 in one trip to Neiman Marcus and almost $3,000 on hair and make-up for Mrs Palin who has described herself as "a pitbull with lipstick".
John McCain's presidential campaign said that the clothes will go to a "charitable purpose" after the election.
The expenses were unearthed by the website Politico.com but initially the party refused to discuss them.
A McCain spokeswoman said: "With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses. It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."
The committee has been helping the McCain campaign financially now that Mr McCain is locked into spending only 84 million dollars for the campaign after deciding to accept public funding.
Barack Obama opted out of the public system and raised a massive $150 million in September.
The committee is allowed to spend up to $19 million in "co-ordinated expenses" with the campaign.
In September it spent a total of $4.4 million. The clothing and styling was part of that, but most went on postage for campaign mailings.
Federal campaign finance law prohibits the use of campaign funds for personal use, but it defines personal use as any expense "that would exist irrespective of the candidate's campaign or duties as a federal office-holder."
- (AP)