Palin's style worth a fat $150,000

Washington: John McCain's presidential campaign said thousands of dollars worth of clothing purchased by the Republican Party for running mate Sarah Palin will go to a "charitable purpose" after the campaign.

The Republican National Committee spent about $150,000 (Dh551,700) on clothing, hair styling, makeup and other "campaign accessories" in September for the McCain campaign after Palin, the governor of Alaska, joined the ticket.

The expenses include $75,062 (Dh276,078) spent at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis and $41,850 (Dh153,924) in St. Louis in early September. The committee also reported spending $4,100 (Dh15080) for makeup and hair consulting. The expenses were first reported by Politico.com.

"With all of the important issues facing the country right now, it's remarkable that we're spending time talking about pantsuits and blouses," said McCain spok-eswoman Tracey Schmitt, who has been traveling with Palin. "It was always the intent that the clothing go to a charitable purpose after the campaign."

The RNC has been helping the McCain campaign financially now that McCain is locked into spending only $84 million (Dh309 million) for the fall campaign under his agreement to accept public financing.