Where Are Palin's Clothes? The Rnc Won't Say

An enraged Republican donor called Republican National Committee officials "clueless" for their failure to donate or account for Gov. Sarah Palin's campaign wardrobe. Instead, as NewMajority revealed yesterday, the former GOP vice presidential candidate's expensive duds -- totalling $180,000 -- sits in purgatory at the RNC's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"They may want to be supportive of her," a major GOP donor told NewMajority, "but they are so out of touch that they're not doing anything to help her by not donating these clothes."

"They must be clueless that they didn't make [donating the clothes] a priority."

During the campaign, and as recently as this week, both campaign and RNC officials promised that the clothes would be donated and fully accounted for. But since NewMajority broke the story yesterday, RNC spokesmen have been denying it to national media, repeatedly calling the story "inaccurate." Yet in none of the stories does the RNC offer any details as to these alleged inaccuracies, preferring instead to dismiss its own promise as old news that nobody is interested in anymore. The RNC repeatedly has been asked for its own version of events, but has rebuffed all questions about the location of the clothes or any timeline for making the donation.

Frum Forum Editor David Frum said that over the months since the end of the campaign he has spoken to many donors angry about the use made of their money - but that they are reluctant to make public comment. Reaction to NewMajority's story may explain this reluctance. Frum said: "The RNC initiated a conversation with me today. The conversation was off the record, so I won't quote it, but I think I can characterize it as threatening." Frum added: "I said I was eager to hear of any inaccuracies in the story. I said that their denials would be a lot more convincing if they could name even one thing in the story that was wrong."

While the clothes remain sequestered, the question remains: Why? What's the big secret in the bags?