All hat no cattle

Not only has the McCain campaign spent $150,000 on clothes for Sarah Palin, but, apparently, Palin's makeup artist is the highest paid staffer on the McCain/Palin campaign.

Partly, of course, it's that there's a ridiculous double standard in politics. Male politicians can wear the same three medium-priced suits and three neckties over a whole campaign. A female politician runs a risk if she's ever seen wearing the same thing twice, and her wardrobe choices are inevitably going to be dissected. The appearance of a female candidate is a far bigger issue. Which is flat-out sexist, but it's reality.

But to me, there's something else going on here. Republicans have spent so long focusing on image and not on substance that, finally, they've actually forgotten the difference.

Once upon a time, it was a canny strategy. Reagan and his staff were masters of the art of overwhelming facts with image. There's the famous story about Leslie Stahl, back in the 80s, doing a story that was critical of Reagan's use of images that contradicted facts.

"I knew the piece would have an impact, if only because it was so long: five minutes and 40 seconds, practically a documentary in Evening News terms," Stahl later wrote. I worried that my sources at the White House would be angry enough to freeze me out."

That's not what happened. Reagan adviser Dick Darman called from the White House to tell her how much they had loved the piece.

Stahl replied, incredulously, "Didn't you hear what I said?"

Darman replied, "Nobody heard what you said. You guys in Televisionland haven't figured it out, have you? When the pictures are powerful and emotional, they override if not completely drown out the sound. I mean it, Lesley. Nobody heard you."

This, as much as anything, is how Republicans have done so well in the last 30 years. They figured out that it's not about good policy or even popular policy. It's all about pretty pictures. You go on TV, you look presidential, and it almost doesn't matter what else you do.

George W. Bush raised this almost to the level of camp. For beginning to end the man's presidency has been, as Michael Stipe might say, a simple prop to occupy our time, from the pretend ranch Karl Rove told him to buy for photo-op purposes (he bought it just before running for president and is selling it as soon as he leaves office) to the cowboy hats and other costume items (not only is Bush a rich kid from a prominent New England family, he's actually afraid of horses).

And I guess special mention does need to go to the ultimate campy joke candidate, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who had a pothole dug in a street in San Jose so he could be photographed filling it in. Bonus for also wearing white pants for the photo-op (I'm no road maintenance expert, but I'm pretty sure tar is black and sticky).

Maybe it's just that, despite the press's best efforts, this election really does hinge on issues, not images. Maybe it's that Sarah Palin is so obviously a phony that no amount of spending on her appearance can make her seem otherwise. But the usual Republican distractions aren't working this time, it would seem.

And it would seem they've forgotten how to do anything else.