Palin’s makeup artist …

… was the highest paid campaign team member over a two-week period. I didn’t blog about the $150K clothes budget from the RNC because I thought it was non-story in the campaigning sense. It was a story in the sense the image crafted and nurtured for Palin was “one of the people.”

Over one hundred thousand dollars in designer clothes nullify that image. Of course, she hasn’t been “one of the people.” even in Alaska, for a very long time. Any politician working at the state level or higher is far, far from the people.

This makeup artist story is completely different in that it exposes a fundamental area of focus in the McCain campaign as it slowly circles the drain.

Is the most money going into deep-drilling polling trying to uncover a strategy for every last electoral vote? No. How about for an advertising professional to craft a last-gasp ad series to counteract the failing ad buys? Nope. Well, maybe just go complete slime and hire high-end voice talent for misleading robocalls, maybe over pay but make sure the recipients get at least of tinge of recognition when they hear that recorded voice. No way.

The most money spent on any individual in the campaign right now, less than two weeks out? Amy Strozzi, Palin’s personal makeup artist.

From the link:

Who was the highest paid individual in Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign during the first half of October as it headed down the homestretch?

Not Randy Scheunemann, Mr. McCain’s chief foreign policy adviser; not Nicolle Wallace, his senior communications staffer. It was Amy Strozzi, who was identified by the Washington Post this week as Gov. Sarah Palin’s traveling makeup artist, according to a new filing with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday night.

Ms. Strozzi, who was nominated for an Emmy award for her makeup work on the television show “So You Think You Can Dance?”, was paid $22,800 for the first two weeks of October alone, according to the records. The campaign categorized Ms. Strozzi’s payment as “Personnel Svc/Equipment.”

In addition, Angela Lew, who is Ms. Palin’s traveling hair stylist, got $10,000 for “Communications Consulting” in the first half of October. Ms. Lew’s address listed in F.E.C. records traces to an Angela M. Lew in Thousands Oaks, Calif., which matches with a license issued by the California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology. The board said Ms. Lew works at a salon called Hair Grove in Westlake Village, Calif.