Meg Oliver

At the top of Wednesday’s CBS Early Show, co-host Maggie Rodriguez declared: "The McCain campaign under fire for spending $150,000 on clothes and accessories for Sarah Palin and her family." Correspondent Jeff Glor later introduced the story: "Meanwhile, there's another story this morning that's getting a lot of attention and it's about Sarah Palin, who's gotten a lot of attention herself. It turns out that attention has come at a price." Correspondent Meg Oliver reported: "This is what she's wearing these days on the campaign trail, expensive designer clothes, apparently paid for by the Republican National Committee. Spending records filed with the Federal Election Commission showed the RNC paid for campaign accessories from upscale department stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, where nearly $50,000 was spent, Neiman Marcus, $75,000, and $4700 for hair and makeup."

However, in a June 18 puff piece, the Early Show attempted to describe Barack Obama as a common man when it came to fashion: "...if you're wondering about that GQ look, don't expect stories about fancy custom tailoring." That was followed by Chicago Sun Times reporter Lynn Sweet explaining: "I interviewed him. I said where do you get your suits? And he says he bought them off the rack at Nordstrom's and Bloomingdale's." What exactly is the difference between Sarah Palin getting her clothes at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus and Obama getting his clothes at Nordstrom’s and Bloomingdale’s?

Tuesday’s CBS "Early Show" led with co-host Julie Chen exclaiming: "Sexism hits the campaign trail as Rush Limbaugh asks if voters want to stare at an aging woman as president." This harsh accusation was in reference to comments made by Limbaugh during his radio show on Monday, in which he said: "Will Americans want to watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis? And that woman, by the way, is not going to want to look like she's getting older because it'll impact poll numbers, it'll impact perceptions."

The "Early Show" did not do a full segment on the story, but did feature a news brief at the top of the 8:00am hour by CBS Anchor Meg Oliver:

MEG OLIVER: And now a story that's expected to reverberate throughout the day. The question of sexism in politics. It's of particular interest in Campaign 2008, where a woman has a good chance of becoming a major party nominee. Radio commentator Rush Limbaugh yesterday had some thoughts after seeing this picture of Hillary Clinton posted on the internet. Limbaugh believes Americans are addicted to physical perfection and wonders if this country is ready to watch a woman age in the Oval Office.