1. The wardrobe story.
In late October, word breaks that the Republican National Committee had spent upwards of $150,000 to clothe Sarah Palin and her family while on the campaign trail. Pundits on both sides seize on the story, with some saying the disclosure undermined Palin's populist appeal, while others rail that even talking about a female candidate's wardrobe is sexist. Palin addresses the controversy days later at a Florida rally. "Those clothes, they are not my property," she said. "Just like the lighting and the staging and everything else that the RNC purchased. I'm not taking them with me."