Op-Ed: Tanning Beds Next on the Sarah Palin-Palooza Agenda

In the next segment of the Palin-Palooza (which seems to be a big deal to some), we learn that Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and republican VP candidate, has a tanning bed in the Governor's mansion. Of course, she paid for the used machine herself.

The Politico reports Sarah Palin had a tanning bed installed in the Governors mansion. A used tanning machine for those long days which sometimes occur with 22 hours of darkness in Alaska as Matthew Yglesias points out. More on exactly when and where and how long darkness hits Alaska can be found at Alaska.com for the technical info of Alaskan weather. This tanning bed seems to be the hot topic for members of the far left progressive blogosphere with some, such as TPMMuckraker and US Magazine, quoting prices of new tanning machines as an example of how most people cannot afford a tanning bed in their home. Palin bought her tanning bed as surplus from a local athletic club.

The news of Palin's luxurious purchase -- beds can cost as much as $35,000 -- presents a sharp contrast to the blue-collar persona she projects on the campaign trail.

This is countered by conservative Jules Crittenden who points out that according to pricing for used machines, found here, most cost between $1,000 and $4,000 these days and a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Roger Wetherell, tells Politico "She paid for it with her own money." I am guessing someone will insist on a long drawn out investigation demanding to know the make, model and year of this tanning bed so it can be determined exactly how much of Palin's money she spent on her bed. NewsBusters provides another link to another site which sells used tanning beds for about $2,000 but better yet, they have dubbed this whole scandal appropriately as "CopperGate".