I was reading my favorite New York Times column this morning (Maureen Dowd’s Op-Ed with a strange title, “Boxers, Briefs or Silks?”), and my negative opinion about Sarah from Alaska continued to be reinforced. But, towards the end, I read that Sarah Palin was “still receiving shipments of custom-designed underpinnings up to her ‘Saturday Night Live’ performance in October.”
Could I have been wrong about this woman? Could all of us have been wrong about her? Were there really more than folksy “you betcha” and “doggone it” thoughts and concepts in her head? Was she really burning the midnight oil during a strenuous campaign and consulting with structural engineers to evaluate various “custom-designed” supports and foundations for our crumbling bridges and infrastructure?
For a second or two, my opinion of her soared. My momentary admiration, however, was replaced by confusion when I read the next sentences, “Silk boxers and custom-designed underpinnings? Sounds like Sarah and Todd were treating the vice presidential run as a second honeymoon.”
Did the First Dude also have a structural engineering background? But what was this about silk boxers and a second honeymoon?
Then, I re-read the preceding paragraph that I had obviously not yet assimilated:
As Michael Shear reported in The Washington Post, on top of the $150,000 first cited in F.E.C. filings, Palin spent “tens of thousands of dollars” on more clothes, makeup and jewelry for herself and her family, including $40,000 in luxury goods for the First Dude. The campaign was charged for silk boxers, spray tanners and 13 suitcases to carry the designer duds…
Just to be sure, I asked my wife whether the word “underpinning” could have a second meaning, and she explained that the plural, “underpinnings,” could also mean “underwear.” Still incredulous, I Googled the word and the first web site that came up must have been one that was created at the turn of the century (the nineteenth century, that is) because, as a sub-set of “underpinnings,” it defined “Drawers” as:
For modesty, especially with hoops
Mid calf length, split crotch
Trim: minimal pin tucks and white work
My only question now is, why was Sarah Palin buying these for the First Dude?
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.