What were the clueless wonders at the Republican National Committee thinking? Did those worthies really believe that news about spiffing up the wardrobe of Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin to the tune of $150K in September would never surface in the media.

The RNC conducted a shopping spree at Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale’s, Barneys New York and Neiman Marcus to outfit Palin in the best that Valentino has to offer. It’s enough to make one throw up his hands in disgust at the outrageous stupidity of the RNC. What would Joe the Plumber’s wife think of Palin’s new clothes?

Palin’s makeover undermines the makeover that she provided to the sleepy McCain campaign. Her only selling point — as far as this blogger can see — was that her Wasilla, Alaska, background made her a Washington outsider, for sure. Team McCain reveled that the Wal-Mart-shopping, caribou-dressing, hockey mom was just the ticket to fire up the conservative and evangelical base that was not crazy with McCain in the first place. You are not going to find that crowd shopping at Barneys’ Madison Ave. emporium.

Initially, the Palin shot-in-the-arm worked. [This blogger remembers an e-mail received from wanna-be Congressman Bob Straniere, the Republican who yearns to replace disgraced Vito Fossella in NYC’s 13th district. Straniere’s message: “All [of] New York State is now in play for the GOP.” My response: “You are nuts.” Straniere doesn’t have a prayer against Democrat Mike McMahon on Election Day.]

The Palin novelty thankfully wore off as grim reality swept coast-to-coast that she could be only a heartbeat away from taking over for 72-year-old President McCain. A just-released Wall Street Journal/NBC poll finds that 55 percent of Americans now say Palin is unqualified to serve as President. Her negative ratings have shot up 20 points over the past two months to 47 percent as Americans “got to know her.” The true tale of the tape: Palin’s lack of Presidential qualifications is now that No. 1 concern voters have of a McCain Administration, even beating the gloomy prospect that McCain’s Administration would turn out to be an extension of the Bush White House.

Do the geniuses at the RNC believe a gussied-up Palin can expand her appeal to more moderate and less likely gun-toting types? Do they believe that dressing up the self-proclaimed pit-bull as a Bijun friese is going to generate some magic on Nov. 4?

You remember how McCain denigrated Hillary Clinton’s healthcare proposals as nothing more than putting lipstick on a pig. C’mon Sarah, tell the RNC where to go, and slap on those old duds.

They fit you well.