Crowley Political Report

Now who thought this was a good idea? Apparently, Ann Romney spent four hours Saturday doing some very private shopping at the very exclusive Alfred Fiandaca Couture store on Palm Beach's Worth Avenue.

Crowley Political Report is puzzled. Isn't the Romney campaign supposed to be trying to convince voters that they are just like the rest of us?

Not many folks shop at places like Alfred Fiandaca which has stores in Palm Beach, Boston and New York. And not many people have the store closed for them in the middle of a Saturday so they can shop in private for four hours.

According to Shannon Donnelly of the  Palm Beach Daily News - affectionately dubbed the Shiny Sheet - Fiandaca, "closed the store for her so she could shop in peace without any worries about paparazzi grabbing a shot of her in the fitting room. . . .

"The private shopping went well for the wife of the presumptive candidate . . . but for the customers who had “Stop by Alfred’s” at the top of their Saturday to-do list, well, not so much. They had to wait. Some did, patiently and quietly. Others did, not so patiently and not so quietly.

"Finally, Ann strolled out, shopping bags in hand, smiled at the small crowd gathered on the sidewalk, (and) climbed into the big black car. . . "

Note to the Romney campaign - if you want folks to forget that you are building a car elevator for your California home, or the fact that you also have homes in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and convince voters that you are just very fortunate, ordinary neighbors - try shopping at Target.

But don't ask them to close the store for you.