Washington, October 27 : U. S. Republican presidential candidate John McCain has said that one-third of the clothing and accessories worth 150,000 dollars, purchased by the party on for his running mate Sarah Palin and her family, have been returned.

He insisted that the clothes would be donated to charity after the election.

"Look, she lives a frugal life. She and her family are not wealthy. She and her family were thrust into this, and there was some - and some third of that money is given back, the rest will be donated to charity," CBS News quoted him as saying during an interview on NBC''s ‘Meet the Press’.

Media reports suggested that the purchases made at high-end department stores like Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus last week offered a stark contrast to Palin''s image as an average "hockey mom".

However, McCain rejected the notion that Palin was unqualified, and that she was hurting the campaign.

"Americans right now care about whether they''re going to stay in their homes, whether they''re going to have a job, whether they''re going to be able to keep their health insurance, if we''re going to come out of this ditch that we''re in. They want change. They want reform. She is a role model to millions and millions and millions of Americans," he said. (ANI)