In John Edwards' America, it's okay to spend $225k for a new phone for your jet

Who cares about $400 haircuts in which the candidate was not "personally involved," when he's spending $225k — that's TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS (as we redundancy-prone lawyers are inclined to write) — on a new phone system for his campaign jet back in 2004? (h/t Redstate)

About $1.3 million was spent to reconfigure two jets before the general election. Kerry's primary campaign committee paid for most of the work.

....

It cost more than $900,000 to customize Kerry's Boeing 757, including $63,103 for campaign decals on the plane's exterior.

The price tag for reconfiguring Edwards' Boeing 727 was $300,738, including $224,894 for a new telephone system and $27,659 for decals.

I would guess that probably included some extras — caller-ID? one-touch dialing? or maybe faster-than-light intergalactic transmission capabilities?

If it were a phone system designed to ensure constant and secure EMP-shielded encrypted world-wide communications from, say, the actual Vice President — instead of just a wanna-be — I can imagine that one might have to start spending some big bucks for jet-borne communication systems. But for a candidate, just during a campaign, just to make phone calls while on an airplane flying from place to place inside the United States?

How many zeros does a campaign expenditure have to have after it to get John Edwards' personal attention? How many zeros does a campaign expenditure have to have after it before we can conclude with absolute certainty that this guy lacks the degree of good judgment commonly shared by most American six-year-olds?