What RNC? Palin Grandbaby News Dominates Media

The Republican party may be trying to make the best of their Gustav-affected convention, but the news that vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant has thrown a lot of attention onto things other than why John McCain should be president.

The NY Times says that the disclosure of Bristol Palin's pregnancy is "one of several revelations that called into question how well John McCain had screened her" (the others being her Troopergate incident, her husband's DWI decades ago, and her membership in Alaska's independence party). Some feel that the pregnancy will resonate with Americans who have had to deal with similar situations, while others question Palin's opposition to "programs that teach teenagers anything about contraception."

The McCain camp suggested the announcement was made because of liberal blog's gossiping--and even that Barack Obama's campaign was behind it. Obama said:

I’ve heard some of the news on this, and so let me be as clear as possible. I have said before and I will repeat again: I think people’s families are off limits. And people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And so I would strongly urge people to back off of these kinds of stories.

You know, my mother had me when she was 18. And so how family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics. And I hope that anybody who’s supporting me understands that’s off limits.

As for Bristol Palin, the father was revealed to be Levi Johnston, an 18-year-old ice hockey player at her high school. The Daily News describes the pregnancy as an "open secret," and his coach said, "He was a good kid to be around, with lots of friends. He was well-liked." The media flocked to Johnston's MySpace page (which was taken down), where he called himself a "f-----' redneck" and someone who doesn't want to have kids. The Daily Intel thinks Johnston is "sex on skates," a hot "baby daddy," and "basically the quintessential example of that guy who you are constantly worried is going to impregnate your daughter (and occasionally does)."

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By Jen Chung in News on September 2, 2008 11:37 AM

Comments [rss]

ironybubble

Don't forget the totally under-reported return of Iraq's Anbar province to the Iraqi gov't during this same time. ...an event which included a parade of American troops marching sans weaponry and armor.

NannyState

How do we know that Mom didn't pimp the little daughter out to the most eligible hockey playing sperm donor? She certainly is no example herself, spitting out kids like a rabbit on steroids. Maybe she fantasized about her little extended hockey family, about having sons and sons-in-law in the NHL signing over their bonuses to her household. Maybe the whole "Governor" thing is just a subterfuge to lure young studs to her Christian chicken ranch.

PoliticalCrier

Politicians can't have it both ways. They can't put forth a certain image to illustrate their family values and then demand that the public ignore the flip side of the pretty framed picture. Bristol should not be judged. BUT — the pregnancy is relevant in terms of the debate over teen pregnancy, sex education, and contraception/abstinence.

Barbj8

So would they eventually all get to live in the Whitetrash House?

Spirit of 76

[43] Funny, I don't remember Bill Clinton lecturing us about cheating. Or for that matter trying to criminalize it or otherwise impressing his opinion on us. But that's exactly what the Republicans do, trying to cut off all funding to all sex education except their cherished "abstinence" programs. Trying to limit the availability of contraceptives because God intended sex only for procreation, don't you know? Fat lot of good it did her daughter. If it didn't work in her own family, how can she in good conscience try to force everybody else to use only that policy?

qwerty

Yeah, I’m so with you on this warmidgetheather. Parents being held accountable for their children? How dare they! Outrageous!

Great job on the Clinton comparison too. Let’s take it even deeper and examine their kids. Stanford and Oxford vs. Teen mom. Way to keep it real Palin! Go America!

chuzzlewit

true - she could've been born into a family of intolerant hicks.

Mrs. Carvalho

I can't believe that people are holding the mother accountable for the daughter. The daughter should be accountable for her own actions. At 17, I knew right from wrong, and I'm telling you, at least she knows who the father is. That's more than I can say for the girls that got pregnant at my high school. Nonetheless, people make mistakes, and nobody's perfect. Palin's ability to serve as VP has nothing to do with her husband's DWI record or with her child's pregnancy. Get a grip, people. Clinton cheated on his wife and LIED about it to America. Did we demand that another President be put in office? No. At least this one's got it all out in the open. I give her credit- she's got a family and a career. It's gotta take will power and great time-management skills. There are far worse things her daughter could be than pregnant.

takethecanoli

Birth control and abortion are of Satan!

Buttsechs for Jesus!

Or Family Guy style, 'in the ear'.

Seriously, that hokey punk needs his legs broken.

At least the father isn't *her* father....that would have been a media wet dream.

robingee

What will Bristol and Levi name their kid?

fugothamist

ok, if you lived in a swing state who would you vote for?

SikBug

Here is more info on that Wolf thing

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/494548.html

The write up I was sent this morning was from someone that belongs to defenders of Wildlife, which it seems has had a disinterest in her for quite some time now. I can fwd the email if anyone wants to check it out.

takethecanoli

nader here too

nicemarmot

Yeah this is totally typical anyplace where these fundies rule. I grew up in one of their havens. They teach their children that sex is evil, but contraception is even more evil, and abortion is the evillest of all. The result is lots of teen pregnancies. Women are just baby machines to these people anyway, so they don't care if young girls ruin their lives having babies.

babyhitler

Palin should have teached her daughter the gay man way which is ANAL. No way she's gonna get pregnant from furious butt secks. Too bad the repubs hate the gays. Gays don't have accidents.

Jen Chung

@35, at this rate, probably my man from 2000: Ralph Nader.

fugothamist

who will jen vote for in November?

westernqueensland

Bait and Switch

See Herbert's column today and think about having your own babies rather than castigating a randy little glacier baby with a hypocritical sanctimonious mom.

gossipgirl

CNN originally reported that the baby daddy was one of McCain's aides....

abcohen

SO whats the bet before Palin backs out of VP status... to focus on her home issues...

donner

@whatstheproblem...

It's my understanding that the main reason Sarah Palin went public with this info was to save her own ass in regards to the internet rumors that her youngest was really her grandson... I hardly see how that's being so honest and decent. She's kind of throwing her daughter under a bus if you ask me.

chuzzlewit

whoops. insert "mansion".

chuzzlewit

does the alaskan governor's have cinder block front steps and a defunct plymouth duster in the front yard?

Kojak

She WAS practicing abstinence. Dont you people see?? This will be a virgin birth!

This is what the Christian right has been waiting for all these years. The Virgin Bristol will give birth to our savior.

JacqueMehoff

get her one of them hockey masks and strap it to her vagina. it stops pucks and penises.

birdmechanical

This just means that Republicans need to teach abstinence only harder till it works.

Think2wice

Sarah: "Now sweetie I need you to hide this pregnancy 'cause Mommy's running for Vice President."

Bristol: "WHOA DREAM BIG!!"

Sarah (throws a Bible at her): "I am FILLED with the love of Christ!!"

VanessaNYC

I'm an Obama supporter and I feel pretty bad for Bristol Palin, not just because she is being dragged through the mud by the media but because she likely wasn't given a choice by her parents about whether she could keep the baby or have an abortion. Now she's got to marry that hockey guy. Here's hoping that he's a decent guy.

Sarah Palin, on the other hand... I have absolutely zero sympathy for her and her situation.

JacqueMehoff

again that good old abstinence policy ain't working.

it opened up for the big redneck on campus.

16 years old. what a Whitehouse this is going to be.

I hope this one's going to be normal but from the looks of the father...

Steven

The media just had a field day with Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy and now we have Bristol Palin.

Doesn't anyone tell these young women and men about using a condom? If you're going to do it then use protection!

Headzo

JMH- "puckbunny", you're being too kind.

They're "Pucksluts" where I come from

WorksInDUMBO

“Family decisions are a private matter, ... but they should not be private for someone who has no respect for the decisions of other families"

Perfect. Exactly.

whatstheproblem

Sarah Palin kids having kids really doesn't concern me. This isn't Leave it to Beaver. Good for her for supporting her daughter and not trying to cover it up. Obama's right to say that people shouldn't bring people families' lives into this. McCain should be lucky to have a running mate as honest and decent as Palin.

Spirit of 76

Reporters really should press Palin on that point at every one of her appearances. "Governor, can you please tell us your opinion on the efficacy of abstinence-only programs such as the ones you advocate?" I'd love to see how she squirms out of that.

One question: her daughter is 17. But how old was she five months ago when she conceived? Was she an even more embarrassing 16?

fastergrace

"If you're going to make it illegal for me to decide what to do with my own body, then don't expect me not to call out your hypocrisy."

Good point.

JMH

LOL... she's a puckbunny. Classic.

HolyDiver

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA - LOL. Oh God and Baby Jesus I hope SikBug you are right. I haven't read anything about that but if she thinks its okay to shoot stuff from an airplane well that just might be the funniest thing I have ever heard in my life.

It's amazing that every 4 yrs. we all get together to vote for who we think the best of the certifiable is to "lead" our country.

If you were out and about, at a bar, party, laundry mat, struck up a conversation with someone and that person said they are all for shooting wolves from a airplanes - you're drink would be flying out of your nose cuz you would be laughing so hard. And once you found out that person was dead serious....!?!?!

fakenewyorker

JUNO, ALASKA

should have been the cover

mocanlagunas

I just hope the Republicans don't win... but I'm afraid they'll will... sigh!

Anna_Merkin

Agree (mostly) with BongoBoy's assessment. The GOP had to stage-manage McCain to keep him from wrecking his own campaign (a second time during this election season) and they'll do the same for Palin. Yet the strident GOP supporters refer to Obama as a puppet.

plk779

A commenter on an nytimes piece about this makes sense to me: “Family decisions are a private matter, ... but they should not be private for someone who has no respect for the decisions of other families"

If you're going to make it illegal for me to decide what to do with my own body, then don't expect me not to call out your hypocrisy.

Fritzdecat

Reminds me of Al Gore and his kid who went off the deep end dopin and wreckin...it seems all politicos left and right want to tell you what to do but check out their situation and laugh yourself silly.

Rush Limbaugh Oh The Family... The Family ...is all that matters, How many times has that clown been married and he wants to lecture to me its all about family?

Dirty Laundry , someone should write a song about it...

Politburo

"The woman should gracefully decline the nomination and go home and tend to her family."

Even if she did this, which is ridiculous, she would still be governor of a state.

SikBug it is correct, but the supporters of the practice claim it is not sport hunting, but 'predator management'.

faprilano

now there are some fine right wing, christian, republican family values at work. 17 years old, unmarried and 5 months pregnant. this is such a great example of the hyprocrocy of the republican morals.mccain and palin should just pack it up and go home. there's no way this "bonnie and clyde" should ever get a chance to run this country. fools.

BongoBoy

She's the female Dan Quayle, 20 years later.

Same thing happened ... first - who is this person? then second - all the stories about the person's background, good and bad come out.

Next time we hear from Palin will be her acceptance speech ... then she'll be closely stage-managed the rest of the way [as Quayle was in 1988]

At least she is originally from Idaho, so she can spell potato, I guess.

SikBug

Someone sent me an email that she fought to stop some law up there that would ban hunting wolves from airplanes, anyone know if there is any truth to this? I haven't had to time to check it out.

JacqueMehoff

so much for her abstinence policy working.

not so good. do as I say not as we rednecks do.

OttoBloggo

Oh, my heart goes out to the daughter, and the baby daddy as well, for heavens' sakes... they are just teenage kids. Sarah Palin comes across as horrifically selfish and arrogant to subject her daughter to such unrelenting scrutiny. The woman should gracefully decline the nomination and go home and tend to her family.

fastergrace

Theres two sides to the issue.

I do agree that people's families should be off limits, but then again it does bother me that Palin is pushing abstinence only sex education and her teenage daughter is pregnant. Nobody's perfect, I guess.

Kojak

"he called himself a "f-----' redneck" and someone who doesn't want to have kids"

lol thats hilarious. Looks like they didnt take down the page soon enough.

Honestly I couldn't give a shit about her being Pregnant, but it makes for some good gossip news.