Note to self: Consider taking a break from writing about anything related to this election because as much fun and passionate as it was with previous elections, this one is has turned into a complete circus.
I mean when the candidate is from Wasilla, Alaska why should this come as a surprise really?
Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.
My apologies to all. I thought I was speaking up for common sense and decency...and apparently I spoke too soon?
Time for this Hulk to go smash into a stiff drink and hope that his head will stop shaking in disbelief sometime today.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
Now the questions I have are as follows:
1. Would Palin have completely hidden Bristol's pregnancy if this whole controversy with her "faked" pregnancy had not come up? (I think: Yes.)
2. Is this complete nonsense to try to get people to stop looking into a "faked" original pregnancy?
I have to say, I was far more skeptical about the faked stuff before today. This makes me less dismissive about it...
I don't condone kids getting preggers. Hell anyone under the age of 25 should be allowed to have kids.
Having said that, I also have lived in a small town once. And once cabin fever kicks in around february. All bets are off. And the biggest sport of them all is SEX. Adults and kids alike.
She certainly isn't the first 17 year old to be pregnant (and from a "supposedly" good family life) and she certainly won't be the last.
I agree with Garret and no apology needed Greg, anyone who's following this stuff feels like they're being yanked around by a never ending soap opera.
That's exactly what the McCain team is trying to do and they're succeeding.
For me it makes little difference which, if any of these things is true. I don't want McCain and Palin running my country. Choosing a VP who has her views may have been shrewd politically but it sucks ideologically and it's one more instance of the GOP using their fog machine to obscure both the real issues and the fact that we have a great candidate in Barack Obama running for president.
Have a beer, enjoy labor day.
Abstinence only education is clearly working well for her family.
Here's the thing about the blogosphere: it's actually quite good at uncovering potential evidence. It's just awful at drawing conclusions. Time and again...
There simply aren't enough stiff drinks.
Don't beat yourself up Greg. This story, though, is getting awesomer all the time.
I can't wait until November 5, but I'm afraid the nation will wake up with the wrong guy and a nasty hangover.
From Obama:
I have 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 these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18. And how family deals with issues and teenage children that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that is off limits.
Bring on Levi -- I'm guessing he's a winner.
Getting excited over silly things like this is why I can't stand election years. Everyone just needs to pop in Juno, get their teen-pregnancy drama for the day and chill out.
I think the real issue here is McCain. Either he knew about this before he chose Palin to be his VP pick, or he didn't. McCain is traliing in the polls quite badly right now, and he can't afford any missteps, so I'm going to go with the idea that he didn't know.
What does that say about his vetting process and the way his campaign is being run in general? Is this what we're to expect from him if becomes President?
On the other hand, if he did know, what does that say his judgment in selecting her anyway, particularly considering her selection was indented to bring home the "Family Values" crowd. This also seems quite irresponsible.
Expect the McCain campaign to get hammered on this week. We may have another Thomas Eagleton on our hands.
Well played by Obama. Glad he's taking the high road.
Greg, I agree with both Garrett and Rchard. Who could have possibly expected this?
As for your statement about this election cycle turning into a circus. Your right; and not a good circus like Cirque du Soleil but rather one of those pathetic Hungarian traveling circus' with the old bears and gypsy children.
I would love to sit out the next few months but, iiving in the so-called swing state of Ohio, there will be no rest for me.
Time for that Labor day beer!
The point should be made, though, that this doesn't vindicate the original poster of that diary entry on DailyKos that started all of this. Baseless rumors of that sort don't belong in a race as important as this, regardless of the outcome.
Obama would have been stupid to say anything more than he did. And if you read elsewhere, he didn't just comment on the matter, he "snapped" according to the Washington Post. He's pissed that this is getting so much coverage and that the Asshats over at DailyKos got this whole thing rolling in the first place. And Obama should be. The risk of something of this magnitude backfiring—given the sensitive and personal nature of the story—is HUGE! While the left-wing crazies keep banging their heads against their keyboards flooding Digg with this drivel, the people who are actually going to decide this race (the center-of-the-road, independent swing voters) start feeling sorry for those receiving the mudslinging. And the potential for that still exists even with this new, bizarro-world revelation.
Let's just keep our heads low, keep it clean, and discuss the facts peeps.
> He didn't just comment on the matter, he "snapped" according to the Washington Post. He's pissed that this is getting so much coverage and that the Asshats over at DailyKos got this whole thing rolling in the first place.
Well in that case I don't feel bad at all about my earlier post. Is it too late to post a redaction to a redaction?
I’m with Hilzoy.
Apologies don't need comment threads.
Levi was just practicing "prevention sex" and have his children while he was young.
Bristol is going to marry her baby daddy...which does not usually happen in urban settings. Wasilla is a very nice town and I wish this young couple well; the community will be there for them as well.
>I’m with Hilzoy.
I like your thinking and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
> Wasilla is a very nice town and I wish this young couple well; the community will be there for them as well.
As much as it causes the Palmer roots in me great pain to say this, you're right, Wasilla will take care of their own. I just hope the media can sit on their hands and not make the matter any worse than it already is.
So, if McCain knew about this before he selected her, how do you think he should have handled it? Should he have made it part of his selection announcement? Something like "I have chosen Governor Palin as my running mate, and by the way her daughter is pregnant." How else could they have announced it aside from a few days after the selection?
Also, the daughter being pregnant is a lot different from faking being the mom of her daughter's baby. That would have been a very serious breach of trust, this is only disappointing.
>I’m with Hilzoy.
That's an excellent point of view to take. In times like these we need to focus on actual issues on both sides and get away from sensationalist mud throwing. Obama's had his share, too, and it's just unproductive towards making an educated decision. We're trying to wrap up a war here, don't we have more important topics to throw around 2 months from the election?
Scandals like this only serve to give the mass populous of uneducated voters sticking points to justify their actions in the voting booth because they haven't been proactive enough to do any actual research. Whether it's because Obama's name sounds like a terrorist, or because idiots like P Diddy are throwing out ignorant bullshit about Alaska, it's all the same useless hatemongering designed to cloud your ability to judge rationally.
That's like buying a car based on an action movie it was in.
The problem with the comparison, though, still stands: Obama is not responsible for the content posted to a website that has nothing specifically to do with his campaign. If one of his supporters chooses to be a fool and make some ridiculous conjecture about Bristol Palin, that's his deal, not Barack's.
Similarly, John McCain may not be directly responsible for the seed in Bristol's belly, but the rhetoric/press release that said situation has spawned comes straight from his desk. He is responsible for that content, and the bungle-fest that is his VP pick. But now he has his tabloid-fodder, and his campaign can only raise its profile... I swear I haven't heard one person mention how OLD McCain in like two days.
Steve Benen (Washington Monthly) sums it up well this AM:
"As ridiculous a choice as Palin is for national office, let's not lose sight of the real scandal here -- John McCain has the judgment of a small child. Tasked with the most important decision of his presidential campaign, McCain has managed to demonstrate incompetence, cynicism, and recklessness, all at the same time."
Four more years?
Not to mention that Senator McCain had nearly six months since he clinched the nomination on March 4 to make this decision.
I totally agree with you and with some of my previous commenters, it´s a circus and a soap opera and this is only the next episode. "Everyone has an opinion on Bristol pregnancy", well first of all I don´t even understand where the problem lies, when a woman gets pregnant, isn´t it natural? Secondly, it really makes me sick to see in which direction the campaigns lead: instead of concentrating on ones own strength, issues and values to bring in the candidates (their teams) each with try to bash the reputation of the other candidate. THAT SUCKS, is infantile and what´s really anoying, their are too much dumb voters who believe in every lie.
The hockey mom wears lip stick and actually does something for the USA! Reading everyones comments, I can only decide that your a group of single event participates and will NEVER understand the team concept. I would guess that most of you are Dart players, except that these events normally take place in unprotected BARS, not behind your screen savers. This woman will chew all of the dart players for LUNCH!
Greg,
Totally agree with you and kudos for Obama taking the high road. But, Lord knows the Republicans have never had issues going after people's personal lives, their sexual activity, etc. Not to mention trying to legislate the bedroom and these areas for years. Now all of a sudden they need to take the high road too...to protect their own butts.
Charles