Palin's 17-yeard Old Daughter Is Pregnant

[UNTflyer]

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.

Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

Bristol Palin made the decision on her own to keep the baby, McCain aides said.

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," the Palins' statement said.

"Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support," the Palins said.

The Palins asked the news media to respect the young couple's privacy.

[meangreendork]

They named their daughter Bristol?

But hey, at least they're handling her pregnancy well, at least, in front of the press.

[untbowler]

should be interesting to see how the Democritics go after this issue considering their sweetheart politicians are a bunch of adulters (Edwards and Willy Clinton, Kilpratrick).

[meangreendork]

The Obama camp would do well to stay away from this matter. Besides, it has nothing to do with Palin's qualifications anyways.

[Quoner]

They named their daughter Bristol?

But hey, at least they're handling her pregnancy well, at least, in front of the press.

ESPN will do anything to insert themselves in a news story...

("insert" is funnier)

Edited September 1, 2008 by Quoner

[JayDub]

That's a helluva way to redirect attention from the unsubstantiated rumours floating on around on the blogs. Sucks for her daughter that they have to drag this out in public...sucks for her family in general.

[Bryan316]

ESPN will do anything to insert themselves in a news story...

So will the mathematicians.

[GreenBat]

I heard that Bristol and the baby's daddy are planning on getting married. That's good, the kid will have a shot at a normal life. I agree Obama would be better leaving this out of the campaign.

[UNTflyer]

I heard that Bristol and the baby's daddy are planning on getting married. That's good, the kid will have a shot at a normal life. I agree Obama would be better leaving this out of the campaign.

Obama doesn't need to do a thing. The loony bloggers on the left and right now do all the dirty work.

[DeepGreen]

This news is like kicking McCain in the teeth. Regardless of their political aspirations, this has to be painful for the Palin family.

[UNTflyer]

This news is like kicking McCain in the teeth. Regardless of their political aspirations, this has to be painful for the Palin family.

McCain already knew about this. Politically, it would have been smart for Palin to disclose this to the Alaskan press a week ago before she was announced as his running mate.

[meangreenacct]

Honestly I don't care for McCain and I'm sure many of you can tell for my posts I sure don't want him to win, but for me this is definitely a non issue. Sh*t happens, and she is taking resonsibility for her actions, which is great. I think the only thing that this shows is premarital and even more pretinent, teenage sex occurs in all communities and socio-economic groups. Indicates to me that we probably do need more sex education (and I don't mean abstinence only!).

[Smitty]

The media tried to fuel this non-story today through Obama, but, much to his credit, Obama shot them down in no uncertain terms:

At a brief press availability in Monroe, Mich., ABC News asked Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., if he had any response to Gov. Sarah Palin's statement that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant.

"Let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits," Obama said, "and people's children are especially off limits.

"This shouldn't be part of our politics," he continued, "It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.

"And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories," he said. "You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that's off limits."

Asked about the insinuation from the McCain campaign that the liberal bloggers trafficking in rumors about Palin write for websites that mention Obama, the senator said, "I'm offended by that."

The Democratic presidential nominee said, "There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us. I hope I am as clear as can be – so in case I’m not, let me repeat: We don't go after people's families, we don't get them involved in the politics. It's not appropriate and it's not relevant."

Concluded Obama before getting on his campaign bus headed to Milwaukee, Wisc., "Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought that it was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they'd be fired."

We've got these very strong comments from Obama, we've got the Republicans shutting down their convention until the hurricane threat is over, and we've Obama sending a mass email to all his contributors asking for contributions and volunteers. Is there actually hope for civility in American politics?

[FirefightnRick]

As Barack Obama has referenced to this sort of thing before, Bristol will now be "Punished" with a child, which couldn't be any further from the truth as it seems Bristol will handle this responsibly as her parents would no doubt want her to do. Countless American families all across the country now have one more thing to relate to the Palins about.

Overall though, with Sarah having 5 kiddos, and now her daughter pregnant, this just proves what I have always heard about Alaska as being true. That there's only two things to do while living in Alaska, and holding hands ain't one of them.

Rick

[KRAM1]

JUST FYI..all five of the Palin children have names that come from their father's Alaskan native heritage. Don't recall all of them, but that's waht the campaign released regardingt he children's names. i am sure it will be explained in more detail sometime during the campaign.

[meangreendork]

As Barack Obama has referenced to this sort of thing before, Bristol will now be "Punished" with a child, which couldn't be any further from the truth...

Referenced is right, since the "Punishment" comment was from sometime in March. But on point - I'd call having a child for poor decision making about sex at a young age if not a punishment, then a hell of a consequence. It's a responsibility and a hardship that many parents don't expect and that the young people who get into it are often not at all prepared for. In reality that punishment is only as much of one as the pregnant mother and her loved ones choose to make it.

The statement Obama said that STDs and pregnancy aren't punishments he doesn't want his daughters to take on, and so he wants there to be proper information, education and moral teaching about that sort of thing.

Edited September 1, 2008 by meangreendork

[emmitt01]

Referenced is right, since the "Punishment" comment was from sometime in March. But on point - I'd call having a child for poor decision making about sex at a young age if not a punishment, then a hell of a consequence. It's a responsibility and a hardship that many parents don't expect and that the young people who get into it are often not at all prepared for. In reality that punishment is only as much of one as the pregnant mother and her loved ones choose to make it.

The statement Obama said that STDs and pregnancy aren't punishments he doesn't want his daughters to take on, and so he wants there to be proper information, education and moral teaching about that sort of thing.

Yeah, yeah, but why waste a chance to spin Obama as an ogre.

[eulessismore]

Yeah, yeah, but why waste a chance to spin Obama as an ogre.

Yeah really, when the only credible quote I saw from Obama on the issue was that "families should be off-limits, or something like that". But, even as a Democrat, I feel sorry for them. Probably a lot more people would run for public office if they didn't start thinking about how strange some of their family members might seem to the outside world.

[FirefightnRick]

The statement Obama said that STDs and pregnancy aren't punishments he doesn't want his daughters to take on, and so he wants there to be proper information, education and moral teaching about that sort of thing.

From his town hall meeting at Johnstown Pennsylvania on March 31st of this year:

"When it comes specifically to HIV/AIDS, the most important prevention is education, which should include -- which should include abstinence education and teaching the children -- teaching children, you know, that sex is not something casual. But it should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake,I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16. You know, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."

To me, maybe not to you, but to me this was a poor choice(yet another) of words to use in describing teen pregnancy, considering later on in the same speech he refers to his own two children as "miracles".

Rick

Edited September 2, 2008 by FirefightnRick

[Eagle1855]

From his town hall meeting at Johnstown Pennsylvania on March 31st of this year:

To me, maybe not to you, but to me this was a poor choice(yet another) of words to use in describing teen pregnancy, considering later on in the same speech he refers to his own two children as "miracles".

He was also born to an 18 year old mother, so you know, I imagine he has a little bit of compassion regarding the subject. No matter the choice of words, it IS a punishment of sorts to a teenager with plans for their life ahead of them, but that doesnt mean it can't later become a blessing.

Personally, I think Obama has shown nothing but class regarding this entire situation and I think CNN needs to lay off trying to drum up drama over it.

Edited September 2, 2008 by Eagle1855

[Green Mean]

He was also born to an 18 year old mother, so you know, I imagine he has a little bit of compassion regarding the subject. No matter the choice of words, it IS a punishment of sorts to a teenager with plans for their life ahead of them, but that doesnt mean it can't later become a blessing.

Personally, I think Obama has shown nothing but class regarding this entire situation and I think CNN needs to lay off trying to drum up drama over it.

I agree. If we are going to monitor every single word every politician makes then people will change their stances every hour of the day. Obama I think has really said the right things since this has come out and he specifically said that family from both sides is off limits and bears nothing on the political outcome of the election.

[meangreendork]

From his town hall meeting at Johnstown Pennsylvania on March 31st of this year:

To me, maybe not to you, but to me this was a poor choice(yet another) of words to use in describing teen pregnancy, considering later on in the same speech he refers to his own two children as "miracles".

Rick

It was a poor choice in words, but that means all we're doing is talking semantics. In doing that, everything anyone says can be scrutinized to the smallest detail. I think the point is still on - that if you're the parent of, or that teenager who becomes pregnant or contracts and STD, it definitely feels like a punishment.

[Guest JohnDenver]

should be interesting to see how the Democritics go after this issue considering their sweetheart politicians are a bunch of adulters (Edwards and Willy Clinton, Kilpratrick).

It should be even more interesting to see how the republicans "go after it" since they are the party of moral/ethical superiority and family values [sic].

[JayDub]

It should be even more interesting to see how the republicans "go after it" since they are the party of moral/ethical superiority and family values [sic].

Indeed they are.

[meangreendork]

It should be even more interesting to see how the republicans "go after it" since they are the party of moral/ethical superiority and family values [sic].

If anyone is smart on any side, they'll dismiss the issue.

But you can count on some pundit hammering them about the Republicans supposedly being the "moral religious right", and the Republicans having to backpedal a bit. Honestly, I'm pretty worried about more and more religion inching into politics.

Oh, and JayDub:

Scooter Libby.

Oh. Apparently the father doesn't want the child, and judging from what's in the article, which is supposed to be quoted from his Myspace account, he doesn't seem all that bright. If that's the case, Bristol is better without the guy.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/...d-daughter.html

Edited September 2, 2008 by meangreendork