Earlier today we ran a conspiracy theory story that stated that Vice Presidential Republican candidate Sarah Palin, 44, was actually the grandmother of the five month-old baby she claims is hers. Palin has a 17 year-old daughter who missed out of either five or eight months of school around the time she was said to be pregnant. Palin went to great lengths to return to her home hospital after she was leaking amniotic fluid – taking an eight hour plan ride and then driving another 45 minutes to get to a remote hospital. She also returned to work as the governor of Alaska just three days after giving birth. There were a lot of strange coincidences, some embellished, that suggested this was a plausible theory. It’s a damn juicy story and the gossip-lover in me really wanted to believe it was true.
As it is, many of you offered better evidence that Sarah Palin was indeed pregnant, that she was just stubborn and wanted to give birth with her own obstetrician, and that her daughter probably wasn’t pregnant all. I went away believing it was all a trumped-up story that was too sensational to be true. It seems to have been based on some evidence, though – Bristol Palin, 17, is five months pregnant. Presidential candidate John McCain is said to have been aware of this fact when he picked Palin for his running mate:
Bristol, the 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is five-months pregnant, Palin said in a statement on Monday.
“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us,” the Palin’s said in a statement to Reuters.
“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.
“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, respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates,” the statement concluded.
[From US Weekly]
Maybe Bristol Palin really was pregnant in those pictures that were floating around, as she happened to get pregnant right before her mother gave birth. That kind of explains how the conspiracy theories got cooked up, and it also shows that there’s no way that Sarah Palin faked a pregnancy and claimed her grandson as her own child. I wonder how the Republicans are going to spin this one. They’ll probably use it to show that Palin has her family trials like everyone else, which would be a decent way to handle it.
Sarah Palin is anti-abortion and is a non-denominational Christian. She is the mother to five children which range in age from four months to 19. She’s about to get a grandchild and a son-in-law in short order.
Two different baby distractions in ONE DAY!! So, instead of talking about this woman’s many shortcomings as a potential VP, all the focus is now on the baby that wasn’t and the baby that will be, neither of which has the tiniest bit of relevance to ANYTHING!! FFS.
The only thing that bothers me is that because this girl is daughter of a governor that is anti abortion and pro life many blogs say things like “how great and wonderful this family is,and to leave them alone”.I ask myself in what does this differ from jamie lynn spears?Why hasn’t anybody said the same about JL?In any case regardeless of the desperate housewives plot (which is surely intended to cover the rumors)i feel sorry for JL simply because if her mom was a governor she wouldn’t be so harassed and maybe she would be a hero for having maddie.
Trying to care. Its not working. I think Tits McGee AKA McCain only picked this chick to appeal to the younger generation of americans that are currently on team Obama… Its a long theory ive got, and i still dont care about these chicks.
Actually…..we should judge by her politics, not by her private life.
But then again….it’s a twisted story 😀
Being a Christian doesn’t mean anything anymore these days (US people are going to beat me up for this, but hey, taking part in a beauty contest is not exactely sacred).
Well… damn. The whole Palin situation just seems to get more and more complicated. It really is almost as if a huge smokescreen is being blown in an attept to disregard her political qualifications.
Best wishes to Bristol, though. I’m only one month further than she is and this is also my first pregnancy, and although I’m seven years her senior I can imagine how difficult it must be to be a pregnant teenager. I hope she has a healthy and safe pregnancy, regardless of my feelings regarding her mother and politics. Poor girl’s got to be under a LOT of pressure these days. As unlikely as it is I do agree that the media should give the girl some space and instead focus on what really matters.
I feel so sorry for Bristol.
She has made a mistake many teenagers make (either she is preggers or she gave birth either way, she is in an unenviable situation)but now she has to live it out in public eye. That is if she is indeed pregnant. I still find it suspect that she is conveniently five months pregnant when Trig is 4 and a half months old. They couldn’t say she was 6 months and neither can they say she is 3 months pregnant.
Although the first story sounds sensational, this new admission just throws a spanner in the wax. I wish the children wouldbe left out of all this drama as they are innocent and are going to end up getting hurt.
Has Palin considered stepping down? This may get worse. Too many holes in the first story, too convinient timing the second story.
Still, it does not explain her absence from school, Sara returning to work after three day when she had just had a premature dawn syndrome baby and her post pregnancy body which even rivalled Halle Berry’s.
The timing is incredible. We don’t need another “baby-momma” in the world, but the baby is here already.Damn! Feel very sorry for her,as the Governors daughter and potential Vice President, there are4 alot more opportunities that she could be thinkin about instead of boys, but it is not too late. I give alot more credit to kids that do what their supposed to be doing the first time around.
I think the Democrats can win this election if they really beat up on Sarah Palin’s personal life, and make her look like a bad mother. Ordinary voters love to see a working woman with children humiliated.
Not.
Family values. Family values.
I know personally how hard it is to deal with a teen pregnancy. It is an unbearable issue as a parent, to see your child experience this at such a young age.
My heart goes out to this family at this time. It’s hard enough dealing with this as a parent in private, but to be in the spotlight would in my opinion be very difficult.
Douse all of the torches, it’s a teen we are talking about here.
*edit, you might be surprised how you would react if you had a teenager going through this. I am in no way religious and taught my daughter about sex-ed, she was even on the pill and still got pregnant.
I grew up in a conservative, Southern Baptist environment, and so many of the older girls I looked up to when I was younger and who preached the whole “true love waits” stuff to me, came running back home from college pregnant. I can’t help but wonder if there hadn’t been so much pressure on us to vow that we would wait until marriage and so much emphasis placed on abstinence, if they wouldn’t have been too ashamed to educate themselves about contraceptives, or get on birth control, or at least buy a box of condoms. I distinctly remember my youth minister saying that you should not have condoms in your possession because they would only increase the temptation to have sex. Obviously, the conservative and religious approach isn’t working, not for those girls I went to church with, certainly not for the average American, and apparently not even for the high profile politicians whose agenda it is to promote these beliefs. Obama said in his acceptance speech that although Republicans and Democrats don’t agree on abortion, certainly they can agree on the need to reduce unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. I know that unplanned pregnancies can happen even when the proper precautions have been taken, but I feel like this just highlights how wrong religious or social conservatives are on the issue sex education and reducing teen pregnancies.
ps, sorry for the rant
Sorry, the deliciousness of the ‘preacher not living the sermon’ is just too great.
Hello? Does anyone really think a 17 year old with two pro-life parents really had a choice about keeping her baby? We’ll never know — but anyone who thinks she actually had a choice in that family is kidding themselves. Sarah Palin doesn’t believe in ANY exceptions when it comes to abortions — in her ideal world, if you are raped at 10 years old, you should have to suffer a forced pregnancy on top of it, too bad for you.
I also think a shot-gun wedding in 2008 is a little over the top. No 17 year old should be getting married, whether she is pregnant or not. She has her whole life ahead of her, she doesn’t need to shackle herself to her high school boyfriend.
Palin stands on the shoulders of the women’s movement but hopes to use her power to undo what those activists did to give women some ownership of their own lives. “Silly feminists, don’t they understand women belong to their babies and the men who had sex with them?” It’s disgusting and I hope it mobilizes the left.
I’ve been watching this “baby-drama” unfold and I find it incredible the lengths this Palin woman and her family will go through to keep a secret. Only when the evidence was almost too much to ignore did they “step forward” and give this new story; now saying that their daughter IS pregnant, but I am suspicious at the exact number of months along Bristol supposedly is.
I think that political candidates deserve more scrutiny than (for lack of a better word) “ordinary” people; after all, THEY put themselves in our faces and say that they will *insert list of deeds* do all these things to help the U.S., but we aren’t supposed to learn everything we can about these people? They aspire to live in the public eye and have the nerve to ask for privacy? I think not! I’m not voting for anyone who will lie like this—-and yes, family matters count. By observing how a politician treats his/her family (whom they should love and respect more than anyone else) speaks volumes about what they might do in office. Don’t agree? Sorry. Just my humble opinion.
***What do you want to bet that Bristol has a “miscarriage” in the next few weeks?***
my opinion? the poor girl never got ANY sexual education. she probably didn´t even know how one gets pregnant…oh boy. everybody had urges and we follow them. that´s human. but some people (i don´t say hardcore christians…don´t want to get into trouble here) refuse to akcnowledge that. they just put it off their minds. and that´s how teenage girls get pregnant.
Come on guys, while it is tempting to bash Palin for her stance on the issues of reproduction and choice in light of this, let’s leave the poor girl out of it. She’s only 17 and in a situation none of us would want to find ourselves in. Obama also issued a request to his supporters not to sink to this level and to leave people’s children alone.
I guess this is what happens when you endorse an abstinence-based/abstinence-only sex education platform. Brava!
Poor Bristol. Never even had a chance. (I’m not being sarcastic, I really feel for the poor button. )
I really wish they wouldn’t force these pregnant teenagers into marriage. Having a baby is hard enough to deal with, without being married to the boy from high school that got you knocked up by accident. Let the lifetime resentment begin.
(I just read that Palin also supports Intelligent Design which I would never want my tax dollars to pay for in public schools to children.)
You know, I know it’s phenomenal that it’s a woman in a VP slot, but SOMETHING about her seems like such a step backwards. THere are so many other exemplary women out there in the GOP, you can’t possibly tell me this was the best McCain could do…. to choose a person whose issues do not match most of the supposed CLinton votes he’s going for, and then has a pregnant unmarried teen daughter, a statistic many people on both sides of the aisle have been trying to see reduced in this country…a pregnancy he claims to have already known about…. seriously, are these signs that he’s losing his mind? What sort of statement did he think he was making with Pallin?
THe whole Sarah Pallin selection smells of desperation and pandering.I wish she could give her speech tonight so I could better gauge who she is and judge for myself than through the filters of various media outlets, but as a woman, I think she’s being used as a pawn and her selection as VP does NOT further the advancement or equality of women.
It doesn’t help that he surrounds himself with pageant queens either.
I was an Obama supporter all the way through the primaries, and thought that Hilary Clinton seeing sexism and misogyny around every corner was a bit paranoid. Now I’m not so sure.
Anyway, whatever happened to the idea of “change” and a “new kind of politics” that focused on ideas?
The stuff the Democrats have come up with over the past couple of days makes Karl Rove look like an amateur. It’s horrible to watch, and this swing voter’s opinion, creates a lot of sympathy for Palin.
anise, well said. thats exactly the way I feel. this woman takes the hard work of ceiling-busting feminists to go and undo 50 years of progress, cheat her daughter out of a sexual education and phrophylactic techniques and wants to teach creationism in public schools.
Just read on the New York Times site that Obama has made a statement.
He asks his supporters to lay off his opponents’ children, and notes that his mother had him when she was 18 – and as I recall from a previous profile, she married his father when she was three months’ pregnant. In other words, Obama’s mother was in a similar situation to Bristol, and her child seems to have done just fine.
I wish Obama’s supporters had the same class and elegance their candidate displays.
It sounds like McCain only met this woman once. He called her last week to let her know she was on board. To think this will gain the Hillary supporters is just ridiculous. These two women are the diametric opposite to either other on issues.
I don’t really know what he was thinking. This woman has no foreign policy, economic, civil rights experience. She has run Alaska (for 2 years) and she has sued the US govt over taking polar bears off the endangered speciies list. This shows he might be a little senile and this was a poor choice. Unless he wants to pull the “she has more experence than Obama and I only want her to be VP” not really the best defensive or offensive stratigy.
Plus we now have a teenage daugher who is knocked up and unmarried. One would think if your mother was the gov. you might try not to do things to embarrass her. Palin is also being investigated for having her ex-brother in law fired. Nice abuse of power.
But so we are all perfectly clear…I stand with the Polar Bears.
oh right candy cay, its ok for republicans to smear mccain when he was running and say he had a little black bastard baby, and then to pretend that obama is a muslim and a racist christian at the same time? republicans have been starting rumors and mud slinging the whole time: they invented the game. and now no one can begin rumors (that turn out to be true in some respects) about the republican candidate? mccain hired rove political advisors, so its not like he is sitting prettily and not doing his own rumor mongering. i just got a text message last week letting me know obama was a terrorist. its happening on both sides, so really, lets not act surprised when the Pubs started the game in the first place.
Duude! I totally commented on the last post that it looked like she was wearing an engagment ring.
I don’t see the big deal, really. Like, why should anyone even HAVE to “spin” it? It’s not a big deal to me.
Maybe Trig is one of her other kid’s kids. Just kidding.
I’ve worked in close proximity to enough politicians to know they are all slime. Seriously. There’s no difference between democrats and republicans, except where they stand on certain issues. And those lines are getting even more blurry. So I’m not on either “side” here ( I wanted Hillary, now I plan to just not vote). That said, Candy Kay’s statement was very well-put.
I’m happy either way. We’re making history here by either getting a black prez or a lady veep. Hopefully no one in the supreme court dies though, so McCain can’t overturn Roe v Wade.
Well of course Bristol HAS to have the baby. Palin is so anti-abortion it just proves that she stands by what she says. As being anti-birth control, if she is I wouldn’t be surprised. But her damn daughter should have at least made the guy wear a condem! The whole baby drama is just too much following McCain’s pick of Palin for VP.
Erin, the whole assumption of possessing condems or birth control “making” you want to have sex is the very reason why more teens get pregnant every year. Parents who grew up in socially conservative backgrounds don’t even TALK to their children about sex, then why are they so surprised when their teen daughters return home pregnant? If you don’t talk about it, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen. They assume that preaching abstinence is enough, but then wonder why their own children can’t “control” themselves. This is nature we’re dealing with here, you can’t really control what your own children do. You can teach them and prepare them, but in life, they’re going to make their own decisions based on what’s going on and how they’re feeling about the situation. This whole controlling and forcing girls to have babies because it’s “wrong” to abort when the girl is clearly not prepared to have children (at 14-17) is also very wrong too. We have that option and they want to take it away because they want to control our bodies. It goes against everything the Bill of Rights and the Constitution stand for. Sorry to rant…this is a major issue for me!
I wish Obama’s supporters had the same class and elegance their candidate displays.
Family values. Abstinence only.
Family values. Abstinence only.
And if it were Obama’s kid that was pregnant out of wedlock, the GOP would be swinging from the rafters in paroxysms of joy. 😈
@ SolitaryAngel
I completely agree! Everything about this story is *way* suspicious. The Palin family is fine with their 17 year old have a shotgun wedding while exuding “family values”?
Gimme a break! The hypocrisy and arrogance of the republican party is astounding. This this pro-life, abstinence-only VP Candidate wants to regulate the sex lives of americans when her own house is out of order?
This further proves abstinence-only sex ed programs DO NOT work and contribute to teen pregnancy by denying teenagers access to information that would protect them against unwanted pregnancy and life thereatening STDs. ALSO, she wants to regulate what American women can do with their own bodies?
This is ridiculous. McCain/Palin ticket is a joke and I can’t WAIT until Nov 4 when this ugly national election drama will finally reach a conclusion.
“It turns out that women in America aren’t finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all” – Gov Palin.
I find Sarah Palin’s VP bid to be incredibly patronizing.
As a woman and as a registered Independent, I knew both sides would be courting my vote, and while I was underwhelmed by Biden, I was outraged with Palin. Such a transparent effort made by the McCain camp to swing wayward Clinton supporters into the red. Her credentials are laughable, her politics – frightening! To have her in office would be a complete paradox – she’ll no doubt attempt to erode away all the progress we as women have made over the past 60 years! To say nothing of our environment!
Voting for the McCain/Palin ticket is as anti-feminist as one can get. If elected, they’ll make history not as the first mixed-gender presidency, but for turning America into an out and out theocracy.
Who cares? I will be glad when this annoying election will be over.
jaundicemac, i can only pray this decision has had the same sway on other undecideds who should be insulted by this pic. hopefully this pick pissed off more people like you than energized mccain’s base which wasnt exactly thrilled with him.
Not to nit-pick, but ‘Intelligent Design’ and ‘Creationism’ are not the same thing.
Yeah, I see all of this “Leave The Palins Alone” as just a lot of bull$hit. Sarah Palin didn’t have to take the VP offer – SHE was the one who is putting her family through this.
And as for all of the people complaining about the equivalent of a 72-hour background check – grow up. This a presidential election, not some backwoods County Board race.
We the people have every right to know every financial, medical and policy detail about the nominees. And yes, in my opinion, this drama falls into both the “medical” and “policy” details of Sarah Palin.
Speaking of which, in all of the baby mama drama, where are Palin’s financial and medical records?
Speaking of Obama and the muslim tag, Can I just ask:
When did it become a crime to be a Muslim?
Obama is Christian, and has come out publicly confirming this. but the people who still cling to a Muslim tag, or “don’t trust him being Christian”– I have to ask, when did it become a crime or a fault to be Muslim?
This is bigotry in its purest form and the people who would consider being Muslim as a fault and a negative are as prejudiced and predispositioned for hate as others who have diplayed religious intolerance in our history: Nazis/Jews, Romans/Christians, etc
Bigotry is everywhere, and we are seeing it all over in this election: race, gender, religion.
Ask yourself this: Who are we as Americans? What does is mean to be an American and WHO is considered an American these days???!
If I see another PUMA citing the Muslim tag as a reason to be against Obama, I will scream.
I’m still not convinced sarah palin was pregnant at all. I really do believe the first stories that came out this weekend. there is alot of video footage on the web of mrs palin ” 7 mths pregnant” but thin as a rail in very high heels walking around washington DC for over 1 mile and not even a bit winded at the end of the walk. I’m sorry but as a woman who’s had 3 kids that is just not normal.
I’m with Obama on no comments on candidates’ children, but I’d like to make a comment on the candidate —
She’s got one kid heading to combat in days, one heading into parenthood and marriage in weeks/months, and one newborn with a major disability. I believe every family does figure out how to manage their own issues, but I can’t IMAGINE taking on a national campaign, much a less national office with all this personal pressure at home. Even if the “first dude” of Alaska is the best-ever-hands-on-stay-at-home-dad, why put your stressed out family through this ringer? Much less the publicity her poor underage daughter is now getting. Yikes!
Agree CandyKay 😀
Senator Obama is a gracious man, who even with the junk spoken about him in rumors, and the negativity he has had to endure from his opponents, still stays positive.
However, I am not running for office and this whole situation is just insulting and full of hypocricy. If this was a Democrat’s daughter (Chelsea perhaps), the conservatives on Fox News and elsewhere, and the main stream media as well, would be trashing the family and its lack of “family values” 24/7. Now the story is “it is a family matter” and we want privacy. Double standard much.
She is not fulfulling her duty as a parent. I would say the same if she was male. I agree with the above poster that all of the family stress from a special needs child, a pregnant daughter and a son to Iraq is going to put a strain on everyone. I think ambition is good, but this seems reckless. You have to know that there is no such thing as privacy in a national election and they should not have expected any.
Palin’s policies are what the issue should be, not her daughter. To me, her policies and the fact that she is just not qualified for VP make me furious and this just amplyfies why she is not worthy.
is that supposed to be the preggers pic? cause arent baby bumps over the uterus not on the stomach?
When ask about about the Anti-Obama book McCain answered ” Gotta keep your sense of humor”
Very classy. Why don’t we follow McCain’s advise on this very issue. 😀
AP, regarding people ‘accusing’ Obama of being Muslim, I could not have said that better myself. It makes me sick every time I see people throwing that about like it’s some kind of felony he might have committed. It would make it basically impossible for him to be elected, since the majority of Americans aren’t Muslim and wouldn’t identify with him, but that does NOT make it something to treat like a crime or something to be ashamed of. (And I’d still vote for him, because a candidate’s religion shouldn’t matter unless they’re trying to force it on people with legislation.)
As for Palin, and speaking as a die-hard Obama Democrat, I sincerely applaud Obama for taking the high road and not milking this opportunity for all it’s worth, because you KNOW the Republicans would be if the situation were reversed. And I *am* incredibly angry that that poor girl had no education about birth control and is being given no choice whatsoever about whether or not to carry her pregnancy to term and marry her high-school boyfriend. I have no doubt in my mind that she has no choice. She may *want* to keep her baby and marry the guy, and if she does, that’s great, but she still has no alternative if she doesn’t happen to want that.
If this woman ever, ever, EVER tries to call herself a feminist just because she’s on a presidential ticket, I don’t think I’ll be able to resist the urge to scream in rage.
If SP had any brain at all, she would realize that her daughter marrying the father is a terrible idea. If you’re dumb enough to get pregnant–and yes, I know accidents do happen but that’s not an excuse to continue the stupidity and marry the father! If he can’t figure out how to put on a condom, how is he going to be able to be a husband and father? Yeah, she’s ready to lead the country–when hell freezes over into a conservative-loving wonderland!
This woman has failed at raising her family.
This is all to avoid Fox News calling Bristol a baby mamma.
I don’t care for Sara Palin or McCain, and I could care even less what Sara Palin’s family members do.
Of course, Obama’s six or seven “love children” that are scattered across the country get no press coverage whatsoever.
This is a plus. As Mark Steyn points out in his recent best seller, America Alone, if our western civilization is demographically to survive in the increasingly “hostile to the west” islamic world — and not end up like the sinking European populations — these are the precise people (the Bristol Palins’) we should thank for increasing their progeny.
@ Bob: 6 or 7? Could you tell me where you got this info? I would like to read more about this….thank you!
😯
I totally agree AP & Musey! I’m very encouraged that the US has nominated a black man (not that race should matter, but whatever) but the country still has a loong way to go when it comes to total religious acceptance.
As for the Palin family, what I am most shocked about is the fact that Bristol & her baby daddy are being forced to get married.
Onr more thing, I haven’t read anything about the Palin kids’ names. Bristol & Trig are way weirded than, say, Levi or Honor but you don’t hear paople bitching about it
Wow, Bob, The Globe IS a serious, professional news source with the utmost journalistic integrity.
Congrats on being a blind idiot who spins everything so that you can keep voting for people that have spent their entire lives working to keep people like you ignorant.
SIX or SEVEN?? Are you seriously slow enough to believe that???
Bob do tell about Obama’s secret kids, we could make lots of money. LOL…
No one is bitching about the names because one can’t know where to start. There are just many weird names, Track, Trig, Bristol etc. Besides, there is bigger fish to fry. Like a Bree Van der Kamp-like sensational tale going around. Just when you thought things couldn’t get weirder, the tale is debunked by an ever more eye brow raising admission that a child of 2 ultra conservatives, who do not believe in sex education or sex before marriage is pregnant at 17.
Names my dear, are the least of our worries.
Everyone who is angry at these posts should notice that not one person has said anything nasty about Bristol. No one is calling her names. (Breaking news: Teenagers Have Sex!) But it’s happening, she’s pregnant. And her mother — a grown woman — appears to be applauding the idea of a 17 year old getting married over it like it’s 1950. The statistics on young marriages are very, very bad. You don’t get married to keep up appearances — it doesn’t work.
I didn’t think the Democrats made a big enough deal about Republicans being anti-choice, and while I hope Bristol herself personally is left alone, I do hope this story reminds women across the country that Palin would be one heartbeat away from the presidency, serving as veep to a man in his 70’s who has already had bouts of cancer, and she’s crazy pro-life. Not rational pro-life, but full-on KooKoo, you-don’t-count-anymore-the-second-after-insemination Crazypants pro-life.
If you want to be set back 50 years, by all means, “feel bad” for Palin and vote her and McCain into office. Then good luck to you if a condom breaks, you are raped or someone slips you a rufie. You will be on your own.
I’m so sick of this double standard by the mainstream media! Uggggh! I can’t take it any more. Palin is a liar and I smell a rat! Just like the Jeremiah Wright situation question Obama’s morals and values, so should this. It ain’t any different!
The bigger issue is McSame’s judgement. How could he be so stupid and duplicitous?
Bob, I can’t find info on those love children. Please explain.
Bodhi, why not encouraged by a black man nominee? (he is half white, btw)
seriously? family business is none of our business? like MY family business is none of Ms. Palin’s business. do you really think Bristol had a “choice” in the matter? highly unlikely!!!!! when does this girl turn 18? Ms. Palin’s stance is that she can stick her nose into other womens business but we cant of hers. where does she stand on medical care and insurance for SUFFERING families? her son is enlisted, but she doesn’t know ANYTHING about world politics (really, mommy?). her underage/unmarried daughter is pregnant, but shes overly concerned about YOUR choices with your own children (really, mommy?). she has a baby with disabilities (if it is her baby), where does she stand helping other families out with disabled children (really, mommy?) her own sister caught up in an “ugly” custody battle that she feels the need to be involved in (really, mommy?) notice how bristol was STUCK holding Ms. Palin’s baby at the announcement (which at the time i thought was very strange) with that blanket covering her up. Trying to hide something, Ms. Palin? OOPS, sorry none of my business?
You want to know what MY business is? Average soccer mom?????? take a poll on this: how many “soccer/hockey moms” currently have a seventeen year old high school student that is knocked up? i dont think you represent the average soccer/hockey mom at all. talk all you want, i HEAR what you are saying, but i also SEE what you are doing with your own family. any mother that would “choose” to put their daughter through this is irresponsible at best. now is not the time. go clean your own house up. does she not understand that she was picked because she is a woman? come on Johnny, that just shows what YOU think of american women. give us some credit. nice to see Mrs. Mccain is finally covering up her boobs though!!!!! vote for grandpa clueless and hypocrite granny and we will have more of the same. war for another 100 years, stuff women back to the fifties and try to count your houses all while sticking their heads into the sand. family values, huh? keep your family values, even my 15 year old daughter knows better. we discuss things in MY home, not act like the real world wont come into my home. when the real world comes knocking, my daughter knows how to answer to it. as a responsible young woman. my 19 year old son and i will be voting for Mr. Obama, thank you very much.
The part of this that is most troubling to me is all of the time, effort, and money Palin has driven towards abstinence programs. Guess it didn’t work in her own house, huh? It goes to show that there need to be reproductive choices out there that are safe and legal.
Gee, funny how being raised in a home that has an “abstinence-only” attitude toward sex often leads to an unwanted pregnancy. Absolute hell. What kind of mother would accept such a public position knowing what focus this would put on her already troubled daughter?
Ted , your a retard (And yes I am a name calling bitch!)
Let’s face it, all families have some problem, they are just lucky enough to not be in the public eye. I applaud her and her family for doing the right thing, not lying about it and moving on on. it should show all of America just what honesty and integrity she will bring with her to the White House. Good luck Sarah and love to your family.
What a hypocrite, I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!
while it’s nice for palin that she can raise 5 kids and soon a grandchild, not all of american families are so lucky financially. many 17 year old girls don’t have governor mommies to help them take care of the financial burden that is raising a child.
it seems that republican pro-choicers only care about the child before it’s born. they believe it completely their business.
once the kid is born though, they don’t seem to care if the kid lives or dies. sorry you’re poor, you’re on your own.
Just to clarify: I believe that when they talk about the “decision” surrounding the pregnancy, the choice is between raising it herself or giving it up for adoption.
Palin is a good choice for McCain’s tired campaign in that she can invigorate his “base” (who wants to see that wrinkly old fart at another grocery store photo op?) but for America it is stunningly awful. McCain could die in office. Does ANYONE think this woman, smart and hardworking as she may be, could possibly fill the role of president? Just another example of how Republicans talent lies in winning elections, not governing the country.
TOTALLY agreeing with the poster who said if this were happening to Obama’s VP, there’d be some rafter swinging! Can you imagine?
I for one could give to shits less if her daughter is pregnant. Im more concerned on how she could handle the presidence when McCain keels over in the oval office.
I also know that its coming “how can she handle that when she couldn’t handle her daughter geting pregnant”
Are you with your children 24 hours a day. Because 90% of all teenagers are sexually active in some shape or form just look at the teenage pregnancy rate in the United States. For every one teenage that gets pregnant theres 5 more that dosn’t.
Geez. It’s as though people would be happier to hear news that Bristol had been pregnant but killed her unborn baby.
I like what Obama had to say on this topic. I think it should be left alone considering there are plenty of really good parents whose children get pregnant or get someone pregnant.
just curious mr. mccain and ms. palin:
as of this morning: how many americans have lost their lives in the iraq war?
how many americans have permanent disabilities (physical or emotional) from being in the iraq war?
how many children spent this labor day with an empty chair at their dinner table because their parent DIED in the iraq war?
how many spouses and children DO have their loved one home from the iraq war but its not the same person that left them to fight in the war?
how many children only see their mommy or daddy over a computer web because they are in the iraq war?
just curious if either of you know!!!?!
p.s. ms. palin: as a mother you SHOULD know because your son is in that position. no need to know, i guess. good parenting, huh?
I would agree that this should not be an issue, if it weren’t for the fact that Gov. Palin is against sex education, opting for an abstinence only approach. If it didn’t work for her own daughter, it’s certainly not going to work for the rest of the country. Teenagers have sex. Always have, always will.
Also, the following accusations could be completely false, but I’ve heard some crazy/maybe not so crazy things since this news broke, from people who supposedly are/were in high school with Bristol. They say that she is not pregnant. This “pregnancy” is to cover up that she was pregnant with Trig (if she’s “5 months along” she couldn’t have had Trig, as he’s 4 months old), and she will have a “miscarriage” in the coming months. They also say that Trig does not have Down syndrome, but has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome because Bristol was a “party girl.” I don’t know if these things are true, because they do sound kind of outlandish, but I just don’t understand why else a pregnant woman leaking amniotic fluid would give a 30 minute speech in Texas, then fly 8 hours to Alaska, and then drive 45 minutes to give birth to a preemie in a hospital that is not equipped to deal with risky births.
Beginning to wonder if McCain is purposely throwing the election? Absolutely NOTHING about his campaign, platform or agenda is innovative, inspirational, motivational or creative. Now the Repubs are canceling their convention because of “Gustav”? Give me a break. It was a mild storm compared to most. The Repubs are canceling because they cannot possibly compete with the success of the Democratic convention. Like Bush, most Repubs are behind the times, ignorant of real world problems and inept when it comes to trying to fix anything. I’m done with them. Let’s just get to November and say goodbye to McCanin/Palin.
celebitchy, Palin worships at the Assemby of God church in wasilla and it is the largest pentacostal denomination, so she definitely belongs to a denomination. she is an evangelical.
CeeJay, I think they’re shortening the convention because they know Republicans are blamed for the mishandling of Katrina. If they went on as if it was business as usual, they might seem insensitive and uncaring as to what happened and could happen again to New Orleans.
I just have two concerns with this –
1) Why didn’t McCain vet her properly? There is credible evidence that his campaign staff just showed up on Saturday to vet her. And why weren’t they more open about this? It was only released when the rumors started swirling.
What does this say about his judgment?
2) What kind of mom would put her teen-age daughter thru this at such a very vulnerable time? Now the daughter has to not only deal with a pregnancy, but also the impact on her mom’s career. How bad would you feel?
oh, assembly of god was her former church. she now worships at the wasilla bible church, also an evangelical church.
see this article:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJgm2T3qgeZU&refer=home
Agree with CandyKay.
McCain chose Palin because their arguement will be that they represent change in Washington and unlike Obama and Biden, actually have long track records of bucking their own party.
McCain did not pick Palin for womens’ votes. He picked her to appeal to people who dispair over the Washington status quo.
OK, I gotta admit I am INTRIGUED by what Courtney said about Trig not having Down’s Syndrome but FAS…
I told my sister when I saw pics of the baby that he didn’t look like a Down Syndrome baby. I didn’t think of FAS then, but I admit I just Googled images of him and while I’m certainly no doctor, I see many more FAS features there than Down’s Syndrome.
I feel a kind of guilt in speculating about these poor kids who never asked for any of this, but I’m sorry, their mother’s preoccupation with her own advancement has made this an issue, like it or not. She could have saved her family this public scrutiny by staying in her position as a new Governor of Alaska, that wouldn’t be “givin up everything for your children” which some have opined is anti-woman.
Again, I personally think it’s a PRIVILEDGE to be a mother and then RESPONSIBILITY to make decisions once you are that are in the best interest of your CHILDREN.
This woman is a joke. She acts like she’s some sort of moral authority while her kid’s out getting knocked up. And really, I’d be interested to know exactly how much time she spends with her newborn while running for office. She probably hasn’t seen that baby in days. I get the impression that the only person Sarah Palin is interested in is Sarah Palin.
For McCain to nominate her is insulting to women everywhere, like we’re all going to look up from our hot stoves and say, “A woman! Let’s vote for her!”
A woman should not vote for Palin strictly because she’s a woman any more than a black person should vote for Obama strictly because he’s black. VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE WHO BEST REFLECTS YOUR VALUES AND CONCERNS. Duh!
Bob: Of course, Obama’s six or seven “love children” that are scattered across the country get no press coverage whatsoever.
That’s because they only exist in your screwed up little head, assh*le.
Wow. What a seething bunch on this site today.
Noticeably quiet amid this year’s hoopla surrounding the Republican party convention are groups like the Concerned Women of America and Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum giving us their very vocal views on the evils of wives and mothers working outside of the home. In past election years these groups would expound at length about how working wives and mothers were abandoning their God-given responsibilities of keeping house, cooking/cleaning/chlidrearing/husband-pleasing, and were to blame for the disintegration of the American family, teenage pregancy rates, and unwed motherhood.
Guess we won’t be hearing much about that anymore 🙄
Being a muslim is not a crime, but since Islam (the religion) does not recognize the separation between State &religion, you can understand the problem.
yeah…so?! It show how much of a REAL person she is. She can’t be at her daughters side 24/7!!!
Non-denominational Christian my ass. She’s a dominionist — a member of the Assembly of God. These are hardcore, religious fundies who believe that they must acquire positions of power in order to bring about Armageddon and usher in the 1,000 year reign of Jesus.
That alone should scare the hell out of anyone thinking of voting for her.
Her fabulous political career features leaving Wassila (the town of 6,000 people where she was Mayor) in 20 million dollars of debt after her tenure. Being for the Bridge to Nowhere before she decided she was against it. And then there’s her abusing her power as governor by trying to fire her former brother-in-law and when she was thwarted, fired the state police chief when he didn’t do what she wanted.
She’s fucking AWESOME. What coup for the McCain campaign.
Oh, and I could could give half a rat’s ass whether or not her daughter is preggers. That is completely beside the point. The woman is a ruthless political hack. She’s a knee-jerk reactionary. And her belief system is profoundly un-American.
Apparently, this was an open secret in their home town. This article in Time Magazine contained some stuff that was news to me – apparently Palin is not opposed to birth control.
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1837862,00.html
Exactly, Plumeria, and Sarah Palin chose to accept a job that would thrust her family, her children, under a world wide microscope, taking away any chance of anonymity and the ability to quietly live with their own choices.
Diva – I agree and that bothers me a bit, too, but the article I linked too deals with that a little bit. I think that she’s a “drive on” type, and they see this as a challenge, but not necessarily a tragedy.
There’s been a lot of ugly talk about fake pregnancies, and whether a woman with small children should take on the challenge of running for office, and I just wanted to inject another perspective.
Food for thought: if John Edwards had been nominated and elected, what would happen to his and Elisabeth’s children in the unfortunately likely event she should die? I just never heard criticism of them for chasing the presidency.
I think a lot of this is because Palin’s a woman. You can discuss her policies, but leave the kids (their behavior, who will take care of them) out of it. No one would discuss it if she were a man.
Sarah Palin gave birth to a baby with Down’s Syndrome at the age of 44.
Is anyone else appalled at this?
The risk of giving birth to a baby with Down’s Syndrome is extremely high in women over 40 (and even higher when the father is also over 40).
http://www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/news/20030701/dad-age-down-syndrome
Sarah Palin “opposes the use of birth control pills and condoms even among married couples”.
I am disgusted by this irresponsible behaviour. To give birth at age 44 to a baby with Down’s because you refuse to use birth control inexcusable. Ignoring the dangers that you expose yourself and your baby to by refusing to use birth control after 40 is negligent and careless. To believe that a woman like this has the opportunity to become Vice President of the United States of America in 2008 makes me ill.
Does anyone else share this opinion?
Frog, I’m definitely in complete agreement with you on having children at such a late age. It is a woman’s choice to have children later in life, but it is not something I, personally, would ever do because of the increased risk to the child.
I thought I had read that she was not opposed to birth control, just sex education, but I could be wrong. If I’m wrong and she doesn’t believe in birth control, I wonder how she spaced her children out. Pull out and hope for the best?
Check this out. Just to help clear up that Bristol with either 1.) Wear a pregnancy suit or 2.) Suffer a miscarriage.
AND that the child who Sarah ‘gave birth’ to IS her daughter’s.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/8/30/121350/137/486/580223
She can’t manage a 17 year old. The “values” she taught her daughter obviously are different than the ones my mother taught my siblings and I. My sister was hell on heels and didn’t end up knocked up. Dearest Republicans, you can’t take a store manager from Wal-Mart and make her President of the Company, the stockholders would not approve.
Another thing that doesn’t fit, January,Febuary, March, Bristol is too sick and contagious with mono to go to school but she’s not too sick to see her boyfriend and have sex. Or to drive around and be stopped 3 times in 2 months for traffic violations. This whole thing is just bizarre. Time will out, it always does.
Dearest Republicans, you can’t take a store manager from Wal-Mart and make her President of the Company, the stockholders would not approve.
Hahaha. This is one of the funniest ways I’ve heard Sarah Palin’s VP nomination described. I approve.
I love how she’s being called a failure as a mother because her kid got knocked up?
How many of YOU were virgins until after you left your parents’ home(s)? Unless you were, I guess it means your parents were failures, right?
A daughter who uses condoms with all her adolescent “lovers” and never has one fail…well, she has a successful mother. A daughter who has a condom break or gets talked into not using one by her adolescent horndog boyfriend has a failure for a mother?
I’m so glad I read these comments…because I might have lived without clarity on that issue while I finish raising my daughter, and I wouldn’t want to be a failure as a mother.
Oh. And the girl is 17. If she wants to marry her boyfriend and keep this kid she’s too young to raise, the mother has no option but to smile and put a positive spin on it.
It’s not her call anymore.
This is becoming a real sickness in this country. these girls think they’re being mature or grown up, but using a condom is far more mature. it should be illegal to have children before the age of 18, just like it should be illegal to mess up the sale rack at OLD NAVY!
I actually agree with you Aspen. I know far too many young girls between the ages of 16-18 who have had children already AND their parents were not failures.
But each is entitled to their opinion.
-Begins making a random alcohol drink-
CB, My comment up-thread is still in moderation. I am baffled as to why…
I was going to stay out of this, because frankly, I’ve been trying to keep my political discussions restricted to the sites designed for it. But seeing as how everyone else is doing it, I don’t feel too badly.
So, it’s a bad thing that the 17 year old is keeping her child? Quote: “these girls think they’re being mature or grown up, but using a condom is far more mature. it should be illegal to have children before the age of 18”
You realize that ‘freedom to choose’ is a two way street right? It’s really sad that a woman’s right to choose has been reduced to a woman’s right to get an abortion. The right to CHOOSE indicates there is more than one possible course of action.
You don’t want people that don’t like abortion to criticize those who get them? But it’s alright for those who support abortion to criticize someone who is willing to roll up their sleeves and take responsibility for their actions?
Does that make her mature? No. Not by itself it doesn’t. That’s a question you can only really answer once you watch how the child grows up, and trying to indicate you know a damn thing about how that kid will turn out now is leaping into the realm of psychic ability.
Would she have been smarter to use a condom or the pill? Hell yeah! But who’s saying she wasn’t? My sister got pregnant with her second child while on the pill.
What kind of future can the child born of a 17 year old expect? Well, Barrack Obama’s mother was 18 when he was born. So apparently, you can expect to be a Presidential candidate. Not too shabby there.
Even worse – people seem to imply that her daughter being pregnant somehow implies that she’s a hypocrite, or a bad mother. Since her daughter is pregnant, she can’t be pro-family values?
So I suppose Al Gore can’t be against kids doing drugs because his son was arrested with pot?
Real quality logic there.
Oh, and it’s ‘suspicious’ that she got pregnant while she had mono!? REALLY!? Any of you ever had an infection while on the pill? She was most likely on antibiotics! Which has a tendency to do what? That’s right: it INTERFERES with birth control.
Actually, sounds like a pretty plausible story when you use your brain, doesn’t it?
I think it’s all the noise Palin makes about abstinence that makes her look like she’s failed her daughter. Or her daughter’s failed her. But there are much much bigger more important failings going on that are being eclipsed by this scandal. Maybe the press will do a their job and go after some more serious and frankly terrifying shortcomings. But I doubt it. Anything that has to do with sex will always trump other issues. Our puritanical roots are showing, with their attendant hypocrisy.
This is the best Mcain and Dobson could do? Nominating Sara Palin, to make history, by being the first woman to hold this high office?? A woman with a BS in Journalism, from the University of Idaho??? With all the brilliant, highly educated women to choose from, this is an insult. I guess they didn’t want her to be too smart, they wouldn’t be able to control her. Oh yea, you been listening to talk radio lately ?? Notice how all the talk is about how HOT she is?
Sarah Palin is a right-winger. Plain and simple…if it were Barack Obama’s VP candidate whose 17 year old were pregnant she and McCain would be screaming blue bloody murder, quoting the Bible and predicting hell and damnation…
If the worst thing that child ever does is have a baby when she isn’t married that in my books is pretty damn minor. This isn’t about Ms. Palin’s daughter, its about the hypocrisy that is inherent in this situation and how those who howl the loudest about ‘family values’ seem to run into the most difficulty trying to live up to their own rhetoric. Which happens because its impossible to live up to!
Jaysis Scott – for the second day running, old bleeding heart pinko me is in total agreement with everything you say! 😯 Is this a sign of the Apocalypse? 😉
The woman’s policies are what should be an issue – not whether the daughter decided to exercise her pesky “free will”. I’m assuming that all of the “failed as a mother” “policies failed at home” people have children in their 20s, without incident. Well done you, but not everyone is so fortunate with their kids. All families have their problems, either pregnancy, drinking or constant rowing.
As for some of the other comments – you want the family to give up their “yooman rights” and publish their medical histories? Are you people friggn’ serious? Whatever about relevant financial details and policies, medical records are private for a reason. But hey, let’s ignore the Constitution and the law shall we? FDR managed all right in a wheelchair didn’t he?
Those who are still banging on about the conspiracy theory and predicting a ‘miscarriage” soon, just so that you can sit and crow about it if, God forbid, such a thing would happen. Nice.
Critiscise policies and decisions all you like. There is plenty there to have a go at. If you’re not careful, you’ll wind up with a swing in her favour through the development of a sympathy vote.
not one comment on here regarding “levi”.
how do HIS parents and family feel about getting drug through all of this? yes, the baby daddy and his family. they are probably dealing with enough right now. Ms. Palin’s running for office (in my opinion, putting her career priorities ahead of her family and his) seems like irresponsible parenting. little self-indulgent. every investigative news team is going to be turning alaska upside down looking for him and his family. but im sure marriage will make all of their problems go away!!!! just a LITTLE MORE pressure to an underage/unmarried couple being thrust into the public eye. no. no pressure. where will the happy couple live? in the governors mansion?
its not about her daughter being pregnant, we ALL have made mistakes. i just think she needs to come off her high republican horse. preaching family values. its hard for me to hear anyone take a stance of pro-life, ESPECIALLY women. we are not pro-abortion, its called pro-choice. its embarrassing, her “GO GIRL” speeches. she is not one of the girls. old johnny boy picked her to appeal to women. what old johnny boy doesnt understand is: its appalling to women. how many other successful women DESERVE the opportunity for this job?
she doesnt put her family OR her party first. sometimes, you need to say “NO”, “not a good time”. apparently she doesnt know how. something unfortunately she didnt teach her daughter also!!!!
i truly wish the best for these two young people and their baby. they are going to need it. hopefully levi “behaves” so granny wont need to get him fired.
ms. palin has a little of the holyier than thou republican trait running through her. maybe they have an antibiotic for that!!!!
After sifting through the ‘hate’, I do agree with Scott & Mairead.
I LOVE how her husband is so faded into the background in this photo, it’s almost like he’s not even there.
this is pathetic
this girl is a minor-under 18
this girl’s life is none of our business
i know nothing about biden’s children
nor obama’s children
until all of the running mate’s childrens lives are up for discussion this should remain private
by the way, how many people commenting have a 17 year old daughter?
Sarah Palin. Can you spell “hypocrite”?
Well, I’m betting both children are Bristol’s. And I think her mom should be paying more attention to her family.
I’m willing to say, from the getgo, that just Sarah Palin’s policies make me think she’s crazy…but there’s an element of dignity in that whole ‘rushing home’ business that makes sense if it’s for the grandbaby. If she did it 36 weeks pregnant with a high-risk pregnancy then I wouldn’t let her operate a bicycle, much less be a heartbeat away. THAT would be bad judgement.
I think she decided to claim the baby (a nice traditional solution) and daughter celebrated with her baby-daddy so that “whoops, I did it again”.
Supportive or not, I’ll bet mom was annoyed, lol.
LiLi “by the way, how many people commenting have a 17 year old daughter”
Great question 8)
I don’t agree with Palin’s politics, but I do find it very interesting that the female candidates in this race are getting bashed mercilessly at every turn. Palin hasn’t even been in the running a week yet and she’s already being ripped apart for being a bad mother. Hillary was getting kicked around more than all of the other candidates combined. When Chelsea was on the campaign trail with her, she was accused of pimping out her daughter, but when Obama’s kids are out with him it’s just, “aren’t they cute?”
If you say anything negative about Obama you are called a racist and sent you your corner. But Hillary and now this woman are nitpicked, judged, dragged through the mud and their parenting abilities are judged. Why is that?
Lola, my dear, I’m not acctually woried about any of this.
@What: Bodhi, why not encouraged by a black man nominee? (he is half white, btw)
If you’ll look back to my comment, I said that I am very encouraged by the nomination. Read more carefully
scott, I support a womans right to choose to keep her kid if she wants to. i have nothing against her daughter choosing to be a mom at a young age as this is her “decision” although I doubt she had much of a choice in a family like hers whether she wanted to keep it. as most posters on here are saying is that sarah palin disagrees with the right to choose, and that everyone, regardelss of what happened, should be forced to go full term. not to mention the glaring hypocricy of a woman preahcing family values and more government in the bedroom and up in women’s lady parts, while expecting all of us to not have an opinion on this. this goes straight to the heart of what kind of person she is when she can say things out of two sides of her mouth. the woman wants abstinence only education in schools. it clearly, data-wise and example-wise does not work. and if bristol gets to choose to keep her baby, then others should have the right to choose to terminate before full term. and there should be more funding for birh control and condoms instead of acting like this doesnt happen.
obamas mom had him when she was 18, yah, 47 years ago when that was normal. and she was married to his father and it was probably planned, not that i know, but in this case you can see how it was more likely planned and not a flipping accident because mommy and daddy didnt want to talk about condoms. and she was already a college student living away from her parents. big difference in my mind. huge.
Ack! I just moved into a new house and we have no cable or internet! All this is news to me! Looks like I’ll be spending my day reading up on the latest reasons NOT to vote McCain/Palin in November (as if I needed any more).
bodhi, sorry, misread that.
Its cool. I just wanted to clarify
MSat; Great point 😉
The picture you’ve highlighted there is actually Willow Palin, Gov. Palin’s 14 year-old daughter. Bristol Palin is not in the family photo above.
@Mairead – Yes, we do expect the medical records of our presidential and vice presidential candidates.
The Dems: Obama is in good health, and he’s been open about his struggle to give up smoking. In the 1980s, Joe Biden had two large operations on a reoccurring brain tumor. He has been open about his vigiliance in getting his yearly MRI scans just in case the tumors reoccur. The tumors/cancer re-occurring is a major possiblity in a four or eight year term – and I, for one, want to know. It affects job performance.
The Repub: McCain is in extremely poor health, and he’s only given limited access to his medical records. He’s had multiple skin cancer occulusions, and he is 72 years old. Palin is a medical mystery, and she would be serving as Veep to a man who would likely die – or get seriously ill – in office. Job performance, job performance.
But if that’s not Bristol, who is the third girl? I thought Sarah Palin had 5 children – 3 girls and two boys (one not yet born at the time of the photo?) So she has six children instead of 5? Watch out Brangelina – they’re catching up with you! 😉
This is neither here nor there, but didn’t Obama’s parents marry after he was born, which is why he is keen not to condemn this.
Wow MSat, was Hillary really bashed for “pimping out” Chelsea on the campaign trail. For heaven’s sake, Chelsea is a grown adult, extraordinarily articulate and well-educated, and well able to get into the political fray when she wants to (I remember her, um, defense of America going into confilict in Iraq in 2003 when she was still at university in England). Pimping out indeed. 🙄
Lord, none of ’em have anything on the Kennedys 😈
Scott, I didn’t say it was odd Bristol was having sex while being treated for mono I said it was odd she was having sex while too sick and/ or contagious to attend school. There’s a difference. My college room mate left school with a severe case of mono. She was too weak to do much of anything for months let alone drive and entertain friends. So yes the whole scenario is bizarre and continues to get more so.
Yep, absolutely NO double standard for the female candidates in this race, right folks?
After all, so many people accused Obama of being a horrible father for leaving his two young daughters out in the cold by campaigning for the Presidency. Wait, no they didn’t.
Nor is he being brought to task for putting his kids under the media spotlight. But Sarah Palin, who’s children are on average older, is criticized for both.
“obamas mom had him when she was 18, yah, 47 years ago when that was normal. and she was married to his father and it was probably planned, not that i know, but in this case you can see how it was more likely planned and not a flipping accident because mommy and daddy didnt want to talk about condoms.”
So, different standards then? You can just come out and say it.
Can you prove a single word of that? I’m guessing not since you use words like ‘most likely’ planned. Can you prove that she wasn’t on birth control? Can you prove her parents didn’t talk to her about birth control?
No. This is speculation on your part that you’re unwilling or unable to bring yourself to conclude the same about Obama’s mother, regardless of any more info on her situation.
Oh, and statistically, it was no more the ‘norm’ for teens to get pregnant back then than it is now. That’s a stat that both sides of the debate regularly try to fudge for their own gain, but the truth is that teen pregnancy numbers have been relatively static since WWII.
“Moreover, despite the language of epidemic, pregnancy rates among teenagers were not dramatically increasing. From the turn of the century until the end of World War II, birth rates among teenagers were reasonably stable at approximately 50 to 60 births per thousand women. Teen birth rates, like all American birth rates, increased dramatically in the period after World War II, doubling in the baby boom years to a peak of about 97 births per thousand teenaged women in 1957. Subsequently, teen birth rates declined, and by 1975 they had gone back down to their traditional levels, where, for the most part, they have stayed (see figure).”
I agree that Sarah absolutely cannot be held responsible for Bristol’s sex life – Bristol is a young woman who has a right to, for lack of a better term, “use” her own body and live her own life.
What Sarah Palin can be held responsible for is Bristol’s lack of education, which no doubt increased the odds of an unplanned pregnancy.
Bristol is her daughter. Her own flesh and blood. I know Sarah may love Bristol very, very much, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that she denied her own daughter a comprehensive sex education. She cheated her own daughter out of a “normal” adolescence, and put her at risk for potentially deadly STDs. And now by virtue of the public spotlight, Bristol is backed into the “choice” of getting married and raising her child. We know abortion is out of the question, but given Palin’s and the GOP’s stance on “Family Values”, Bristol never even had a chance to consider adoption. She never had the choice to raise her baby on her own. These were not options for her. Palin’s career took precedence to her own daughter’s happiness. Bristol is a pawn in a very political game.
Sarah Palin would do this to her own daughter. Imagine how compassionate she’d be to your daughter? To your sister? To your wife? How compassionate would she be towards you, and your life choices?
FYI: if bristol had mono she was NOT on antibiotics. mono is not a bacterial infection…when you have it you have to simply let it run it’s course, which sucks. i had it 5 years ago ago and slept for about 3 months straight. with mono it is not uncommon to sleep 16 hours a day, so i’m not sure how she had the energy to have sex unless her boyfriend had sex with her when she was asleep! also, there has never been a documented case of antibiotics interfering with the pill’s effectiveness. it’s basically an urban legend. the pharmaceutical companies have to put that warning on the lable to legally cover their asses.
A failing grade for the mother who teaches abstinence.
And how does everyone know that her mother didn’t teach her about birth control? Hmmm? It seems a lot of you are stating it as absolute fact. Psst, here’s a little secret. You know how you can tell your kids not to do drugs and things like that? Are they 100% going to listen? It’s the same with birth control. And, even more surprising, sometimes condoms break, the pill doesn’t work, etc. Basically, get off of this girl’s back, she’s 17, it is NONE of our business. And I’m sure even if her mother didn’t tell her about birth control, her friends did.
Okay, to put it simply for the people who just aren’t getting why this is an issue:
SARAH PALIN = PRO ABSTINENCE-ONLY EDUCATION
BRISTOL PALIN = SARAH PALIN’S PREGNANT TEENAGER WHO WAS TAUGHT ABSTINENCE ONLY
See what I’m getting at?
CL: If Sarah Palin is against sex education, what makes you think she’d teach her daughter about condoms and birth control? And if her friends did tell her about birth control, I’m sure allll the information she received was accurate, because we all know that 17 year olds are the equivalent of an RN 🙄 . You kind of proved why people are for sex education programs: friends aren’t a reliable enough source when it comes to preventing teen pregnancy.
I totally agree with “alsomom.” I’ve seen it happen before…siblings 9/10 months apart is not unusual.
What is unusual is an intelligent mother of 4 risking the life of a 5th child that is a known high risk birth to travel (FLY) for hours to and from a political event.
UNBELIEVEABLE
Kaiser, I’m afraid I still can’t agree with you on this. The way I see it is that there is a difference between being open and automatic disclosure of medical records for everyone to pick over. Just because you are running for office should not automatically mean forfeiture of the rights which apply to every other citizen.
Yes somebody who has suffered an illness in the past may risk a relapse – but so can a previously healthy person succumb to an illness. Or a bullet.
I agree it’s an aspect of capability and job performance, but I really don’t think it’s the overriding aspect. Cheney managed to get plenty done for his “core constituents” despite nearly snuffing it a few times. 👿
Heck let’s look at Dubya. The first 9 months of his original presidency were hardly stellar in productivity terms. Unless the only way to run a country is to herd cattle in Texas. It wasn’t until after Sept. 11 that he got his finger out and did some governing. 😉
Mairead,”…he got his finger out and did some governing”
You certainly have a way with words 😀
But my point is, do you really know what goes on inside of that house? My mother doesn’t believe in sex education in schools either, and she does believe in abstinence. She even worked for many years in a program that promotes abstinence, but she did tell me that if I wanted to have sex then I would have to research birth control methods on my own. If Sarah’s daughter had gone looking for birth control information she could’ve found it on any respectable website that was written by doctors. Or she could’ve talked to her doctor privately. Why are we blaming her mother for this? I’m pretty sure her daughter knew how you get pregnant, and even a condom can greatly reduce pregnancies. Many high schoolers know that.
Yes, and I’ve heard adults even say wrong things about birth control methods. What’s your point? I had a 30 year old woman tell me that condoms completely prevent STDs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sex education in schools, but as someone who recently got out of HS and has talked to my doctor numerous times about birth control, teenagers know a little bit more than you give them credit for. The information is out there for them, they can find it out on their own.
underage pregnancy aside:
if you look up “troopergate” on wikipedia, very interesting information.
seems like the palin/mccann family will drag their own children through about anything. three years later and sister mccann is still fighting the ex. Very adult.
palin family claim: moose, rifles, snowmobiles, hunting licenses, unreported domestic threats and violence.
my take: “dont worry, sis, you havent been able to take care of this is THREE YEARS, now that im the gov, i will make it go away.”
mommy and daddy palin roughing it up while all along their own child is off getting pregnant.
i hope levis parents have a VERY long conversation with him and let HIM know where HIS OWN CHOICES are: support the girl and the baby doesnt require a marriage license.
predicted future behavior? look to her past, because its not pretty.
thanks, texasmom… my problem is not that gov. palin’s daughter is pregnant. my problem is positioning yourself as a “family values” candidate, then not being there for your teenage daughter when she’ll need you the most. and i know it is unfair that men aren’t held to the same standard– but it is different for women. this girl is going to need her mom. a dad just isn’t the same when you’re going through a pregnancy and birth. and her mom will be far away in washington– unless bristol and her shotgun fiance are moving there?
From what I’ve read today, Sarah Palin was pregnant when she and Todd eloped.
I don’t dislike this woman because she’s a Republican, I was a Republican most of my life. I didn’t have sex until I was well out of my parent’s homes at 22. My problem with Sarah Palin is her hypocrisy. Not just in “Christian values” but in lies and political back tracking.
There are things everyone should look into about this poorly, poorly vetted woman that have nothing to do with her daughter, her husband, or her baby. And it’s not going to be found on a celebrity gossip site.
Exploiting Women to become President makes me sick! This is how America operates, and sex sells. Is this country full of idiots? Rep. or Dem. I am outraged and insulted, McCain used sex (a Woman) to sell his campaign. Is it just me or did everyone miss the boat on this one. This is Marketing to the masses 101. Wake up America!!!
Face up to it folks, kids are having sex and have been for a long time. As young as 12 yrs old. I get tired of hearing it is the parents fault that their kids are having sex. You cannot be with them 24 7’s and you cannot contol their urges. If this is the worse thing this kid does her parents are lucky people. Leave the kid alone.
Concentrate on what her mother is bringing to the table . What kind of baggage does this women have? I do’t care if she “had to get married”, that is old news. I don’t care if she wore a sassy T shirt at college. WHat has she done since she has held office??
I am not sure if I want some one who hated the USA so bad that she was in a group that wanted to get Alaska out of the USA. It seems she is not too loyal and to have a disloyal person in VP office might me harmful. MCCAIn is old and could die, that means SHE would become president and run the country.
And people crabbed about HIllary lol
I still haven’t heard why the Republican party blasted the Murphy Brown show because of it’s “lack of family values” when a fictional 40+ character gets pregnant by choice–yet praises their potential Vice-president and her pregnant 17 year old daughter as the epitome of family values. This is typcial of the hypocrisy of the Republican party and a pathetic message to our country’s youth.
Didn’t Obama’s mother get pregnant with him at 17?
seems ironic the mommy married daddy on aug 29, 1988 (eloped mind you) and first born track was born in april.
do the math people. even being born on the last day of april and being conceived on the wedding night, that puts tracks delivery at 35 weeks. “normal” pregnancy is 40 weeks.
see the reason to elope.
see the reason daughter following in mommy’s footsteps.
do YOU see the hypocrite? I DO!!!!
ironic, very ironic. interesting how republicans are always pointing the finger at “naughty” democrats. to get the attention off themselves.
very religious!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i love my country too!! i support american women – whether its staying at home with their kids, being a working mom, or not to have kids at all.
i will not be voting for mccain/palin.
although its nice to see that republicans have someone to put on the ticket that NORMALLY they would want at home with the apron on.
ironic how FINALLY republicans, in 2008, are experiencing sexism instead of dishing it out.
johnny cant handle the heat. not that hes ever been in the kitchen. too busy trying to find his house.
a lot of american mothers hunt. hunt for good, quality, reasonably priced healthcare, food, childcare, and gas. not moose!!!
I mentioned this revelation in another thread and no one seemed to care, lol.
frank basti – get a life.
OMG Diva 😯
I am impressed 😉
Family values!!!
If McCain/Palin is elected we can change the name of the White House to Getto House. White trash has arrived….
I think Sarah Palin and Ted Nugent would be the perfect couple. Two peas in a freakin’ pod. Guns, God, and Glory!! Together,, they could lead America on its march back to the dark ages… or should I say.. its march to ‘Idiocracy’….
nice to see that twit from “the view” endorsing palin. not that it suprises me. you could be an ax murderer but as long as you called yourself a republican that pea brain would endorse you.
that twit from the view has nannies, a driver, shows up to work with wet hair and no makeup (she has people that make her pretty), works three hours a day, while she tries to convince us all that she is “one of us” too.
no twitty, YOU can identify with ms. palin because she, just like you, rode the back of an old man to stardom. hey elizabeth, shut up please. nice to see that mr. hannity finally has something “nicey nice” to talk to you about.
your awesome bristol palin im 15 years old an im preg. with twins
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“Sarah Palin’s new autobiography doesn’t come out until November, but it is already No. 1 on Amazon. And if you go to the website, it says, ‘People who bought this book also bought no other books in their entire life.'” –Jimmy Fallon