Bristol Palin is pregnant

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No one outside of Anchorage would care if the governor's daughter got knocked up. For the VP candidate's daughter is is obvious that it will be all over every media outlet in the world. Either Palin didn't care about the embarrassment this must cause her teenage daughter, or she didn't know.

Palin is running for Vice President of the United States. In the next two months, people are going to be digging up every bit of dirt they can find about her. It is highly unlikely that she would be able to hide the fact that her teenage daughter is pregnant, so it's better for her to just come right out and say it rather than wait for someone to dig up the story and make it look even more scandalous.

Do you think she should have declined the VP candidate slot just to save her daughter a bit of embarrassment?

As I've already said, considering the people that McCain is pandering to by choosing Palin as a running mate, I think this will help his campaign rather than hurt it. So I see no reason to think that they didn't know about it before choosing her.

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It is the fact that McCain, on his first major decision as a potential president, did a botched job when it came to vetting this candidate.

I wouldn't call that a "fact."

I agree. Calling it a fact is a little strong. It's possible that McCain was told beforehand and just thought, "Ah what the hell, let's make the convention interesting."

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I don't really see any reason to think that McCain didn't know about the pregnancy.

Oh, Shotgun, have I got an avatar to sell you.

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I don't think it's something that will hurt his campaign, so I don't think it would have kept him from picking her as his VP.

Just watch.

FWIW, I don't think McCain knew about any of the gotchas beforehand. Let's list a few

• Investigation into whether she fired someone as governor over what should have been a family matter.
• The fact that she was for the "bridge to nowhere" before she was against it.
• The fact that Alaska has never given back the federal funds that were earmarked for the "bridge to nowhere".
• Who knows what else? Only time will tell.

Of course McCain would welcome her having an unwed pregnant teen daughter along with the other stuff. The whole mix is sure to make those social conservatives ecstatic!

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Of course McCain would welcome her having an unwed teen daughter along with the rest.

Well, it certainly seems to be distracting people from the rest.

And the news stories about it seem to be more positive than negative. With quotes like this:

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Focus on the Family founder James Dobson issued a statement commending the Palins "for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances." He added: "Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord."

. . . I'd say it's not hurting the campaign so far.

According to this article, the people of Wasilla already knew about the pregnancy. So if that's true, I'd imagine that Sarah Palin knew about the pregnancy, and I don't know why she'd keep that from McCain when it's something that's obviously going to come out.

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I really don't think the VP hopeful's unmarried, 17-year-old daughter getting pregnant is going to sway voters. But it does put a damper on preaching abstinence. And living by God's word (premarital sex).

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Exodus 22:16-17
If a man seduces a virgin who is not pledged to be married and sleeps with her, he must pay the bride-price, and she shall be his wife. If her father absolutely refuses to give her to him, he must still pay the bride-price for virgins.

Ah, the good ol' Old Testament days, when women were for sale, and God approved.

Edit - and just in case you can't tell, that last statement is EXTREMELY sarcastic.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

Obama's statement was not unlike Kerry's offer to take a paternity test. He gets credit for it, but it has no real value.

Obama doesn't have to trumpet the unwed teenage pregnancy when there are armies of people, both partisan and not, racing to investigate a new name, and then if their politics dictate, smear the crap at her. It's rather perfect for him - the story has overtaken any other real discussion about the candidate, right as people would be forming their initial (and typically lasting) impressions.

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

Obama's statement was not unlike Kerry's offer to take a paternity test. He gets credit for it, but it has no real value.

Did you mean John Edwards?

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

The beauty is your naivete, if you really believe that Obama is not confident that HE HIMSELF can sit back and not say anything, while assholes like James Carville or Marie Cocco will carry the ball for him.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

Obama's statement was not unlike Kerry's offer to take a paternity test. He gets credit for it, but it has no real value.

Obama doesn't have to trumpet the unwed teenage pregnancy when there are armies of people, both partisan and not, racing to investigate a new name, and then if their politics dictate, smear the crap at her. It's rather perfect for him - the story has overtaken any other real discussion about the candidate, right as people would be forming their initial (and typically lasting) impressions.

That was mine, so you want to ignore Obamas claas and the way he handled this? That helps your cause.

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You want to believe his "class" even though it's obvious that he can stand by and say nothing, and posture himself as Palin's defender while other Democrat attack dogs and spindrivers make the insinuations and jabs and character assassinations.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

Obama's statement was not unlike Kerry's offer to take a paternity test. He gets credit for it, but it has no real value.

Obama doesn't have to trumpet the unwed teenage pregnancy when there are armies of people, both partisan and not, racing to investigate a new name, and then if their politics dictate, smear the crap at her. It's rather perfect for him - the story has overtaken any other real discussion about the candidate, right as people would be forming their initial (and typically lasting) impressions.

That was mine, so you want to ignore Obamas claas and the way he handled this? That helps your cause.

you still have no clue what my causes are, even though it's pretty obvious to those in this forum with a pulse that I'm voting for Obama.

Your's was, surprisingly, the most terse of the Obama is classy replies, so I cited it, but attributed to "many."

As I wrote, and birdlike adds, it was a freebie for him. He doesn't have to take any action for it to get overplayed in our 24hr a day media.

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

The beauty is your naivete, if you really believe that Obama is not confident that HE HIMSELF can sit back and not say anything, while assholes like James Carville or Marie Cocco will carry the ball for him.

I'm not naive, you're over-inclusive. A former campaign manager for Clinton, a decade ago cannot speak for Obama. BTW, Marry Matlin is the scum.

This has nothing to do with confodence, this has to do with a guy's class. Apparently you feel Obama is responsible for every Dem pundit on earth

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You want to believe his "class" even though it's obvious that he can stand by and say nothing, and posture himself as Palin's defender while other Democrat attack dogs and spindrivers make the insinuations and jabs and character assassinations.

I agree with your innanity, Obama is responsible for every Democrat and their mouth in the world

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

Obama's statement was not unlike Kerry's offer to take a paternity test. He gets credit for it, but it has no real value.

Obama doesn't have to trumpet the unwed teenage pregnancy when there are armies of people, both partisan and not, racing to investigate a new name, and then if their politics dictate, smear the crap at her. It's rather perfect for him - the story has overtaken any other real discussion about the candidate, right as people would be forming their initial (and typically lasting) impressions.

That was mine, so you want to ignore Obamas claas and the way he handled this? That helps your cause.

you still have no clue what my causes are, even though it's pretty obvious to those in this forum with a pulse that I'm voting for Obama.

Your's was, surprisingly, the most terse of the Obama is classy replies, so I cited it, but attributed to "many."

As I wrote, and birdlike adds, it was a freebie for him. He doesn't have to take any action for it to get overplayed in our 24hr a day media.

I don't give a fuck what the media does, it appears you are still amongst those that individual partyies drive MAJOR media sources. The mnedia will turn on it's own usual parties if it means ratings. Why bring in the media, they are not the condidate and they use the candidate for their success.

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

The beauty is your naivete, if you really believe that Obama is not confident that HE HIMSELF can sit back and not say anything, while assholes like James Carville or Marie Cocco will carry the ball for him.

I'm not naive, you're over-inclusive. A former campaign manager for Clinton, a decade ago cannot speak for Obama. BTW, Marry Matlin is the scum.

This has nothing to do with confodence, this has to do with a guy's class. Apparently you feel Obama is responsible for every Dem pundit on earth

The issue is not whether Carville speaks for Obama. The issue is your unfounded attribution of Obama's reluctance to condemn or speak out about this pregnancy situation to his "class." He knows that others will do the work of whipping up antipathy toward Palin without him saying a word! That's why he can give the illusion of "class" by not saying anything! He knows it'll still get done, and it won't matter if it's done by those who don't have license to speak for him.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

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You want to believe his "class" even though it's obvious that he can stand by and say nothing, and posture himself as Palin's defender while other Democrat attack dogs and spindrivers make the insinuations and jabs and character assassinations.

I agree with your innanity, Obama is responsible for every Democrat and their mouth in the world

OMG, why are you having such a hard time staying with this concept??

I did not say nor imply that Obama is responsible for what anyone else says. My point was only that what you are attributing to Obama's "class" can just as easily be attributed to his satisfied knowledge that any number of leftist pundits will be denigrating Palin on his behalf, even if not with his official sanction.

The net benefit (if there is one) to him and his party will remain the same.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

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Of course McCain would welcome her having an unwed teen daughter along with the rest.

Well, it certainly seems to be distracting people from the rest.

And the news stories about it seem to be more positive than negative.

You really don't get it, do you? It doesn't matter if Obama, Carville, or DailyKos say a word about any of this. They'd be smart to say as little as possible. But the last thing any party wants is to have a member of their ticket be top billing on the supermarket tabloids for the foreseeable future. And make no mistake about it, the raw meat is in the water and the sharks will feast.

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The real beauty is how Obama handled it, when asked, he said that it was off limits; it's family, not politics. That was so golden in an era where many would pounce on teh opportunity. The guy is class.

The beauty is your naivete, if you really believe that Obama is not confident that HE HIMSELF can sit back and not say anything, while assholes like James Carville or Marie Cocco will carry the ball for him.

I'm not naive, you're over-inclusive. A former campaign manager for Clinton, a decade ago cannot speak for Obama. BTW, Marry Matlin is the scum.

This has nothing to do with confodence, this has to do with a guy's class. Apparently you feel Obama is responsible for every Dem pundit on earth

The issue is not whether Carville speaks for Obama. The issue is your unfounded attribution of Obama's reluctance to condemn or speak out about this pregnancy situation to his "class." He knows that others will do the work of whipping up antipathy toward Palin without him saying a word! That's why he can give the illusion of "class" by not saying anything! He knows it'll still get done, and it won't matter if it's done by those who don't have license to speak for him.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>He knows that others will do the work of whipping up antipathy toward Palin without him saying a word!


Now you make assumptions as to what he knows...patently flawed.


>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>That's why he can give the illusion of "class" by not saying anything! He knows it'll still get done, and it won't matter if it's done by those who don't have license to speak for him.


All he can do is control himself, he is only responsible for what he does, how he acts, so your perceptions based upon conjecture and assumption are typical of what I expect, none the less patently flawed.

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You want to believe his "class" even though it's obvious that he can stand by and say nothing, and posture himself as Palin's defender while other Democrat attack dogs and spindrivers make the insinuations and jabs and character assassinations.

I agree with your innanity, Obama is responsible for every Democrat and their mouth in the world

OMG, why are you having such a hard time staying with this concept??

I did not say nor imply that Obama is responsible for what anyone else says. My point was only that what you are attributing to Obama's "class" can just as easily be attributed to his satisfied knowledge that any number of leftist pundits will be denigrating Palin on his behalf, even if not with his official sanction.

The net benefit (if there is one) to him and his party will remain the same.

Operative word, one of the few that you didn't emphasize, "can." It could be that he thinks that way, or it could be that he acts with class, all we know is what we see, all you know is what your imagination misleads you to imagine. The burden to "prove" conspiracies rests with the architects of said conspiracy..... go to work.

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Also, it looks like he didn't vet Palin and it was a maverick rash move to pick her because of the power play with Rove:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sidney-blumenthal/why-palin-mccain-v-rove_b_122841.html

Yes, the vetting or lack of it is the story. Here's another article:

Palin disclosures raise questions about vetting
Alaskans say no one from McCain camp asked them about eventual VP pick

By Elisabeth Bumiller
The New York Times

ST. PAUL - A series of disclosures about Gov. Sarah Palin, Senator John McCain’s choice as running mate, called into question on Monday how thoroughly Mr. McCain had examined her background before putting her on the Republican presidential ticket.

On Monday morning, Ms. Palin and her husband, Todd, issued a statement saying that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, was five months pregnant and that she intended to marry the father.

Among other less attention-grabbing news of the day: it was learned that Ms. Palin now has a private lawyer in a legislative ethics investigation in Alaska into whether she abused her power in dismissing the state’s public safety commissioner; that she was a member for two years in the 1990s of the Alaska Independence Party, which has at times sought a vote on whether the state should secede; and that Mr. Palin was arrested 22 years ago on a drunken-driving charge.

Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background. A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice.

Although the McCain campaign said that Mr. McCain had known about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he asked her mother to join him on the ticket and that he did not consider it disqualifying, top aides were vague on Monday about how and when he had learned of the pregnancy, and from whom.

While there was no sign that her formal nomination this week was in jeopardy, the questions swirling around Ms. Palin on the first day of the Republican National Convention, already disrupted by Hurricane Gustav, brought anxiety to Republicans who worried that Democrats would use the selection of Ms. Palin to question Mr. McCain’s judgment and his ability to make crucial decisions.

At the least, Republicans close to the campaign said it was increasingly apparent that Ms. Palin had been selected as Mr. McCain’s running mate with more haste than McCain advisers initially described.

A rushed pick?
Up until midweek last week, some 48 to 72 hours before Mr. McCain introduced Ms. Palin at a Friday rally in Dayton, Ohio, Mr. McCain was still holding out the hope that he could name as his running mate a good friend, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, a Republican close to the campaign said. Mr. McCain had also been interested in another favorite, former Gov. Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania.

But both men favor abortion rights, anathema to the Christian conservatives who make up a crucial base of the Republican Party. As word leaked out that Mr. McCain was seriously considering the men, the campaign was bombarded by outrage from influential conservatives who predicted an explosive floor fight at the convention and vowed rejection of Mr. Ridge or Mr. Lieberman by the delegates.

Perhaps more important, several Republicans said, Mr. McCain was getting advice that if he did not do something to shake up the race, his campaign would be stuck on a potentially losing trajectory.

With time running out — and as Mr. McCain discarded two safer choices, Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, as too predictable — he turned to Ms. Palin. He had his first face-to-face interview with her on Thursday and offered her the job moments later.

“They didn’t seriously consider her until four or five days from the time she was picked, before she was asked, maybe the Thursday or Friday before,” said a Republican close to the campaign. “This was really kind of rushed at the end, because John didn’t get what he wanted. He wanted to do Joe or Ridge.”

Mr. McCain’s advisers said repeatedly on Monday that Ms. Palin was “thoroughly vetted,” a process that would have included a review of all financial and legal records as well as a criminal background check. A McCain aide said that the campaign was well aware of the ethics investigation and that it had looked into it.

People familiar with the process said Ms. Palin had responded to a standard form with more than 70 questions.

“It was obviously something that anybody Googling Sarah Palin knew was in the news and there was a very thorough vetting done on that and also on the daughter,” the aide said.

Locals say no one talked to them
Mark Salter, Mr. McCain’s closest adviser, said in an e-mail message that Ms. Palin had been interviewed by Arthur B. Culvahouse Jr., a veteran Washington lawyer in charge of the vice-presidential vetting process for Mr. McCain, as well as by other lawyers who worked for Mr. Culvahouse. Mr. Salter did not respond to an e-mail message asking if Ms. Palin had told Mr. Culvahouse and his lawyers that her daughter was pregnant.

In Alaska, several state leaders and local officials said they knew of no efforts by the McCain campaign to find out more information about Ms. Palin before the announcement of her selection, Although campaigns are typically discreet when they make inquiries into potential running mates, officials in Alaska said Monday they thought it was peculiar that no one in the state had the slightest hint that Ms. Palin might be under consideration.

“They didn’t speak to anyone in the Legislature, they didn’t speak to anyone in the business community,” said Lyda Green, the State Senate president, who lives in Wasilla, where Ms. Palin served as mayor.

Representative Gail Phillips, a Republican and former speaker of the State House, said the widespread surprise in Alaska when Ms. Palin was named to the ticket made her wonder how intensively the McCain campaign had vetted her.

“I started calling around and asking, and I have not been able to find one person that was called,” Ms. Phillips said. “I called 30 to 40 people, political leaders, business leaders, community leaders. Not one of them had heard. Alaska is a very small community, we know people all over, but I haven’t found anybody who was asked anything.”

Trying to keep a secret
The current mayor of Wasilla, Dianne M. Keller, said she had not heard of any efforts to look into Ms. Palin’s background. And Randy Ruedrich, the state Republican Party chairman, said he knew nothing of any vetting that had been conducted.

State Senator Hollis French, a Democrat who is directing the ethics investigation, said that no one asked him about the allegations. “I heard not a word, not a single contact,” he said.

Mr. French, a former prosecutor, said that he was knowledgeable about background checks and that, he, too, was surprised that the campaign had not reached out to state legislative leaders.

A number of Republicans said the McCain campaign had to some degree tied its hands in its effort to keep the selection process so secret.

“If you really want it to be a surprise, the circle of people that you’re going to allow to know about it is going to be small, and that’s just the nature of it,” said Dan Bartlett, a former counselor to President Bush and an adviser in both of his presidential campaigns.

Former McCain strategists disagreed on whether it would have been useful for Ms. Palin’s name to have been more publicly floated before her selection so that issues like the trooper investigation and her daughter’s pregnancy might have already been aired and not seemed so new at the time of her announcement.

Catch-22
“Had the story been written about the state trooper three months ago, nobody would care about it anymore,” said Dan Schnur, a former McCain aide who now directs the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at the University of Southern California. “It’s a risk. No matter how great the candidate, it’s a significant risk to put someone on the ticket” who hasn’t been publicly scrutinized.

“They obviously felt it was worth the risk to rev up the base and potentially reach out to Clinton supporters,” Mr. Schnur said.

But Howard Opinsky, another McCain veteran, said calling attention to Ms. Palin’s possible candidacy during the search process would have undermined the impact of her eventual selection.

“Had her name been played out in the press for months and months, she wouldn’t have been seen as so bold,” Mr. Opinsky said. “You either get freshness and you have to live with what you get in your vetting or you lose the freshness.”

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Wow, you, Billvon and Amazon are really having problems with reading comprehension today. Being Pro-Choice is pro-abortion, no matter how hard you try to make a distinction to quiet your consciences. The statement "I would never choose abortion myself but I would never stop anyone else from having one." is the same logic as "I would never steal, but I would never stop anyone else who chooses to steal." It's guilt by omission.

Ridiculous. I'm anti-abortion, but pro-choice. I think abortions indicate a gross amount of irresponsibility, other than abortions to save the mother's life. But the key is, do we legislate the right to have an abortion or legislate the prohibition of same?

the correct stance is to leave it up to the states AND have NO federal funding of abortion clinics.

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

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All he can do is control himself, he is only responsible for what he does, how he acts, so your perceptions based upon conjecture and assumption are typical of what I expect, none the less patently flawed.

And if he left a gun under his car seat and a criminal stole it, he is not responsible for what the criminal does now with the gun.

THANK YOU.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

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I did not say nor imply that Obama is responsible for what anyone else says. My point was only that what you are attributing to Obama's "class" can just as easily be attributed to his satisfied knowledge that any number of leftist pundits will be denigrating Palin on his behalf, even if not with his official sanction.

The net benefit (if there is one) to him and his party will remain the same.

Operative word, one of the few that you didn't emphasize, "can." It could be that he thinks that way, or it could be that he acts with class, all we know is what we see, all you know is what your imagination misleads you to imagine. The burden to "prove" conspiracies rests with the architects of said conspiracy..... go to work.

You are under just as much burden to somehow "prove" that Obama's reticence is due to his having "class" as I am to prove that it's due to his knowing that he doesn't need to say personally say anything in order to benefit from the smearing that will probably be done by other Dem pundits.

Why can't you note that I never said it's NOT because he has class, I said that it COULD JUST AS EASILY BE because of what I said?

You STATED that he remained quiet because of class. You did not say, "Hmmm, maybe he's quiet about this because he has class." You said it was BECAUSE he has class. Now you attempted to flip this around and make it seem that I was the one who was making unequivocal assertions. You really are a fine piece of work, as someone once said to me.

Spirits fly on dangerous missions
Imaginations on fire

[kallend 2,113]

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No one outside of Anchorage would care if the governor's daughter got knocked up. For the VP candidate's daughter is is obvious that it will be all over every media outlet in the world. Either Palin didn't care about the embarrassment this must cause her teenage daughter, or she didn't know.

Palin is running for Vice President of the United States. In the next two months, people are going to be digging up every bit of dirt they can find about her. It is highly unlikely that she would be able to hide the fact that her teenage daughter is pregnant, so it's better for her to just come right out and say it rather than wait for someone to dig up the story and make it look even more scandalous.

Do you think she should have declined the VP candidate slot just to save her daughter a bit of embarrassment?

As I've already said, considering the people that McCain is pandering to by choosing Palin as a running mate, I think this will help his campaign rather than hurt it. So I see no reason to think that they didn't know about it before choosing her.

IF you are correct, I still fail to see that having your daughter's illegitimate pregnancy headlined on every front page in the world in order to further Mom's career is a good example of "family values".

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

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You really don't get it, do you?

I understand your opinion, and I don't agree with it. And if you want to resort to acting like this, then I don't care to continue a discussion with you.

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IF you are correct, I still fail to see that having your daughter's illegitimate pregnancy headlined on every front page in the world in order to further Mom's career is a good example of "family values".

I agree, and I also agree that it doesn't sound like Palin was examined very thoroughly before McCain made his choice. I think it was a desperate move to secure the evangelical vote, without much thought as to whether she was capable of running the country if she has to. (And hypocritical, after using the inexperience thing to bash Obama.)