The Imperfect Palins
Posted by Adam Graham in : Sarah PalinWord came out that Bristol Palin, the Governor’s 17-year old daughter is pregnant. The Statement from Governor Palin:
“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. 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. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.
“Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.”
Senator McCain knew about this and didn’t disqualify her from the ticket. Good for him. This has nothing to do with Governor Palin’s ability to serve as Vice-President of the United States. It is a personal detail about Governor Palin’s daughter that has become public because of insulting insinuations against her, alleging that Governor Palin’s latest child is actually her grandchild. Rubbish and bull, stop watching so many soap operas.
I think what it does say is that the Palins respect the value of human life. The baby is a gift from God, not a punishment as the other party would tell us. My prayers are with the Palin family and the upcoming marriage, as Bristol seeks to give her child a home with a father, and for that she should be commended.
I also hope and pray that Bristol’s decision and the support her mother is providing will be an example to encourage women in similar situations to choose life. Who knows how many lives will be saved by this high profile decision to choose life and personal responsibility, no matter what the cost.
Also, the Palin family is releasing information that the Governor’s husband, Todd Palin had a DUI when he was 22:
Sources close to Sarah Palin tell The Brody File that the husband of the GOP Vice-presidential choice, Todd Palin, was arrested and charged with Driving under the Influence of alcohol back in 1986. He was 22 years old at the time. He was driving in a truck with some friends in the small southwestern Alaska town of Dillingham when he was pulled over for the DUI. As is customary, he was taken to jail briefly. Sarah and Todd Palin were high school sweethearts so they were dating at the time. The Brody File can also report that there was no accident or injuries.
Sources close to Sarah Palin also tell The Brody File that Todd Palin has been “forthcoming about the situation and has indicated that it was a lesson learned from when he was younger.”
Given that this didn’t involve the candidate and occurred more than two decades ago before the two were married, this seems irrelevant, but could have been sat on by the Lamestream Media for another October surprise-2000 style even though Todd Palin isn’t the candidate.
I don’t find either disclosure disturbing or in any way calling into question the fitness of Sarah Palin. What I do find sad is any family forced to air dirty laundry because a media whose thirst for juicy news includes no bounds of decency, and people who spread hateful rumors across the Internet.
Things like this are why it’s so hard to get good people to run for office.
UPDATE:
Senator Obama weighs in:
Politico’s Carrie Budoff Brown reports: At a press avail in Monroe, Mich., Barack Obama on Palin: “Back off these kinds of stories.”
“I have said before and I will repeat again: People’s families are off limits,” Obama said. “And people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18 and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be a topic of our politics.”
Obama is right and I think this is the absolutely correct response.
He went on to say that his campaign had nothing to do with the outrageous blog posts of the paw few days and I believe him. I don’t think his campaign is stupid enough to go there.
Comment by Lynn Robb
Now would be the perfect time for the MSM to institute a new ethical directive stating that the personal lives of anyone in the candidates family–or extended family–except for that of the candidate themself are complete off limits.
Courtesy of the internet, we now all have 24/7 access to every minute of anyone’s life from birth to grave. Way too much information! What I have learned from this election cycle is that every single candidate and their family has the same clay feet as the rest of the population thank heavens.
The minute we declare open season on political candidates and their families is the minute we get demigogues with no flaws and charlatans who are expert at hiding them to run for office.
Comment by CKA in Red State USA
Obama may have nothing to do with the outrageous, vicious, crass blogosphere posts about Gov. Palin, but he’d best get off his butt and start contacting those friendly to and/or apologists for him and suggest they stop what they’re doing.
He simply cannot wash his hands of this, as if he hasn’t cultivated the behavior of those blogs by his own words or those issued by his campaign.
Comment by Ali R
It’s not about choosing life. It’s about fornication, also a sin – especially important when Mom is an avid abstinence-only sex ed advocate. Why is choosing to abort a baby looked at as horrible and the decision to fornicate as okay? Bristol Palin should be left alone, period – that I agree with. It’s the hypocrisy and the inconsistency of the Palin family and other evangelicals (“abortion is not forgiveable, but fornication is”) that’s the issue.
Bloggers, politicians, and TV journalists can stay as far away from this as possible, but this is something all of the voters are thinking about today.
Comment by Adam Graham
Fornication is a sin, abortion isn’t unforgivable. Both are wrong and both are forgivable. Abortion is worse because a human life is destroyed by it, but it is still forgivable. I’d suggest that most voters are concerned with Gustav, today.