Sarah Palin said it quite well - that her daughter is five months pregnant, that she would be keeping the baby and that she and the father intend to marry, that she had the love and support of her family and words to the effect that her daughter was about to discover what a huge job and responsibility motherhood was.
And then she asked the media to please respect the young couples' privacy.
Fat chance. The media glommed on to this like the jackals they truly are, discussing every possible implication ad nauseum. Today's New York Times had no less than three page one stories on this.
FTR, I think Sarah Palin and her daughter have exactly the right take on it.Bristol Palin has made a decision to own her choices and take responsibility for them, and her family is doing what lots of other families through the ages have done in similar situations, giving her the support she needs. And it ought to end there.
As far as I'm concerned, this has nothing to do with the campaign. If anything, it shows that Sarah Palin is not only living her principles, but that she has passed them on to her children...that you do what you feel is right, not what happens to be convenient at the time.
If anything, this should be an indication of what kind of public servant Sarah Palin is and will be. I'm only sorry that she was forced to go public with what was and should have remained a private matter.
Selah.
4 comments:
Had this have been Barack Obama's teenage daughter the media would have kept quite about this and anyone who brought it up would be vilified by the news media for not respecting the Obama family's privacy. The fact that the privacy of Ms. Palin and her family's privacy is worth less than the privacy of Barack Obama's family reveals what hypocrites they really are.
Mr. Obama is supposed to be the candidate of "change" but he is just another liberal democrat Chicago politician. There's nothing different about him from the garden variety left wing democrat. His running mate is a Senate insider and among the leadership of the Democratic party. Electing Barack Obama would not result in change. It would be the same old same old.
On the other hand, Mr. McCain has clashed with the Republican leadership throughout his career in the Senate. At one time even the main stream media recognized this. In fact, his nickname was "maverick." While I find much to disagree with, in the positions Mr. McCain has taken, there seems to be no question that he is much more willing to go against main stream Republican thinking than Mr. Obama is willing to go against main stream Democrat thinking.
In addition to this, Mr. McCain has selected a running mate who is way outside of the Washington main stream both literally and figurateively. Also, Ms. Palin seems to have shown a willingness to fight corruption and battle entrenched politicians.
It seems that McCain/Palin represents real change, not Obama/Biden. Does McCain/Palin represent the kind of change voters want? The voters will decide this.
Finally, both Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin had to have known that this story about Ms. Palin's daughter was going to come out, if she accepted the nomination. While Ms. Palin seems to have done quite well in Alaska, she may be new to Washington politics and perhaps was caught unaware but Mr. McCain is not a new comer to this game. He would have known about this and would have known it would come out. If not, he is stupid. Mr McCain is many things. Some good, some not so good, and some down right bad. One thing he is not is stupid. As such, the campaign is likley fully prepared for this and will respond well to this. But as you point out it is a shame that time must be wasted discussing things like this.
while i don't often say so, i frequently disagree with some of b.poster comments. i have re-read the above comment and can not find even a single sentence that i disagree with.
however, far be it from myself to not attempt to start something.
i think ff & b.poster have taken a "category error" viewpoint of this issue.
hussein came out with his private family matter statement for one reason. he did not want his campaign to have this backfire on him. his comment to the press was a "sic-em" comment. the press takes the rap, and hussein looks magnanamous(sp?)
he has done this for three(3) reasons:
#1 as cover for his infanticide views and past legislative votes.
#2 as cover for his "i would not imprison my daughter with a child" comment.
#3 as cover for the indictment against biden's son and brother.
i'm sure i could come up with a fourth.
we can complain about the press and their insular positions toward hussein until help freezes over, but would miss the point. this is about hussein and his tactics during the campaign.
imo, it's just like when ff says a GWOT gives cover to those funding the terror and should be a GWOJ.
of course, the downpour of gustav has reached us here, and i could be all wet.
Louie
Good luck with Gustav. You are all in my prayers.
"While I don't often say so, I frequently disagree with some of b.Posters comments." If we agreed all of the time, it would not be any fun now would it?:)
Generally it is going to be in the best interest of a campaign to come out with private family matters up front, as they are going to come out any way in today's political environment. By getting out in front the way the Obama campaign did with his private family matters, the campaign can gain a measure of control in how things get presented to the public.
I ahve to say I amrvel at how much smarter the Obama campaign is than the McCain campaign has been. Of course this should not surprise us. The Obama campaign has a vast money advantage over the McCain campaign. As such, if one is a top marketing guru out to make money and gain influence, one would want to work for the campaign where they can make the most money and get the most exposure. Clearly this would be the Obama campaign.
As I have said here before, Obama should have a big lead but the polls indicate a close race. Not being a fan of either Obama or McCain it would be difficult for me to say objectively what the average voter must think when looking at either of them. To me Obama comes accross as out of touch with the voting public and fake. Also, when he has to speak when not reading from a teleprompter he seems somewhat lost. To me McCain comes accross as being out of touch with the voting public but not necessarily as fake.
It amy be that the marketing folks when trying to market Obama are simply having trouble marketing a bad product. The voters want change. Obama promises to give it to them. He has the media to spread his message far and wide and to criticize all things related to his opponent. Furthermore, the average voter does not read blogs or alternative sources of news. why can't Obama open up a big lead? Could be enough voters see through the sizzle and the marketers are having trouble marketing a bad product.
In any event, it is not going to get any easier for Obama. The debates will come up soon. The Obama camp will need to do one of two things. 1.) Seek to cancel the debates. 2.) Mske sure their man has advanced copies of the questions. In a fair debate, McCain will destroy Obama. Does this mean McCain would be a good president because he can beat Obama in a debate? No!! Frankly, I think this election will become down to who is least bad or as some suggest we can send a message to both major parties and vote "none of the above."
Whose going to stand up to a resurgent Russia? whose going to stand up to Islamic terrorists and the countries that support them? Who is best able to restore America to its Judeo-christian founding principals.
Acutally I think restoring America to its Judeo-Christian heritage is the single most important issue. When this is done, standing up to a resurgent Russia and standing up to the nations that support Islamic terrorists becomes much less problematic.
Good luck with Gustav. You are all in my prayers.
did not mean to imply i am in LA.
southeastern okla. has flashflood warnings that will go through this next weekend.
just to clarify.
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