Palin says her teenage daughter is pregnant

Such a moral party!!!!!

All the more reason for the fundamentalist crowd to vote McCain. Adds more to the stew.

I think absitence works!

I like Sarah Palin is a genius!

I want a country with teenage mothers!

I hate sex Ed

2 words....Thomas Eagleton

This is hard to believe. I can't wait to hear how the right wing hate mongers who have divided this country rationalize this one away!

Where are the family values here? Where were her parents when this high schooler was in bed with the father?

Prediction: Palin steps aside within 48 hours.

way to go for the pro life groups... dems ready for the knock out.

Sarah Palin & her tribe; offered as a paliative to angry female voters, is a sad commentary on how Republicrats view women in 2008.
Desperation is this 'hail mary pass' & I am insulted..

That will certainly cement the redneck and wt vote

This is not news. Who cares. I imagine it will get a lot of news time as stories that are closely related to what we see on Entertainment tonight now pass as news. This is no more news than when Dick Cheney's daughter came out as a lesbian. This story only proves that teenagers have sex. But you probably already knew that.

How old is the father Levi?

What a wonderful role model! Married at 17, grandmother at 44. At least her morals weren't tainted by having to use a condom. Perhaps McCain will appoint Juno to his cabinet?

And McCain didn't choose Lieberman, why?

The question now is...what else are we going to find out? McCain had met Sarah Palin only once before she met him in Arizona last week - we expect that she is fully vetted? I think not. I would expect more surprizes to come out about this woman and her family. And it will reflect on her judgement and her abilities as a parent and working woman.

Hmm, a 44 year old VP candidate who's about to become a grandmother to a child who's mom is unwed and still in highschool.

So much for feeling the love from the Christian Right.

Either A) He was let down by his selection team and Palin and did not know this or B) he knew and he's a total fool.

It was a stupid pick to begin with and although I voted for McCain in 2000, I will not be voting for him in 2008.

I guess she was to busy to teach her kids about birthcontrol
really sad for her 17 year old to be in the limelight with this
pregancy and now shotgun wedding.

I think it's a disgrace to the family and the republican party.

I'm guessing that "God" had something to do with this child's conception. Not irresponsible teenagers with no access to (or belief in) birth control. I guess the apple does not fall far from the tree! My goodness, should this woman be our PRESIDENT if McCain doesn't beat the odds (he is 72)? Instead of teaching creation in the schools like Palin wants, it's quite obvious we should be teaching birth control instead..

This is unbelievable! And I'm sure she's scratching her head saying "I just don't know what went wrong...she sat through that abstinence-only health class in 9th grade...what happened?...she wasn't suppose to be having sex at all...I don't get it!" I think McCain had a mild stroke when he heard this one!!!

awesome!

Uh, who cares? Although, it's good that her daughter plans on getting married and that she's not getting an abortion.

LOOOOOOOser this just shows her conservative christian upbringing is no better that anyone else

I'm not a McCain/Palin supporter to say the least, but get this crap off the front page of the Boston.com. It has no relevance to this election in any sense. While it may provide for a little humor for some of us for a few minutes, this kid has no impact on anything -- especially because she is the daughter of a VP candidate. Can you guys focus on anything relevant? Did the clinton years not teach you anything?

"Abstinence only" sex education is so simple and effective, I wonder why the entire nation hasn't jumped on board that bandwagon?
The Conservative Right wing called Jamie Lynn Spears "trashy". I wonder what they'll call Bristol Palin?

Two thoughts:

1. Liberal blogs may have reported these rumors, but where did they originate from? Governor Palin has probably made herself a lot of enemies in the Alaskan GOP, so I wouldn't be surprised if Murkowski et al had something to with them getting started in the first place.

2. Why couldn't the McCain campaign be upfront about the pregnancy when they announced Palin to the ticket? Cut the rumors off before they gained any traction and make it yet another paean to the pro-life contingent?

The attributes of a great leader is not that he never makes mistakes. A great leader and country recognizes mistakes made and changes the direction to get back to a viable healthy direction. Sarah Palin needs to be withdrawn from the presidential mix.

she should step down.

So....The problem being. She is being honest. I don't think anyone should ever be punished for being honest. Many teenagers face problems of pregnancy should that be the biggest issue on our minds at this point in our lives??

I think she, like every else, is human and subject to the same frailties and shares the family issues as everyone else. Probably good that she disclosed it now that she and her family's lives are an open book to be scrutinized/vilified by the media.
A 17 year old getting pregnant is not exactly a rare event.

That said I plan to vote for Obama any way. He's right; "Eight is enough". For me, MORE than enough.

I don't know.... I grew up in the 60's & seventies, I loved the Hippie generation, I smoked a little pot.....But.....when it's all said and done you have to wonder why this couldn't have been uncovered before Palin was nominated for VP. I mean what kind of background checks do the McCain camp use?

I 'm not judging Palin's daughter's choice(s). But You have to wonder, that when it comes to a Job as important as President and Vice President in this day and age.

If people can't manage their own families, how can I trust them to manage the lives of millions of Americans?

My vote is for Obama!

It just goes to show, she has a family with the same issues the rest of American families have. Regardless of your political thoughts, if you have teenagers, you have a pretty big chance that they are having sex. If you don't think your little darlings are, get your head out of the sand, because by 17, the large majority are having sex. Many are running to the abortions clinics. I do believe in having a choice, but have much more respect for those who have the babies. That is a tough road for such young people.

Mrs. Peel,

The announcement came from the McCain campaign itself. Why is the story relevant? Well, for one, because Palin is a staunch opponent of teaching birth-control in sex-ed. She believes in teaching abstinence-only sex-ed. Teaching abstinence only has been proven to be ineffective at preventing pregnancies out of wed-lock and the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.

Oh wow! Imagine that..it's honestly sad that she has to convince everyone that her daughter is getting married, so that she doesn't violate the Right Wing moral factor by being a Christian disgrace. Being married off to the father so young might be the 'right' thing to do in some people's eyes. But it's not always (and almost never) the best thing for the family, or the child. I actually feel sorry for Bristol, seeing as how her mother is pretty much forcing adulthood on her so fast. Just because she has to face the responsibilty of raising a child, doesn't mean she needs her mother's reputation, her mother's religion, and adulthood thrown on her shoulders... Her daughter being pregnant, has absolutely nothing to do with her mother's politics, she should just be kept out of this whole messy business....

Way to go. Great example for all young girls. Get pregnant at 17.

Married at 17? How sad. Her mother may say she supports her, but how does she do that when she is VP of the United States? Do they come to DC and live in the VP house? Do they stay in Alaska and build their own life together without her family?
I see nothing good coming out of this for her daughter.

She cant even control her own daughter in her home, and she wants to run the country!! no way!!

I am a a card-carrying Democrat who leans so far to the left that even my liberal in-laws call me a commie. I also have a 17-year-old daughter who is applying to (and has the grades to get into) Boston College and Bowdoin. She is also NOT pregnant. Guess we liberal folks know a thing or two about raising our children after all.

How the hell can she step in as Comander In Chief when she can't even oversee her family?Mcinsane really screwed up this time.

Shame on John McCain for being so reckless with his pick of Palin. There is a lot less to Sarah Palin and this family than meets the eye. Put the National Enquirer on their case (al a John Edwards), then we will find out who these folks really are. And while they are at it, check out John McCain. Do we really know what he is all about?

By last count, how many unwed mothers are there in this state? Aren't you liberals looking for unmarried pregnant teenages (past & present) to vote for Obama?

What? Now all parents who have daughters who got pregnant before marriage are bad parents? Personally I always thought so but now glad you Dummycrats feel the same. What is different is that at least I admitted it, you guys always hide behind the pretense that you are there for girls like Palins daughter. If you use this against Palin, the it proves you were lying all these years.

Liberal (and Liberal media) that picks on Palin for her daughter being pregnant should be ashamed of themselves. At least Palin came out and admitted it within 2 days of being nominated. Edwards had to be forced to admit the truth he cheated and he was willing to risk his party. LOL

So to quote a movie "your hypocrisy knows no bounds"

God I am loving the democrats picking on this women. Shows how desperate they are to get back in office.

Much ado about nothing. The news outlets should be focusing on the real issues and how Obama and McCain plan to deal with them, not a teenage pregnancy. I agree with the earlier poster: this is Entertainment Tonight-mentality reporting.

Multiple studies show us that there is a label for students who have gone through abstinence-only sex education: PARENTS. As a sex educator, I am saddened that some politicians do not act on the research and support diverse approaches coupled with moral and religious reasoning.

It's a good thing Bristol isn't a lesbian. Then Palin could run for governor in Mass...

Good grief people. This young woman is in high school and somehow she's a reflection of the Republican Party? She's not even old enough to vote, you nits.

Imagine, a 17 year old having sex. What IS the world cumming to.......

Another fine example of the GOP montra: Do as we say, not as we do.

Do we know if this is Bristol's first child?

I think it is a hoot that because she plans to marry the father they feel they are entitled to this not being discussed in the media.

I guess Bristol missed the absitence classes. Probably out back with the boys in the words of Anne Oakley, "Doing a what comes naturally!"

What does this matter? Are we shocked as a nation that teenagers have sex? Let's be honest here, like we all haven't done it. The grandchild will not be running the country. Let's get this straight, it's ok for clinton to get a you know what job and lie about it, but we chastise a female VP candidate for the actions of her daughter?

Gee, what a coincidence.... this announcement is made on a Holiday during a hurricane...........

It is interesting that the confirmation of the pregnancy was released on a Holiday just as Gustav hit the Louisiana coast. I think they were hoping that Gustav would be much worse and that it would wipe this story from the front page

I'm sure McCain was hoping to make an argument that we need a steady and reliable hand guiding our country through the next four years and he has succeeded! Barack Obama is that man. John McCain, in putting forward a VP without vetting her, hasn't proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is too reckless and impulsive to trust with the Presidency.

Sarah Palin = Thomas Eagleton.

What strikes me as strange . . . Republican prosecutors all over the country routinely prosecute guys for statuatory rape for this crime (sex with a minor), resulting in jail or prison time for the male and mandatory registration (in some locales up to life) as a sex offender. Pregnancy is considered de facto proof of the crime, and it's still prosecuted in some places if the male is also underage. Does the fact that Palin is a Republican stalwart and now VP select mean the family is automatically granted a pass from having to go through the same criminal proceeding anyone else in this situation would have to go through?

Well isn't it nice that the Palin women have been able to CHOOSE to continue their pregnancies, although the circumstances have not been ideal? Aren't they just special? Would they have been so special if they had not had the CHOICE? Big deal, in their perfect world, the law says you'll have the baby, no choice here. George Bush, John McCain, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Sean O'Malley would say that you, mom, will have this baby and that's that. These women are putting their beliefs into practice without government or church interference; they need to let other women have the CHOICE to do that as well.

I Wonder, Woman

Sarah Palin’s got these children
That come up to your waist,
But now the V.P. must be filled and
Her hat is in the race
To prove, I suppose, that she can do
What any man can there
(I’m assuming she intends to
Be a conscientious player).
The White House is no sinecure,
Or shouldn’t be by rights;
She’ll be away for her tenure,
Work extended days and nights,
And with that energy for which
These dynamos are known
Indeed may exert influence such
As few command back home.
So doubtless she’ll be lauded
And doubtless wield great clout,
But I do not applaud it
As I can’t figure out:
While Palin’s kids are growing can’t
She just suggest another,
For she would be their president
But who would be their mother?

This news is completely irrelevant to the campain. What a person's child does, doesn't always relfect directly on their "morals". Even the most strict of parents have children that do not always "follow the rules". Unfortunately, this country as a whole is full of teenagers that have pre-marital sex regardless of their upbringing. You cannot keep an eagle eye on kids while they are in school or being social with friends....well, that is if you don't keep them under lock and key 24/7. I think the point of this is the fact that, yes, the daughter made a life altering choice, but she will be KEEPING her baby and not running out to get an abortion because she CHOSE to have sex with her boyfriend. At least McCain and Palin stick true to their beliefs in a less than perfect situations!

Why does it matter you ask?

Because when she was announced as the VP pick she was hailed as a conservative Christian with a high moral standing, a great family, and a reformer. She rolled out her special needs baby and how it was a big deal that she didn't abort it (which is good) and then rolled out her son who is going to Iraq to fight. They didn't mention the pregnant teen because....it was an embarasment that may have hurt them with the base. Better to hide it and let the 'liberal media' out them so they could cry foul.

It's the moral equivalent of getting repeatedly punched in the face by someone who doesn't like you and then when you score a blow, they get all indignant about you being violent.

Oh, and if you want an example of a Democratic child being picked on by the Republicans, I offer you Chelsea Clinton.

Here's a great joke about the teenage Clinton: Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because Janet Reno is her father.

Who told that joke? John McCain.

Who cares? Teenagers get horny, too. And it's harder for them to control it.
I'm not voting for the daughter.
And my decision to not vote for the mother and her acquaintance isn't affected by the daughter's promiscuity.
Mayor Sarah's not a good veep pick, and George W. McCain is simply the wrong person for the job.

Sounds exactly like a segment from Desperate Housewives! Doesn't look good right now for the GOP!

The Bost Globe puts itself in the same category as the other rumor rags we see in the check-out line. A lot of young girls get pregnant before marriage. I have not heard all this "Oh how awful" in yers. It has actually been accepted as the norm rather than a rarity. I am glad to know her parents stand with her. Too many parents throw their children away today for the most minor infractions. (And yes I am a parent and no I am not a republican or democrat either.) Just the news please, fairly without your personal convictions and the need to destroy a young persons life. Where were you people when comments were made about Bill Clinton's little girl. I was so angry at the gall of some people to try and use a child in their campaign. Makes Obama look like he learned his ministers lessons well.
Leva

Does she have time to be VP

Now more than ever her family needs her more than the country!

I thought you were all the Party of "compassion" and "understanding?" At least the father is going to step up and do the right thing, not like the welfare moms who pump out anonymous bastards every year for another couple of bucks. The core of your party are government dependents.

saltzone, when has palin ever been "hateful?? you want to know about put hatefullness?? take a look at how mr. liberal Michael Moore comments about how a disaster the could kill hundreds and destroy thousands of people homes was proof that "GOd existed". hmmm... you call right wingers hate mongers... never once heard a comment close to as hateful as that. celebrating probable death and distruction of so many lives... yes, those lefties are so kind.

If Sarah Palin had been at home mothering and mentoring her daughter, this never would have happened!

umm... who cares?? a real american with real problems. still have my volte!

McCain/Palin are a disaster. I think the American people are racist so there is a good chance these nit-wits will be elected. If Obama wins it will take a miracle to keep assassins at bay. God help us if they are successful.

ummm, who CARES?

I think its funny that all the democrats didn't have a problem with married Bill Clinton getting some action in the oval office from a young internet, then lying under oath about it...but now Palin's 17 year old daughter is pregnant, and the liberals are talking about "morals"

bunch of hypocrites...

What's offensive is not the pregnancy, it's that a mother with an infant son and a pregnant unwed daughter would turn away from both just when they need her the most. What does giving unconditional love and support mean? "I love ya, kids, now -- gotta run!"

So, there goes the theory of the "Well Adjusted Family" LOL !!

A teenager having sex! Stop the presses! I am puzzeled that anyone cares about this. How is this relevant in any way? Lots of good parents have kids that do things things they don't like. Nor does it have anything to do with Palin's attitude towards sex. I'm a teacher and I know lots of children of liberal parents who teach all about contraception and they still have unprotected sex and get pregnant. They're kids, it's going to happen. If you want to criticize Palin's record, experience, or stand on the issues that's just fine. Criticizing her because her daughter got pregnant is simply absurd.

Teenagers have sex. Let's hope the only thing she got was a baby out of this. Aside from avoiding the "abortion" thing, condoms work to control the spread of STDs ... including AIDS. Chances are that AIDS, abortions, and sex education beyond "DONT DO IT" didn't have much of an airing in their house.

HOWEVER ... that isn't the issue here. They are free to home-school their kids, free to practice their religion, free to espouse their conservative values, et ect.

What IS at issue is how this woman knowingly kept this from the media, subjecting her KIDS and this poor-father-to-be to what will now be a withering media feeding frenzy. No mother would want that for a child. No mother SHOULD want that for her child (or anyone else for that matter).

This whole sorry episode casts huge doubt on her judgement and intellect, much less integrity. It also reflects on McCain's judgement ... more importantly, lack of judgement. If Palin told him and he still picked her over a thousand other qualified GOP ppl, than he is an idiot. If she didn't tell him, he's surrounded himself with idiots that can't vet people properly. Aren't things like pregnancies, arrests (Daddy Palin has a DUI, it was just revealed) ... etc major factors in picking a running mate?

I knew the GOP would flail this election. I just didn't realize how much they would flail.

It doesn't matter to me.

Is this an election for the Presidency of the United States or A BLEEPING JOKE!!! Sarah Palin, this is ridiculous.....

Wow, it's sad that you guys are representative of the majority of voters in our country. Think about why it means so much to you that a vice presidential candidates daughter is pregnant? Just what are your reasons for believing what you do and for voting for who you do? Do you really know what's important?

The left-wing nuts are so inconsistent! First they claim that Republican politicians are out of touch with "real" people. Then they claim that Palin and her family are too much like "real" people. What a bunch of hypocrites.

if she can't even take care of her 17 year old daughter, how is she going to help take care of a country! Plus,who will take care of the other children? They might as well go get them selves pregnant if she's leaving them with a seventeen year old who got herself pregnant!

My heart goes out to Bristol. I absolutely cannot understand why Sarah Palin and John McCain have made this conscious and ill-advised decision to ignore the needs of this child and the child she carries, and to subject this pregancy to national media attention in this outrageous manner. Bristol and her child are evidence that Sarah Palin has neglected to address the needs of her five children in favor of her own personal and political ambitions for much longer than it took for her to reach the national stage. John McCain's decision to offer Governor Palin the Vice Presidency is an atrocity. Studies show that the overall strength and closeness of the parent/child relationship seems to be the best protection against teen pregnancy. Governor Palin should revisit her priorities before one of her other children is affected. Visit www.thenationalcampaign.org

It is a family matter. All those people who have never done anything they should not have, or are embarrassed about, please continue to write and prove why politian’s think the population is nothing more than a bunch of morons. As Ted Sorenson once said, all political speeches are written for the average 13 year old mind. The comments prove once again he was and is correct

The Governor and Daughter should not be subjected to any thoughtless attacks. Unfortunately, situations like this occur to many decent families, and should not be considered a "disgrace" nor reason not to vote for McCain Get real, and proceed with the campaign. Have a healthy baby and proceed!

Palin should be VP of a trailer park...NOT our country!
We deserve better than these idiots!
Go OBAMA!!!!

Good to see that her abstinence stance has worked with her own family. What a joke...

What if McCain wanted Lieberman all along, but knew the right wing would oppose it, so he chose Palin to appease them, knowing all this stuff would come out and she'd probably step down as the VP candidate? If she does, then he can pick Lieberman and nobody in the GOP will overtly criticize the move, because they'll all be in such a rush to get the campaign back on track...

Man, what a train wreck.

So Palin had a baby three months ago, but nobody that worked for her even knew that she was pregnant when she announced. Meanwhile her 17 yr old daughter Bristol was taken out of school for ten months due to "mono". Sure.

Expect to hear about a miscarriage pretty soon, and then Bristol can just take care of the baby that her Mom "delivered" three months ago. Nice job by the McCain team on vetting Palin. That's some Mavericky leadership there Senator.

Apparently no Democrat in the country has had premarital sex, or had sex in high school. All you people ought to look in the mirror sometime. Its amazing what you might see.

This may be politically incorrect but how on God's earth does Ms. Palin expect to be an adequate mother and vp when she has so much going on in her personal life. She has an infant. All of the mothers out there must realize what it takes to care for a newborn. The child has Down Syndrome and while children with DS can live productive lives they are are much more prone to illness and require an inordinate amount of care. Ask any mother of a child with DS how much time she spends sitting on a couch in a doctor's office. They require much more medical care than other babies. If she believes in family values now is the time to tend to her family.

Such loose morals and disregard for decency ....who would have thought that Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol was a Democrat.

This is shaping up to be the craziest/most entertaining election in the history of the country. McCain's pick was a bit of a headscratcher to begin with (despite what FOXNews and WRKO want you to believe), but this... this has just got to be POLITICAL DYNAMITE! And last Wed/Thur both Palin and McCain's strategists were thinking "yeah, we think we can spin this one..."?!?!?! You have to question both Palin's and McCain's judgement here -- whether or not the pregnancy is a REAL ISSUE, the point of political races like this is as much to make the other guy LOOK BAD as it is to make yourself look good. And I can't wait for Biden's inevitable inappropriate comment. Pure, unadulterated, entertainment awaits!!!

And, BTW, I *do* think the image of 16- and 17-year olds having babies and getting married, *is* a real social issue. This is not 1969, when my parents were young and stupid, but you could still find a decent manufacturing or service or construction job.

In the end, you gotta feel bad for the daughter... Stuff happens, and whether or not she's ready to be a 17-year-old mother and wife, and carry all the baggage that goes with that, my guess is she will endure 3 months of personal attacks directed at her and her family from the political attack dogs, the media, and the "family values" crowd.

A high school girl should not be bringing children into this world. Nice role models this kids got. Ever hear of birth control? Or do they use that up in Alaska. Great going GOP!!

I have to say I disagree with "Carol" who posted comment #22. Palin's daughter's pregnancy is in fact relevant for so many reasons. It reflects on McCain's judgment and his ability to make good decisions -- this was certainly a revelation to him; it's doubtful that he would have chosen Palin had his team done their job and vetted her thoroughly. He himself said that he made his decision to choose Palin as his running mate quickly. Is this the kind of decision-making we want from someone who could be our next president? Haven't we had enough of poor judgment and a rush to decisionmaking over the last 8 years? And it reflects poorly on Palin, too -- did she really think this wouldn't come out? Did she once stop to think whether this might in any way damage McCain's candidacy and his chances on Election Day? Furthermore, while this could happen to anyone's daughter, it's the hypocrisy of Palin and others who share her views, when the Republicans make so much out of so-called family values and abstinence. Imagine the outcry from Republicans if this were instead Biden's or Obama's daughter.

Palin could still be the grandmother of Trig!!! This new pregnancy is conveniently shifting attention away from the fact she is pretending to be this baby's mother. What about Trig's REAL father?? If she is covering up controversial happenings within her own family, what will she cover up to the American people? McCain could die and this right wing fundamentalist could be our president? WTF?

Man, what a train wreck.

So Palin had a baby three months ago, but nobody that worked for her even knew that she was pregnant when she announced. Meanwhile her 17 yr old daughter Bristol was taken out of school for ten months due to "mono". Sure.

Expect to hear about a miscarriage pretty soon, and then Bristol can just take care of the baby that her Mom "delivered" three months ago. Nice job by the McCain team on vetting Palin. That's some Mavericky leadership there Senator.

Let Him without sin cast the first stone. Respect their privacy.

This is fantastic. Couldn't have happened to a nicer group of Conservative Right-Wing Religious Zealots !

Today's word of the day, class, is "ironic" ... I think you can all deduce its meaning.

And to elizabeth who said, "I think it's a disgrace to the family and the republican party." Are you serious? Relax, will you? It's nothing of the sort unless you're an intolerant and unforgiving person.

That's the whole point here. People will be people, whether their actions agree with the religious right's agenda or not. It doesn't make them any less of a human being. It's not this girl who is the disgrace. It's the judgmental religious zealots who shun those that don't agree with them, or those that make 'mistakes', that are the disgrace.

What a bunch of hypocrite bloggers you all are! "Elizabeth" (Post #16) in particular - YOU ARE A DISGRACE and should be ashamed of yourself!!!

Your Messiah pledged and promised a whole new era of politics to get it out of the gutter. You all are a bunch of phoneys.....just like he is.

But then again, what would one expect from the holier-than-thou Democrat Bostonians?

In a strange way, Palin may have hastened the "post-racial" America. To the extent that we are talking about class, we are not talking about race. All along, abandoned conservatives have been saying that African American middle and upper classes, (the "summer on the Vineyard" folks), aren't necessarily emblematic of their race. When a couple with two Ivy League degrees each start telling a white Michigan auto worker that he hasn't sacrificed enough, BS Detectors start going off. Kwame Kilpatrick would not have survived the scrutiny being given to the Palin family, yet he had a pass for years. (Sure makes gratuitous cracks about the Bush Sisters and illegal margaritas seem pretty tame). At the end of the day, it gives credence to the folks who say there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties. Somewhere, direct mail experts have supercomputers spitting out lists with names like "redneck" and worse. Wow, we may actually wind up with a discussion of the issues!

All of the left wing hypocrites here should take a step back and look at the situation. Here is a family that is sticking together to help each other do the right thing. No family is perfect, and these people are keeping to their values.

She's having the baby - not aborting it. She's marrying the baby's father, not jumping into bed with the next guy, and not relying on public assistance (our taxpayer money) to raise the baby for the next 18 years.

Some people on this blog are so hypocritical. I wonder if it is ignorance, over enthusiasm, or just downright meanness. These people want to slay the Palin't over family values -- where were you when Bill Clinton was cheating on his wife with a 20 year old college intern?

You people and your hypocrisy make me sick!!!

I was so, so worried when Clinton lost to Obama, because he lacks the experience to be President. He is a nice guy and his selection of Biden helped, but I was afraid that voters would chose McCain because we need experience in the Presidential Office now more than ever.

However, Yeah! As a Democrat, I am relieved. No one would dare to vote for McCain now. He is too old and the risk of Palin becoming President is too great. Hope she hangs on long enough to do permanent damage to McCain's campaign.

it's very simple...the little boy is not sara's son...it's her grandson...and the lies they have told are going to bite them in the behind big time!!!

This thread is a pretty amazing indictment of the hatred inherent in the Left these days. I'm surprised no one has yet suggested that the child should be aborted. Better yet, you Boston lefties would likely prefer a live-birth abortion televised live on MSNBC. Oh, I can hear the moral justification now: "well the child would be better off dead than born into a 'Christian Right' family"

Teach Creationism in school...NOW I GET IT!!

Ooh, this is all a big mess. I'm not saying a woman CAN'T handle running the country, because I totally would have voted for Hillary, but as a Mom of 2 young kids I have to wonder at the type of woman who would want that job? Not me! I can barely get my laundry folded most weeks. Kids need attentive parents.
Furthermore, I think abstinence only education SUCKS and that I am grateful to my liberal Democrat Mother who told me "I don't want you to have sex, but if you're going to, these are the ways you should protect yourself..." when I was 15. Guess what? It worked! I didn't get pregnant until after I was married and I never got an STD. am sick of Republicans with their guns and religion and anti-gay stance and everything. I want my kids to grow up in a better world.
GO OBAMA!!! Vote for change!!!!

I think it's interesting that a country is supposed to trust a women who's family can't practice what she preaches. It makes me realize that although she may be a great govenor and good at energy policy reform, she clearly didn't spend as much time with her family and children that she should have to build a foundation of what her and her husband believed as core values.

I am passionately democrat, but come on!! Every single one of us normal Americans were having sex at 17....most of us just got lucky that we didn't get anyone pregnant.
This should be a non issue, but unfortunately this kind of crap is what most Americans care about instead of real issues.

What an interesting turn of events from a women who is anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage.

1. She has a son with down's syndrome that will be someone else's problem if she is busy being vice president of the United States. Why abort when you have the money and means to have someone else raise the child and cope with their problems.

2. She now has a 17 year old daughter who is not only pregnant but going to marry the baby's father. Another teenager rushing into marriage because of pregnancy. I wonder what the statistics are about how many teenage marriages last. You're right...it's the gay people that are ruining the sanctity of marriage.

3. I have a theory. McCain really wants Obama to win, which is why he chose Palin as his running mate!

A VP candidates daughter?????? You people have sunk to a new low. So much for The families being off limits. I don't even know if Joe Biden has children. You people are ruthless useless scum

Since when is having a baby such a terirble thing.? How many 17 year olds have babies every year in the US? Just a couple of generations ago, having a baby at this age was the norm.

Just having a baby at age 17 is not a sin. That comes when the baby daddy leaves and doesn't help support and raise the child; that comes when the baby is aborted because of convienence; that comes when the baby is neglected; that comes when the baby is not brought up in a nurturing or loving home. Maybe all the hypocrites should just wait to pass judgement.

Looks like McCain comparing Obama to Britney Spears came back to bite him. Sadly, these things sometimes happen when you name your daughter "Bristol."

For those who write, "It's a family matter," etc., my reply is, "Don't be such a morally righteous lumberhead." It's a Presidential election. There's no such thing as private business. Palin should have realized that her daughter would get dragged through the national mud before accepting McCain's offer.

We keep hearing that she has more experience as an executive than any of the candidates. I don't blame her for her daughter's mistakes, but I have less faith in her capacity to lead a country if she has difficulty keeping her own kids on a path towards success. I doubt being a teenage mother has ever proven to be a winning strategy towards becoming a successful, happy adult.

Was Trig, the baby in the photos, Palin's daughter or one of her daughter's daughters? Confusing.

I don't see what her daughter's behavior has to do with anything. But I question the wisdom of an unknown politician exposing her complex and vulnerable family to the inevitable questions and media exposure of a national campaign. I think this says something about Ms Palin's judgement

It's too bad that the irony is lost on GOP wingnuts:

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

So women can choose, as long as they're GOP. For everyone else, we'll make sure that there is no choice. That's the GOP in a nutshell.

It's Jamie-Lynn Spears all over again--just spare us the cover story in OK when the baby arrives. Teenage pregnancy is no joke--it's more dangerous for young mothers to give birth, they give birth to more underweight babies, they haven't experienced independence before having a dependent, and the divorce rate for teens who wed shot-gun style due to pregnancy is woefully high. In all, Bristol is being sacrified on the alter of seriously skewed "family values." How could she and her beau possibly know what's in store for them as adults? Is this 1808--or 2008? The Palin family needs to get their own house in order before they get anywhere near ruling over ours.

I feel sorry for McCain. Not often does one's bad judgment get played out on so large a stage. He will have to live with the consequences of his mistakes. Hopefully the US will not have to endure them, too. Change is coming!

As a female science/biology teacher I do not agree with the religious right's views on 1) abstinence only policies (because it is doesn't prevent teenage pregnancies or STD's) 2) creationism. Why is science only good when it comes to developing weapons or defense systems but not when we find evidence that doesn't support the bible? I will quit my career in teaching if I have to teach creationism or even mention that as a possibility along with evolution. Science is based on collecting and examining evidence and there is no scientific evidence for creationism!
As a 45 yr old mother of 2, I have no idea how Gov Palin will handle overseeing the care and nurturing of a Down's syndrome child (whose needs are much greater than a normal healthy infant) ,a pregnant 17 yr old daughter who has not finished high school, and her 3 other children while campaigning and her possible role as VP.

Emma (Post #36) - good for you Emma! You're just a snooty Boston suburbanite with your comment "my daughter is going to BC or Bowdoin and she's not pregnant" . Your daughter is so ugly she can't even get a date.

You think you're so holier than thou ..... you make me want to puke!!

- Your neighbor

Now you know why women have absolutely no reason running for political office or working in high offices in corporate America.

Women need to stay home and raise their families and make sure their daughters don't get pregnant.

Women have to stay in the house (and I don't mean House of Representatives or the White House).

Stay at home moms. Stay out of politics!! When will you ever learn?

Didn't you Hillary backers learn anything? Barack will use you like a dirty dish towel and send you back home.

VP of a trailer park? Real nice commentary here on the Globe site by you Obama suckups. So now all you "enlightened" liberals are bashing a 17 year old girl. Very big of you all. Too bad she didn't decide to abort...she'd then fit so very well into your party.

I feel terrible for Governor Palin, though I recognize that this happens in many families across America. I guess this puts her even more in touch with the average American. I am glad her daughter is keeping the baby.

We should all remember that Obama's own mother was a few months pregnant with Barrack when she married the father. Can you imagine if she had aborted Barrack? Thank God she had the sense to keep him.

Rather than point fingers at Governor Palin, Palin's daughter, Obama's mother, Republicans, Christians, immoral people, etc, why don't we simply recognize that none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes and we all have family members who make mistakes. Even more, it is not that we make mistakes, but how we handle these mistakes that tells you something about our character.

Palin, the "hockey Mom" should teach her kids to keep their sticks on the ice.

Youch! Not even Gustav can push this one off the news! See ya McCain... enjoy retirement like most 76 years are trying to do and leave running the country to the younger generation..

I would rather die than vote for MCain. Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I will never vote for this man, no matter what. That said, Bristol has nothing to do with her mother's VP candidacy, and I don't understand why anyone would hold this against Palin. I am not a religious person, but isn't there a scripture that says something like "Let he who has not sinned, cast the first stone?" I can think of a few republicans who could stand to pay some attention to that.

Moving on, though, neither McCain nor Palin are people in whom I would ever place trust - especially if Palin had even the slightest chance of becoming the President of this great country of ours. McCain would be bad enough with a loss of so many civil rights and all, but Palin? God help us if these two right wingers beat Obama and Biden in November.

Such hypocrisy in the liberals' comments on this page. It is breathtaking. They have lost all moral authority to complain about "negative politics."
I'm disgusted.

Democrats are hardly hypocrites for pointing out that a conservative right-wing politician who claims to be all about family values and yet has a 17-year-old daughter who is pregnant is the real hypocrite. Oooo...my values are better than yours, she says, but it looks like she's not doing any better than the people she claims superiority to.

She can claim her morals are higher or that she's raising her children with "values" all she wants, but the fact is somebody should have been paying some attention to Bristol Palin...or, at the very least, somebody should have taken the time to have a discussion about birth control with her.

All of you people calling hypocrite on Democrats are completely and totally missing the point.

It's the hypocrisy I can't stand.
To those who say what's wrong with it? I ask you if you would say the same thing if the pregnant girl in question had been Chelsea Clinton.

Oh, and for all the people who are wondering what is wrong with a 17 year old having a baby, I have two words for you:

STATUTORY RAPE

There are people in jail for doing it.

I'm finding it funny that the Republicans are saying that this is suddenly a non-story, shouldn't be brought up, and so forth. Isn't this the same party that told me that morals are so important, abstinence works, no sex ed and so forth? Well, it is coming back around on them. I guess if McCain had more than one conversation, they would have known about this. If this girl is 5 months along, they knew about it last week.

McCains judgment is so bad that they didn't bother going over that or finding that out? That their neo-con vp candidate has massive problems at home that can affect the campaign. Grocery baggers go through more investigation than this before they are hired.

Suddenly, privacy is such a concern. This from those who tried to exploit John Edwards affair that it was being hidden since it wasn't anyones business. If that affair was everyone's business, I guess a pregnancy of a 17 year old child who's father is another child is everyone's business as well.

This is an interesting story because Sarah Palin is holding up her family as an example of good ol' Christian Americana. If you make your family a part of your political story, then (unfortunately) your family is open to the scrutiny that is inevitable in a nationwide campaign.

I feel so sorry for this girl. It is obvious the campaign did not vet Sarah Palin with any amount of rigor -- any missteps (past or future) by Sarah Palin AND her family will cast doubt on McCain's judgment.

What bothers me is that her daughter (not to mention her autistic 4 month old son and other children) are going to need her now more than ever, yet she turns her back thinking only of her chance at the brass ring!

These are not situations you hire a nanny for.

And the party believes that I should help make this woman one heart attack away from the Presidency. Yeah right!

At least Hillary was the mother of an adult hedge fund employee. I hear they can take care of themselves.

It shows a very human side to Governor Palin. She is not the only mother to have a teenage child have a baby. The father is in the picture and the daughter is being supported fully. They are handling it better than a lot of families would.

Palin is a hypocrite? What do you want her to do, kick her daughter out? Put yourself in someone else's shoes for once.

i wonder what you guys would do for enjoyment if u lived in alaska

Amazing!!!!! Sarah Palin for President!!! Forget McCain!!!! They should reverse the ticket, put Sarah at the top and john as Veep. I love those Republicans!!!

I still wanna know why Mark Foley and Larry Craig are not the nominees.

Can we expect the same careful vetting in the McCain administration?

This election is becoming a farce.

Listen to these vicious haters on the left...bitter liberal women who are jealous of a true female hero like Governor Palin.
Palin stood up against corruption in her own Party. Did any of your crooked Democratic Massachusetts pols ever do this?

McCain knew about the daughter's pregnancy when he selected her.
Sarah Palin will be the first female Vice President.
As usual, liberals blather about feminism and equal rights, Republicans deliver.

Chelsea Clinton was "fair game" for McCain back in the 90's when she was a just a child in the White House. (That crude joke he told really speaks volumes to his lack of character ). What' s good for the goose........

You know .. there might be more to this than we realize.

It has been widely reported that McCain wanted Triator Joe to be his running mate, but was told in no uncertain terms that if he picked Joe, there would be a floor flight for VP and McCain would not win (from any perspective).

SOOO ... what does a maverick do? He finds a running mate whose career didn't matter. Does a vetting job that actually works ... and deposits her onto the national stage ... and let the imploding begin. The media gets it (after McCain does a press release about the baby) ... and this will go on for a few days.

Then Palin jumps off the ticket ... much to the relief of the GOP handlers, pundits, etc.

Then McCain says "I want Joe now"

He wins ... Palin's career was a non-starter anyway, so she really didn't get damaged.

In response to the comment about the hateful Michael Moore comment suggesting there's a god if the hurricane comes during the Republican convention: This is an unpleasant, insensitive comment but you may have forgotten that it was Jerry Falwell that first made this comment after Hurricane Katrina three years ago, saying it was punishment for the gays and licentiousness in New Orleans. It's a nasty comment coming from either side!

To Emma (Post #36):

Congrats on your daughter having the grades to get into BC or Bowdoin. I realize that automatically makes your opinions better than all of ours put together.

Guess what? I went to BC and my brother went to Bowdoin. Guess what's going to happen to your daughter when she goes to either school? She's going to have sex and often unprotected sex!!! We went there. We know what goes on there. YOUR DAUGHTER IS GOING TO GET PREGNANT!! And guess what? She won't tell you and she'll have an abortion. Your great raising of your daughter won't mean a thing when she goes to BC or Bowdoin.

Hahahahahahahah!!!!!!

I have to laugh at the liberals on here who are taking great joy in the fact that Palin's daughter is pregnant. I thought the Republicans were supposed to be the party that spews hatred but boy do I see a lot of hateful and sarcastic comments from Dems on this board. Practice what you preach.

A very bad choice ...

I blame Juneau.

Go White Power !!!

Procreate !!!!

The only difference between teens who have sex and get pregnant and those who don't get pregnant......is just that. Sometimes, even birth control does not work. People who don't realize that are just ignorant and need the experience of raising teenagers. What century are these judgementalist living in?

Tim, post #100:

"A VP candidates daughter?????? You people have sunk to a new low. So much for The families being off limits. I don't even know if Joe Biden has children. You people are ruthless useless scum"

Tim, you and a number of other people commenting here live in fantasy land. This is politics, 'Merican style. This is the place where undercover international CIA agents get exposed through their own country's media strictly for political reasons. You all want "real issues"? You're in the wrong place.

Welcome to the real world, Tim. We hope you enjoy your stay. And don't forget to vote in Nov!

I think most of the reaction here is quite funny. A teen gets pregnant, makes a mistake, and you speak badly about her and her mother. Where is the compassion fo the left? Typical Mass voters.

Now on the other hand, if she were to get an abortion, you'd be singing her praise, and how brave she is.

No wonder Mass is the laughing stock of the Country.

A very nice old lady said she was voting for McCain because he seems like a nice man and was a prisoner of war. God help us all.

To Leva Little (#55): Palin's daughter and her pregnancy are entirely relevant. You say "I was so angry at the gall of some people to try and use a child in their campaign."
So, Bristol's pregnancy is not to be talked about, but her mother can talk about her other children and praise them?

If you haven't noticed, she's ALREADY using her children in the campaign by mentioning how proud she is of her family, yet doesn't reveal the pregnancy until now. Bristol is now fair game, otherwise it's more of the same hypocrisy from this GOP.
I am stunned at the stupidity and amazing lack of ability of the GOP supporters who cannot even see their own hypocrisy.

Obama's Mom was 17 and pregnant and gave birth to him!

Imagine this folks.What if Bristol is the eldest daughter of a poor family of five children whose parents puts a lot of faith on her future to go to college?Would she be allowed to marry her teenage father who is of similar background?Folks the teenage couple will end up in the ghetto!

We should not be talking about this, but the Globe should report it when it becomes public knowledge.

Instead, ask why she claimed to reject funding for the "Bridge to Nowhere" when she campaigned in 2006 by saying she welcomed the funding. When she finally decided to "reject" the project, Alaska kept the funding for other projects. Not quite my image of a fiscal conservative closing down wasteful government spending.

As a women, I wonder about this women. At first, I heard of her new little baby and thought. What women who had a powerful job go to an even more consuming job when she had a baby at home who will need more attention to help this child overvome more obsticles of a typical developing child. Then I thought, Ok, the husband can care for the child. Now, i hear of her daughter, and I think. She knew of this when she took the job, but she kept on moving foward. Is the teenager being pregnent a big deal, NO, but do not be fooled if the tables were turned teh republicans would be making a HUGE deal of this.. And why does the child need to get married? becuase it looks good. I am sure the baby fathers is around the same age as her daughter. THey are young, just let them go to college and grow and if the time is right later, then so be it. It just make me wonder about this women. Is the a double standard, yes, but she is the mother, one who does not believe in evolution and gay rights.

Wasn't Obama born into this world in a simular way?

Buh bye Sarah.

At least Eagleton lasted 18 days, she may set a new record.

I am a Republican women and I hope nothing else comes out negative. Obama's mother was unmarried and pregnant with HIM at 17!

On another note, lol I will say, Congrats Uncle Trig.
When they said Bristol was laid up for eight months with Mono, I guess she really did spend a lot of time on her back huh. uggh.

Just think, . .the good news is, This should SECURE the redneck vote! :) ha ha ha

whooooo caaaaaaaaares!

Leave the child alone. It's got to be hard enough to be a pregnant teen but to hold your baby brother on the National Stage to cover the baby bump when Mom is accepting the Veep nomination - she must have been reeling and feeling really alone.

I love the rightous purists who are argueing this is not news. If Palin is elected she is a heartbeat - and a 70 year old heartbeat at that - from being the leader of the free world. Everything about her is news now...what she eats for breakfast, what she uses for laundry detergent, etc.
We live in the Information Age, you sanctimonious puritans. Who the hell are you to decide what is news, and then belittle and deride those who disagree with you? Is there a potrait of Goebbels in your living room?

Does the country need a goatee on the VP spouse? Has the country become that degenerate?

You bunch of sexist pigs. How dare you judge this woman or this kid. The glee that these liberals are showing over this shows your true colors.

They are holding to their Christian beliefs. They are supporting their daugther in a VERY tough time. OMG, a parent role model. One who stands beside their child allows them to except the results of their behavior. And you are pointing fingers as if this some type of indication of her leadership ability. It is and I like.

By the way feminist out there, where are you? You have let at least two generations of women down because you refuse to see the issues of every woman out there who have not read Ms. Magazine. This is part of our everyday lives. Stop worrying about pro choice and start realizing that boat has sailed. Sarah Palin should not be eaten by us. She should be supported because she is doing the job you are not.

wasn't obama's mom 17 when he was born?

didn't bill clinton turn the oval office into a sleazy motel?

what a bunch of hypocrites you liberals are.

vote for The One in November. He will turn water into wine! haha

Wow. I guess she's only admitting this because she couldn't have FAKED her own pregnancy FOR her daughter, like she did w/ Down syndrome "son", Trig. Ah, let's see... daughter is out of school for 4 or 5 months w/ "mono" at the same time Palin announces her "5th pregnancy". She goes into labour in Texas (her water breaks), chooses to give the speech. Flies back to Alaska so she can give birth in her home state, switching planes in Seattle NOT telling the flight attendants. This woman makes me sick!

My grandmother was married at 16 and her daughter (my mom) married at 17. Neither one of these two women relied on their parents to take care of them or the children they had in life. I come from a large family and not once did my mother ask her parents for any help. Though we do would not wish our children to get married at such a young age, it happens all the time. How many of you here on this board insulting this woman can say that no one in your family had children before they were 20?

To the idiots saying how convenient this news came out during a holiday weekend. You are the ones to blame. The sicko bloggers had the poor class to say that her down syndrome child (born in April) was her daugthers baby. That is just pure sickness on your part.

Any woman out there that blogs and says she should stay home and take care of her child should also be ashamed. I do not know any new mother that stays home after having a baby. ALMOST ALL GO BACK TO WORK. Why? Because they cannot afford to stay home they need to help support the family. Pay the bills, pay insurance.

If she was a democrat and running with Obama you would say leave her alone. She is one of us. Plus, you should leave Ms. Palin alone, Mr. Obama said his wife was off limits (did she stay home with her two girls?).

Grow up, play fair and leave family out of it. If not, it might be time to find out where Mr. Obama's birth certificate hides.

You can be the absolute "best" parent, but at the end of it all, we need to remember that our "kids" make their own choices. Yes, her daughter made a poor choice in having sex too early, but it is absurd to equate Palin's daughter's pregnancy to Palin's ability or inability to lead the country. How many people who are slamming Palin over this issue were supporting (ironically) Bill Clinton's infidelity, claiming his infidelity had nothing to do with his ability to be president? This is not a left- or right-wing issue, people!

PLEASE fellow Democrats! First of all no family is immune to a situation like this one. The less said by us, the better. Some of the things that have been said here make us look and sound like nasty, unsympathetic, low-class, mean-spirited monsters!
I have a feeling Ms. Palin will drop out of the race for the sake of the Republican party, in which case he might end up choosing Lieberman.

Being a high school health educator, Bristol Palin joins the other 800,000 plus in this country as a pregnant teen. Why does this matter? It does matter, because teen pregnancy is one of the biggest social problems this country faces. And, we have the highest rate of teen pregnancy in the developed world. This could happen to anyone's child, mine included....so, I'm not shocked it happened to this young lady. What does concern me, is the agenda that Palin and o thers like her, have for comprehensive, age appropriate, sex education that is denied to so many teens in this country! That is the reason I think this pregnancy is just a little more than a "family matter". Best of luck to Bristol, of course, she is one of the lucky ones that will be supported by her family. Many others will face the stigma, and abuse, that often comes with this happy "announcement". Shucks, only in America!

Well, Bill, (#113) I also went to BC and know what *I* did there, and guess what? I didn't get pregnant!

Look, I don't think my daughter having the grades and brain-power to get into a top-tier college makes me a better parent than anybody else. I do, however, think that if Sarah Palin wants to campaign on family vaules and morality, she should maybe actually spend some time PARENTING, period. Do I think my daughter won't screw up somewhere along the line? I'm sure she will. Teenagers do stupid things after all. But I do think (hope) that the time I've spent with her, parenting her, guiding her, mentoring her...you know, things good parents of all political persuasions do...will have some effect on the choices she makes. If she does get pregnant and then chooses to have an abortion...well, that's her choice, isn't it? Just like Bristol Palin chose to remain pregnant...although I do have to wonder how much of a choice she has had in any of this beyond the sex part.

Your post reads like my 13-year-old son and his friends talk. I'm sure that was intentional.

People: WomAn (singular), WomEn (plural). Learn to spell!!!

So many haters...

Such a sad country.

Actually. Here's the truth.
Bristol is not pregnant. She already had her baby. The baby's name is Trig.
This is John and Sarah's attempt at orchestrating a reverse double cover-up.
First Sarah fakes being pregnant while Bristol gives birth.
Now Bristol is faking pregnancy to solidify her mom's story.
Think about it.

what the heck does having a special needs kid and a grand daughter have anything to with being a successful VP???

her son was already like that when she was gov. of alaska, and she has handled that.

who are any of you liberals to say that she can't do both? none of you even knew who she was until 5 days ago.

pathetic...

Bob,

Speaking as a Christian, lesbian, liberal,
I admire Palin for walking her talk re: the baby with Down's Syndrome.
I admire her and her daughter for walking the talk by not aborting the daughter's baby, although marriage was not her only option -- a teenager can also give a child up for adoption. I wish her well, but I also know that if her marriage succeeds, it will be against the odds.
Contrary to what conservative pundits might say, I don't rejoice when a pregnancy is aborted. However, I vote pro-choice because I know, from what I've seen of real life, that some women don't have very good alternatives.

People who believe in creationism and in abstinence-only sex education are free to hold to those beliefs, but it does not serve the common good to abandon reason and teach those beliefs in the public schools.

FOUND! In Bristol's belly: WMD

(Word of McCain's Destruction)

Boy! the tabloids couldn't have made up a more fantastic story.
And the hypocrisy of fundamentalists is just so freaking awesome!
It's lovely when they try to enforce the rules of morality for everyone
else and then they show just how sloppy they are at home.

Hey, I know this kind of thing can happen, but let's be real!
If Sarah Palin shows such cruddy moral leadership in her own home,
what kind of damage would she do as a VP?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, boo hoo, respect their privacy and all that.
Gimme a break. The only crime we Liberal Bostonians committed
(and don't be so naive to believe that only Bostonians are feeling the shock
of this news) was being interested in who Sarah Palin is!

This may seem like a left-wing witch hunt, but it's all just true weird tales from the Christian Right, messed-up GOP and all their bible thumping crap. Nobody was hunting for this trashy news, they created it themselves. I, for one, am glad to see them feel the burn of their own damnation.

But even you bruised right-wingers have to admit, the Palin family has their hands full and she's got no business accepting the spot on the national ticket.

God Bless the Palin family as they fade back into the wilderness.

Just like Bush and the WMD (weapons of mass destruction) it's another example of bad intelligence on the part of Republicans.

And, in conclusion, as Howard Dean once said,

"YEEEEEEHAAAAWWWW!!"

Wow, you would think from some of the wingnut responses on this board, that Palin was actually qualified and vetted. Sorry folks, she's neither.

As for the talking point that Palin "took on her own party" ummm..........she was endorsed by, and ran the 527 for, Senator Ted 'Hulk" Stevens. You know, the U.S Senator that's under indictment for taking bribes in Alaska. Yeah, Palin is a real Maverick. LOL.

Bush/Cheney/McCain. That's leadership!

This is your daily trailer trash family! Move to the White House...a representative of the true Red America, The white Trash Jebus freak republican America!

How low can these people go? sheesh!

You can take the 17 year old out of the picture and the issue is still huge. How is running to DC the right thing to do when you have five children, one of who needs constant attention and love to have any hope to have a normal life.

Let’s face it, the age and cancer issue is very relevant in McCain's case. Both VP's need to be more then qualified to take over. Just put religion and politics aside and ask which VP you want to run the country during these tough economical and geopolitical times.

Wow! When something like this happens to Hollywood celebrities, it's OK. When John Kerry has multiple houses, he is in touch with the "working man". How many half brothers and sisters does Obama have? I guess that's OK too.

Great role model for poor black single moms... Consider yourselves "Pro Life" Champions of America. A Role model for little republican girls of middle America! Since they claim it as a postive development, I wishi this upon all Jebus freaks of America. May your young uns use this girl as a role model and may your tribe multiply in similar fashion.

With the Hollywood crowd the Dems so adore dropping kids left and right (no pun intended) without getting married why should anyone care except the girl has a Republican mother. Obama's mother was 18, not much difference there.

Well.....a few months back the "so-called" republican christians in this state were calling those "pregnant/out-of-wedlock" school kids on the North Shore trollips and sluts......and now they wish to bless this young woman as an unfortuneate young lady who simply made a mistake.......well, they are right about the last comment, but it applies to the young women on the north shore as well.....I love it when hypocracy becomes it's own comic reward, when enlightened self interest that extends only to the end of one's nose comes back to bring you well deserved satire and ridicule...thank you for electing my friend Barry O'bama, the black irishman from southie...lol...I'm originally from Southie, so I'm really loving life this afternoon...GO DEMOCRATS!

Type your comment here...I think this is a private matter, and everyone should leave the poor girl alone.... Since when do liberals attack pregant teen mothers?

Wow, this is pathetic:
46.
It is interesting that the confirmation of the pregnancy was released on a Holiday just as Gustav hit the Louisiana coast. I think they were hoping that Gustav would be much worse and that it would wipe this story from the front page

No Bob, maybe YOU hoped Gustav would be much worse and Repub Giv Jindal would make the same mistakes DEm Gov Blanoc and Ray "chocolate-city" Nagin would leave 150 busses sitting in the water again.

That's disgusting.

Gee, a 17-year old girl got pregnant and some of you hold it against the Republicans. Maybe young Miss PAlin will end up on the cover of the same magazines that the celebrated Jamie Lynn Spears being pregnant at 16 or 17.
It's okay for the liberal media to celebrate a celebrity teen pregnancy, but when it's a Republican, oh, it's reason to imply the timing of the announcement is equal to a publicity stunt? DISgusting.

More news on Sara, she did vote for the bridge to nowhere; and in a speech to the Alaska John Birch Society admonished them for being "too liberal." What a pick!

Yeah, maybe Palin should step down and then we can have another middle-aged white man step in. Good thinking.

When Obama taked about the American dream, and everyone applauded him, they were lying. Palin has lived the American dream, and all we can do is vilify her for it. That is what I don't get. As for her beliefs, I have not heard from her. I have only heard sound bites from Entertainment Tonight.....er, I mean CNN. I haven't actually heard them from Palin.

AS for experience, no one has more experience than Cheney, and look where that has landed us.

Seriously, is a teen pregnancy really news here?

Hang in there Palin. Show you have guts and courage. That is what America needs. Not more rhetoric.

John McCain swims in circles

It's the hypocrisy, stupid.

wow the partyy of tolerance always seem to be the ones who are the most intolerant. Too bad shes not a lib or shed do the right thing and kill the baby right??? Pregnancy is part of life to some it comes earlier than others, and it has no reflection on your upbringing you stupid fools. Continue to vote democrat and the entire country will become like this shithole mass! billions in wasted money, "healthcare for all" (more like healthcare for the poor huge bills for the rest).

Dear "Emma,"

Did you ever stop to consider that your daughter is not pregnant because she is ugly?

Thanks...I'll be here all night.

The Republicans who are tearing this story apart are the same people that would attack a Democratic candidate if this were there daughter. Chelsea Clinton was consistently hounded by the right and she was an upstanding citizen, a smart girl, and her parents weren't trouncing around the country proclaiming their high moral standing and speaking about how abstinence only sex education is going to be the saving grace of our country.

The issue isn't that the girl is pregnant. I feel bad for the girl. I feel worse that her mother is pushing this into public arena instead of stepping aside to take care of her youngest son and her daughter. Instead, she's more interested in her own personal gain and not those interests of her CHILDREN. For a party that claims to be so moral, the Republican scandal list greatly outnumbers that of the Democrats. Palin also claims to be another "agent of change" but left a tiny, tiny, tiny Alaska town TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS IN DEBT. Firing city officials when they didn't agree with her views on censorship, etc. Now after preaching about abstinence only education, Christian values, etc...her seventeen year old daughter is pregnant. We want to put a woman that can't even keep an eye on her daughter a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States? Genius.

Gen

A tough day for the Palin family and for the GOP. Announcing that you think you can run as the #2 name on the party ticket but not be able to teach you child that sex without a condom can get you pregnant. Well ... could be worse, Palin - at least you're not having to inform that GOP that your daughter is lesbian.

This news is NOT irrelevant to this campaign!!
This women has a 4 month old child with down syndrome, a 17 year old daughter that will need her mother's guidance and support in the next few years, she has a son that is being deployed to Iraq, a husband that isn't responsible enough to drink and NOT drive, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's obvious her prioritiy is not her husband, children and the well being of her family!
All of these would prove to be a major distraction for anyone, let alone one that is seeking the second highest office of our great country, and a heart beat away from the highest office of a 72 year old man that has no doubt lost his mind.

My VOTE goes to Obama/Biden!

This is most certainly relevant, because it stands as a perfect example of the failure of yet another conservative policy: Abstinence-only education. Sarah Palin supports it (and said specifically that she would not support graphic sex education), but we can clearly see that it just does not work. I think Bristol would have been better served by some straight-forward condom lessons, than another lesson from her bible.

Sarah Palin isn't just some mother who says "they shouldn't teach that dirty stuff in school." She is in the position to create and influence policy, and she's on the clearly wrong side. Lets keep her at the state-level, and I hope Alaska stays happy with her.

I was 16 when I first started having sexual relations with men. So, please raise your hand if you have never ever had sex as an underage minor.

I was raised a Christian fundamentalist, and preached at for abstinence. I went to the local Family Planning center and put myself on birth control pills and used condoms. Hmmm....no pregnancies, imagine that. I went on to attend college and finish my doctorate. I was married at 20 and am still married to the same wonderful man for the past 11 years.

It is not sad that the 17 year old is going to be a mother. In fact, she doesn't even look 5 months pregnant since we saw her on television last week. What is the atrocity here is that she is being forced into a underage marriage as a child bride for the whole world to see her fail. THAT is the unfortunate event. Compounding a pregnancy with a marriage headed for disaster (because it is hard enough as it is when there is no child and you are young) so that we can use her as an example of what not to do is not doing Palin or the numerous families out there in the same situation any favors. It is fine if she wants to carry the child. Support the child and the baby. Don't compound the mistake.

AND I continue to support McCain! I am an educated, responsible conservative, and I approve this message!

Hat trick!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mother , Republican VP candidate, and Grandmother in one year!

I was 16 when I first started having sexual relations with men. So, please raise your hand if you have never ever had sex as an underage minor.

I was raised a Christian fundamentalist, and preached at for abstinence. I went to the local Family Planning center and put myself on birth control pills and used condoms. Hmmm....no pregnancies, imagine that. I went on to attend college and finish my doctorate. I was married at 20 and am still married to the same wonderful man for the past 11 years.

It is not sad that the 17 year old is going to be a mother. In fact, she doesn't even look 5 months pregnant since we saw her on television last week. What is the atrocity here is that she is being forced into a underage marriage as a child bride for the whole world to see her fail. THAT is the unfortunate event. Compounding a pregnancy with a marriage headed for disaster (because it is hard enough as it is when there is no child and you are young) so that we can use her as an example of what not to do is not doing Palin or the numerous families out there in the same situation any favors. It is fine if she wants to carry the child. Support the child and the baby. Don't compound the mistake.

AND I continue to support McCain! I am an educated, responsible conservative, and I approve this message!

Hypocrites. Like none of you had sex at 17, or got or know someone who conceived at that age. I bet all you frigging liberals were virgins on your honeymoon.

A husband who is a school drop out...

A daughter of 17 who is not married getting diddled by high schoolers and getting pregnant cause..wearing a condom or safe sex is a liberal idea.

What a fine White Trash family they'd make in the White House.

My God...how low have we come?

Let's see.
Palin used her authority to try to get her former brother in law fired. She's being investigated for it.
So busy with that, that she didn't realise her own daughter is buys having sex.
She had has a new infant with with Downs syndrome....Palin just seems to busy.
I wasn't going to vote for her anyway, but it seems like she has a lot of issues she has to deal with, does she really have time for the American people?

It's funny. A few months ago, when Jamie Lynn Spears announced she was preganant, everyone jumped to her defense. Now, just because it's the daughter of a political candidate that you don't like, you are ready to crucify her. For all the talk about the "Christian Right" and morality, it seems like there is a lot of damning and morality from the "party of the little guy". I'm just saying, try to be a little consistent. Hate her all you want. I'm cool with that, but at the same time, let's not all pretend that we have the moral high ground when it's convienant or serves our political agenda. And for all of the conspiracy theorists: tin foil hats - they'll stop the voices.

The facts here speak for themselves and we should be taking the high road on this issue and not inflicting any more stress on Bristol than is already there.

Voters have to decide for themselves where they stand on this and other issues and should vote accordingly. Personally on this issue I favor birth control and education so it is one more reason for me to vote for Obama.

Has anyone looked around the world? There are plenty of unwed mothers out there, not just in Black America. This should not be an issue. I don't think that Barry would touch on this issue with a ten foot pole.

Oh, and for all the people who are wondering what is wrong with a 17 year old having a baby, I have two words for you:

STATUTORY RAPE

There are people in jail for doing it.

DrFaust ,

typical... make up more information to try and prove a point...what "republican christians" called ]the N. Shore girls sluts??? you are too funny!

17 years old? Does the father get charged
with statutory rape?

4 or 5 children (whatever), one Down's Syndrome ... hope
that little miss small government doesn't expect any public
funds to help out with the child-caring. Maybe she can do
the Jane Swift thing and helicopter between Washington
and Juneau, or is it Fairbanks, or is it ....

This one's easy:

In typical fashion, the moron "religious right" conservatives will demand that the kid go through with the pregnancy, and then refuse to provide any social services after the baby is born.

The regilious zealot idiot Republicans CARE ABOUT THE FETUS RIGHT UP UNTIL THE MOMENT IT'S BORN.

OMG

This is like an episode of Brothers and Sisters. The lefty liberals are having a hissy fit. Everything they say and do makes Palin look better.

It's funier than hell than Hillary and Chelsie were LUGs and nobody cared. Palin's daidghter has a love child and it's the end of Western civilizati.

RAOTFALMAO.

I operate under the premise that all citizens have the right to do whatever they want as long as they take responsibility for that action and it harms no one else ... including the TAXPAYERS!

The only reason that this story is of any interest is that it goes to the upbringing or lack thereof of Bristol and that reflects on Palin's mentality when it comes to governing. That Bristol was sexually active but didn't use a condom nor take the pill would make Bristol an idiot and her mother an incompitent fool.

As for Cheney's daughter coming out as a lesbian, sexual preference is totally different from a sexually active moron.

this lays bare SO many of the repubilcan hyprocrises:

1. mccain's judgment was alread in question when he nominated a totally inexperienced and unqualified person to be VP, and now it is confirmed.

2. republican "abstinence-only" education is not only wrong, it is a contributing factor to teenage pregnance; when you don't know the alternatives, you get pregnant.

3. the cyncism of the republican machine, which put out this info DURING A HURRICANE, hoping the media would ignore it.

imgaine if joe biden's teenage daughter was discovered to be pregnant, while under the age of 18. and add in that joe biden was most recently the mayor of a small town, and had only been elected to state-wide office 18 months ago. the press would rip him to shreds and he would resign. liberal bias my arse.

the democrats don't even need to say a word. mccain and britney spears' mom -- oops, i mean sarah palin -- will hang themselves.

VP about to be a granny!

I am no political pro but this story made me sick of Sarah. My opinion is Sarah's political priorities have screwed up her teen daughter's future. What else you can expect from a "broken" family? I meant broken in the sense of not giving close attention and care to her own teen daughter. So much for the family values. Where is the true judgement? Sarah for president in an event of the death of president? God bless America!

McCain picked Palin to refocus the media coverage of Obama's speech. They did do a background check and were well aware that Bristol was pregnant. Palin's family obligations become the perfect excuse for her refusal of the nomination on Wednesday night. Into the void steps Mitt Romney or Traitor Joe...
This move is Rovesque.

I find it laughable that republicans are outraged at offensive characterizations of their party leaders or "principles".... then claim lefties are hypocrites.

Please, cut the crap.... Republicans are constitutionally incapable of telling the truth. In fact, lying to the public is their basic modus operandi...oh, and smearing democrats at every turn.... every single turn....

Republicans are not credible. Period.

Raise your hand if you are sick of right wing hypocrisy.

This seems trivial compared to Obama's anti-american and criminal associations (viz., Rev Wright, Bill Ayres, Major Daily , etc). Scary to observe how so many people overlook these things.

It must be tough news to take like Deval and Diane when their 18 year old daughter announced her sexual preference. So you should stop the nonsense.

The Palin family reality TV show!!! a preggy teen, a lying grandma , politics and more oh if arron Spelling were only here to put this into MINI reality series....
what a bunch of moral dunces...............

oh andrew.... i have no problem with abstinence education and sex ed being taught, but to be fair for all the sex ed only people, how about i find a pregnant teen who had sex ed and still got knocked up. guess that one example (not to mention the thousands of others) is proof that sex ed does not work.

I've read all your comments and the moral to the story is:

People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw rocks at people throwing rocks at them from their own glass houses.

Dear "Matt Damon,"

You don't have to put quotes around Emma. It is my name.

I'll have to ask my daughter's boyfriend if he thinks she's ugly because obviously I do not think so. Parents do seem to have a blind eye when it comes to their kids. I'm sure your mother thinks you're very funny.

Have a great day. :)

I love how all of you uppity New Englander's blame "RED NECKS & WT" for teenage pregnancy. WHERE WAS THE SCHOOL THAT HAD NUMEROUS TEEN PREGNANCIES RECENTLY....Oh yes, that was here in Massachusetts.......DONKEYS!!!!!!!!! And yes, that was a shot at you moronic liberals who think there is nothing wrong with people having babies and living off of the taxpayers forever!

I guarantee this child wont be a product of the "WELFARE STATE" propegated by the liberals of this country. Get over yourselves!!!

So Andrew, are you saying that to prove an educational program successful, all who receive said education will 100% adhere to the teachings? Get real - if that were true, we would essentially have a society of robots. I have no doubt that Bristol knew the risks of sex but still chose to engage in the behavior. Condoms and other forms of birth control fail, too, you know. Interesting how so many here have forgotten that there was another person involved here - the male who participated in this pregnancy-resulting sex!! No matter how much Bristol "wanted it", the guy also made his choice.

Interesting, too, how there are so many here attacking a woman's choice to accept the VP nomination, given her family situation. Would you all have the same attack mentality if it was a father of five in the same situation?

How do the folks posting here know that this is an accidental pregnancy, maybe it's by choice. But in any case it doesn't matter; in America we support a diversity of lifestyles and teenage and single parenthood is one of them.

To accept a nomination knowing that you have 5 kids, one with Downs and another one, a young girl facing such a difficult time ahead as a teenage mother says a lot about Sarah Palin. McCain says,"Country First". What about "Family First?"

Sarah Palin should withdraw her nomination and spend more time on her true day job; managing her family responsibilities. It's clear to me that she's been distracted too long by the allure of her political ambitions. Now all we need to learn is that her husband is fooling around with an eskimo on the North Slope pipeline.

Sarah Palin's son Trig was born in April, not May.

It will not change my vote. It is a small strike against her but not enough to make Obama a better choice. It shouldn't be part of the news but, unfortunately for her, it will dominate the news for weeks. The media loves this stuff... especially since they have such a liberal bias and donate so heavily to Obama.

Is this really the best both parties can offer? Obama has no experience and just as I was about to vote for John McCain, he chooses a total idiot with no experience who should focus on her family. Four month old babies and daugthers who have children need the most valuable thing on earth. Time. Sarah needs to spend time in her own life and now is not the time to run for vice president. I am not sure what type of change she could bring with all of this going on in her own life. Perhaps she can rent a parent and leave her family in the wind.

so much for traditional family values. this is not surprising considering her sarah palin has 5 kids? living in alaska under minimal adult supervision and from a rich home is the perfect storm for teenage pregnancy. throw in that her mom is hardcore right and it is even less surprising. the bush admin, mccain, and palin are out of touch. they throw the bible at everyone but themselves. total abstinence is not the answer. instead of shooting bears and trying to get her ex in law fired she should have been having talks with her daughter.

I guess Sarah Palin is trying to prove what a superwoman she is, since she is apparently able to run around the country campaigning and deal with a disabled infant AND a new grandchild at the same time.

Another nail in John McCain's coffin, IMO. Palin needs to go.

Exactly right 168. This is not about one 17 year old's pregnancy. I wish that child, and her unborn child, all the best during what must be a difficult time. It is, however, about her mother's insistence that she, and her party, have the right to legislatively impose that same sort of pain on other American teenagers and their parents by requiring the teaching of abstinence as a valid form of teenage birth control when mountains of evidence (beyond that present in the Palin household) shows that it does not work. It is by not having the courage to stand up, at the time of her unveiling as the VP selection, and say "you know, I'm going to be a grandmother at the time of the inauguration" (when she had to know this would come out within days) - thereby leaving the impression that she was too ashamed of her grandchild to even speak of it. Don't expect expect the nation to understand and sympathize with your shame when you are too ideologically stubborn to concede the need for better prevention. Simply file this one under "Republican hypocrisy" right next to Dick Cheney who evidently believes his daughter is entitled to the sort of committed relationship that he would legislatively deny to the children of other parents.

I wonder how this will hide or influence the story that the baby with down syndrome is ALSO her daughter's child, not Sarah's. Interesting. (Apparently the trickling down from Alaska of Sarah's fake pregnancy to hide her daughter's last pregnancy is the reason no real speakers are engaged at the RNC. Party leaders freaked out. She may not be the VP candidate by the end of the week).

Just because her theory of the effectiveness of abstinence only sex-edcuation has failed, not only nationally but now in her own home, doesn't meant that this woman can't be the champion of those wary of science and logical thinking.

LOL, this comes from the party which always preaches MORALITY and smear all the Democrats who don't obey their standards. Can't wait for more news about the "moral" failures of their family.

Obama '08

Wow, there area lot of stupid people posting on here. Sarah Palin's daughter does matter, for several reasons. The hypocrite that is sarah palin...preaching about family values and a strong religious background...obviously you've done a heckava job palin! This reflects horribly on McCain as well...great vetting job John, great job! She can't even handle her own family and the repubs want to put her in charge of the country??? (McCain's old folks...and how many times have dr's removed cancer from him??) Don't give bush a third term with McCain!

I just want to say, for the record, that my school taught abstinence only - to sixteen year old girls. Most of us were already sexually active before we got around to taking the class. And I have no children.

Yes, only a very naive parent (or school) teaches abstinence only. However, a teenager doesn't have to be that intelligent to figure out how to use a condom.

I think we should give this issue the "swift boat veterans" angle and use it to sink the Mcain / Palin ticket. Combined with Palin's love of shooting innocent and sentient moose and the ticket looks even more evil.
Family values - HAH!

Long Live Leader Quaddafi on the 39th anniversary of The Revolution!

Yeah, way to go abstinence-only sex education!! The proof is in the Pudding.

I really feel bad for Bristol because her life is being thrust into the spotlight because of her mothers nomination, and it is hard enough to go through that when you are NOT pregnant. I think that the GOP can have whatever beliefs they want, but when you are using a teenage girl as proof of someones hardcore Christian values of respecting life (well, the unborn child's life, certainly not Bristol's life or privacy) or to show that Palin is consistent in her views (hmm... abstinence only anyone) it is an absolute disgrace to this country's history and future. I sincerely hope Bristol wises up, commits high treason, and votes for Obama, who is at least interested in the fate of the youth. The change in vote would also allow her mother to be at home and support her, if she so wishes, not be a thousand miles away in D.C. ( I also recommend Bristol and Levi pull a Jamie-Lynn and disappear from the hospital the second the baby is born and get the hell away from her crazy family)

It is absolutely disgraceful that the Republican campaign would use this young girl's story to publicize their unwavering views and show that they at least are sane. (riiiiiiiiiight... ^_^)

Lastly, Mrs. Palin. I would like to just take a second and ask you about your notion that creation should be taught in schools.
I wonder, what kind of creation did you mean...?

To the people that think this is irrelevant and shouldn't be covered as news, I would agree only if all of Sarah's religious views aren't talked about by her and her fellow Republicans. A big deal is made of her being an evangelical Christian with ultra conservative views so it's only fair that her daughter's non conforming Christian behavior is also covered.

I never had any intention of voting for McCain (or any other Republican) in the first place. I do have to say that if Bristol Palin being pregnant makes someone decide not to vote for McCain then that is just ludicrous. If this is a deciding factor for someone than they should tear up their voter registration and stay home on election day.

Who are you people? Are you really surprised that teenagers have sex? Most of you sound young , so you should be more understanding. Teens make mistakes because they believe that they're immune. They think they know everything. I have three wonderful 20 somethings, one with Down Syndrome, 2 others who have had their share of problems, but will be successful. I'm not a Republican, I'm an Independent, but when I read your vitriolic and inane comments, I wonder where your parents went wrong.

I give her 2 more days and then a nice little speech about family commitments and distractions. Can't wait.

WOW

for democrats you are all a bunch of sexists. So the woman can;'t handle a job (that none of you know anything about) because she has 5 kids, 1 with a mental problem and another one with a child?

Who are you to judge someone you didn't even know about until 5 days ago??

Guess what liberals: Sarah Palin has more political experience than Biden and Obama put together.

How about them apples...

Teenagers make mistakes. Anyone with a teenager knows this. Palin's daughter got pregnant and needs the support of her family.

It is offensive that Sarah Palin accepted the offer of McCain, knowing that her child would be thrown into the national limelight. I feel sorry for Bristol that her family has not done everything they can to protect her, her unborn baby and the young father. This is not about Bristol's judgement - she is 17. This is about the judgement of her parents, both father and mother, to make their daughter a spectacle.

I find it interesting that I don't see the name "John Edwards" mentioned. If you want to crucify someone, pick on someone who really deserves it!

Its easy for the " small government " candidate to have her opinions, she is on government paid medical coverage so the citizens of Alaska get to pay to her family's immoral behavior. How does she take a righeous approach when the family behaves this way and has the government paid benefits to cover the cost. The rallying behind her that is going on from far right groups is baloney, if it was Obama's kid, the screeming in outrage would be defining.....

I am not voting for McCain/Palin, but I really don't believe that this should be front page news. This has no bearing on the election or the issues. Sarah Palin has a family and every family has their issues and their crises. They seem to be handling it well and the family has made the decision to stand by their child even though she has not followed their expectations to a T.

It is so ridiculous and sexist to say that Sarah should withdraw the nomination given this new public knowledge. She accepted the nomination knowing full well her daughter was in her second trimester of pregnancy, thus she was prepared to weather a media blitz like this. Furthermore, is the demand to have give up her candidacy fueled by the assumption that she, as the mother of the family, could not possibly fulfill duties of VP AND be a mother? She has a husband - and likely a husband that will become the go-to parent if she were to be elected.

Give it a rest people. Wasn't Obama's mama 17 and UNMARRIED when she had him??? OKAY...well, what is the difference people other than time????

I personally think this is a family matter. I can also respect the fact she is not going to have an abortion (because she is being "punished" as Obama says with a baby). I see she also plans to marry the father. I am certain many parents have dealt with the same thing including some of you that are writing your disapproval on this blog!!

NO, I'm not another republican. I am Democrat. NO, I'm not another angry old white woman. I am a woman who sees a lot of back biting before you even get to know this candidate. Just listen to what the candidates have to offer because as I see it they all have some "skeletons in the closet" including your precious "ONE", Obama.

O.K. Does McCain need the female vote and the regnant as a teenager vote?
If Sara's daughter waits long enough she can have a WHITE HOUSE WEDDING!
Seriously ,we now know that McCain only met Sarah once....didn't he check this family out at all? Sarah needs to step down and maybe take care of her family....
P>S> does her husband have a vice?

Sorry, but I just don't see what the big deal is. Sarah Palin is the one running for VP here, not her daughter, and I don't understand how this girl's sex life, regardless of people's opinions on it, is relevant to this election.

In the scheme of things, I don't see how Palin's daughter's "issues" mean she's any less qualified to be Vice President. Not a single person here knows what she's like as a parent. You may be sitting there saying that if she was better at parenting, her unwed teenage daughter would not be pregnant, but not a single person here can back that up with facts. How many of you as teenagers did everything your parents told you to do (or not do) anyway? Unless you can truly and honestly answer that question in the affirmative, then you're the hypocrite.

The truly sad thing is how this is polarizing things once again. Liberals are overjoyed at the exposure of hypocrisy, conservatives are praising her family values, and yet again both sides are missing the point because they're too busy bashing each other to look at this objectively.

The liberal media is a myth and that's not what's wrong with America. The hypocrisy of the right is just as fabled. The issue here is that, bottom line, a story that's nobody's damn business is being thrown into the limelight, and once again distracting from the real issues of the election. Both parties are happy because it saves them the trouble of focussing on the real issues. This is a welcome distraction, because neither of them knows what the hell they're doing.

So, whatever side you're on, quit twisting this to your side's advantage and hope both sides cut the crap and focus on America and getting this country out of the quagmire it's sinking into. I wish one single unwed mother was the biggest of the country's problems, I really do.

Nice to see we have a candidate who is human with real life problems to deal with. If it does anything, it might urge me to vote FOR her party that against it.
I am sick of listening to millionaires trying to relate "family problems" or left wingers trying to make themselves so self-righteous.

If Bristol Palin is 5 months pregnant, then she was 16 when she conceived, not 17. It's too bad, but I guess the chickens are coming home to roost for the abstinence only GOP apologists.

BTW, this story is breaking the GOP Irony Meter:

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

So Bristol gets to make her own choice. But if McCain get's elected, he's promised eliminate choice for other women. You can't make this stuff up.

This is completely relevant to the campaign--particularly the republican, conservative platform. I don't see how this choice benefits the country. McCain had better choices with better experience that could have strengthened his ticket and more importantly addressed the needs of the country on issues like the rising teen pregnancy rates!

I love these negative comments about Palin her young baby.
That's right ... keep at home barefoot and nursing the young 'uns, right?
Hypocrisy, hypocrisy, hypocrisy.

I have spent several years working with high school kids in the capacity of a youth leader at an evangelical christian church. I am not a moron. I am, in fact, a well-educated woman. Many of the young women I have worked with over the years come from solid families who teach them right from wrong, and the consequences of sex, should they choose to go down that path. We teach them it is biblically wrong to have sex outside of marriage. They have me to talk to - someone who's more of a friend than a parent-figure - if they want to talk through their issues. Their parents and their church community are doing everything they can do. And even with all they have going for them, they are under ENORMOUS pressure at their schools to participate in all sorts of behavior they know is wrong. The sex, drugs, drinking, etc. Am I surprised that a 17 year old girl couldn't take the pressure? No, I'm not. I don't know that I would be able to either, knowing what kids have to deal with these days. That said, Christians do not believe their children are perfect, nor do they expect them to never make mistakes. The hardest part of being a Christian in this world is having the rest of the world watching you, just waiting for you to screw up. I can't imagine the guilt this girl is feeling, and to have it play out on the national stage has to be exponentially more difficult than just dealing with it in your home/church/community. Her parents could have done everything right, and she could have made one wrong choice, one time. Does that mean she and her entire family should be condemned?

And, to the discussion that obviously abstinence-only education doesn't work - how do you know she wasn't using birth control? I have friends who have gotten pregnant while on the pill and using condoms. TWO methods of birth control that failed. So, stop yapping when you don't know the facts. Give the girl a break.

People of America - The Democrat's will be in the White House - Like it or not -

This situation belongs to the Palin family to work out as they see fit.
When Mothering of children is not respected women feel the need to do more "important" things. No one believes being "just" a mom is good enough. Being a "GREAT" Mom requires more time and attention than most are willing to give. It means putting your children's needs (not wants)before yourself and being available to them whether their new-borns or 17 year olds. I have always believed being a Mother is the most IMPORTANT JOB a woman could have but it must be done correctly. All This Will Pass.

First of all, I think we need to respect the private family matter of the Governor Sarah Palin.
.. IT WILL NOT CHANGE MY VOTE. NOT AT ALL.
MCCAIN/PALIN 08.

Good for Obama for saying that children should be off limits; I agree. Sarah Palin on the other hand should be examined very closely. She is one inch away from the presidency and that scares the daylights out of me.

Foe somebody who touts the love of her family, Governor Palin is about to embark on a mission, that if successful, will leave her on call 24/7, away from her pregnant daughter in a time of great emotional need, away from her infant child who needs constant care. And away from 3 other young children she professes to care about more than anything in the world.

She is putting her personal ambitions in front of those of her family and to that end I find her a hypocrite!

this is all you liberals have?? Morally judging a teenage girl who got pregnant and will marry the father and have the child?? I'm sure most of you would have given your daughters a bus ticket to visit Dr Abortion in Kansas. The Palins will make the tough but morally correct choice. Liberals will always take the easy choice because it's always about you. Disgraceful hypocrites.

So let me get this straight... Palin is o.k. with her 17 year old daughter getting knocked up, but she is going to tell millions of gay Americans around the country that they can't get married?

Maybe she should pay less attention to what's happening in our bedrooms and more attention to what's happening in her daughter's...

McCain is in his 70s and this is the women who would be next in line to replace him should anything happen. Looks like she can't keep her own house in order let alone the White House.

Um.....WHY DOES THIS MATTER?

Seriously, it was the daughter's mistake, not Sarah Palin's. There is no way Palin could have stopped something like this. If Bristol wanted to have sex, she was going to have it. It can happen anywhere. It could happen in a car when a couple is "out to see a movie". Do you expect Palin to accompany Bristol and the baby's father on a date? No. Thus, you can't blame her for "letting" it happen. Plus, there is no way that enforcing "family values" can counteract all the media and peer pressure that is out there to have sex.

Poor Bristol....This has to be hard enough already without the fear that she's endangering her mom's career.

Dear Keith, who hates us "moronic liberals":

If you despise liberals so much, you should leave New England and get off this website. Why are you on here at all ? You are outnumbered. You must know that.

And leave Gloucester alone. I don't recall any of those girls' mothers deciding to run for Vice President of the United States. It's an invalid comparison.

Your anger might be more effective if you spelled correctly and learned how to use an apostrophe.

"So Andrew, are you saying that to prove an educational program successful, all who receive said education will 100% adhere to the teachings?"

Not at all. I'm saying that abstinence-only is a proven failure. It doesn't work, it will never work, and the evidence, in Sarah Palin's case, is right there in her home. I choose to have my daughters (and sons, of course, if I had them), fully educated.

The responsibility does not lie with the girl or woman. Had it been revealed that Palin's son had gotten a girl pregnant, I would feel the same. Failed policy. Unavoidable evidence.

I don't claim that Palin can't handle the job because she has a big family. I'm sure her and her husband will have more help in DC than they do in Alaska.

I just see this as the tip of the policy iceberg. And there's more. Creationism, drilling in ANWR, suing to keep polar bears out of the way... I'm not a Palin fan. Also, her kids have the stupidest names... c'mon, Track?

It's total nonsense that what we are getting from Palin is that it's all right that she was governor and her underage, unmarried daughter was having sex and got pregnant. What a totally selfish thing for her daughter to have only thought of herself in the moment. I'm sure her daughter is well-educated, well-taken care of, worldly and spoiled and a brat.

This situation does stand as a perfect example of the failure of the conservative policy of "Abstinence-only" sex education, so-called. And it needs to be publicly discussed unless promoters of that policy - including Palin - drop their insistent support for that policy.
Nobody wants anything bad to happen to the VP nominee's daughter or granddaughter. But what happens next? If Bush/Palin prevail, will "abstinence only" be the extent of the sex education program for the granddauthter? If Palin withdraws or the Bush/Palin ticket loses the election, how much guilt will the current BP nominee's daughter live with for the rest of her life? Will she be made to feel that it was her dumb decision to have sex at seventeen cost her mother the chance to become vice president, or president, of the US?
And what message will the GOP be sending to McCain supporters and potential supporters if Palin drops out - that we can't have a GOP VP candidate whose daughter becomes pregnant while unmarried?

Man or woman - the fact that you leave an infant, especially one with Down Syndrome, for the campaign trail isn't right and is a horrible example of parenthood.

It seems that everyone is forgetting that if McCain is elected, this hypocrite will be a heartbeat away from the presidency. And McCain is no spring chicken!

Sarah Palin is an advocate of abstinence-only sex education. Is she kidding? How'd that work out with Bristol? And who is is exposing Bristol to the harsh eye of public judgement? Her mother!

The psycho-therapists in Alaska should be excited... they have five Palin kids coming around the bend.

Can't watch a 17 year old. How can you watch a country? Can't wait to see how the conservatives spin this out of wedlock birth. Also if McCain new this, as he said he did, why would he be willing to open this can of worms when he had much better alternatives. (Kay Richardson, Elizabeth Dole, etc.)

I was planning on voting for him but this pick, knowing what the ramifications could be shows me a a very poor lack of judegment.

I love it how Repubicans think they are so moral and holier than thou and that their poop doesn't stink.

People In Glass Houses shouldn't throw stones. Their isn't a Perfect person here.! Remember what's hiding In your Closet! Nuff Said!

Children are off limits? Here's McCain himself:

Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.”

– Sen. John McCain, speaking to a Republican dinner, June 1998.

White Trash for the White House
This can be the Republicans new campaign slogan.

I know I am being sarcastic when I write this, but honestly this whole scenario gets more bizarre by the moment. But whatever happens next, Palin stepping down or staying the course (from the Bush handbook of stupidity) -- it only further reinforces McCain's poor judgment. What did he and Palin expect would happen as her pregnancy progressed? They had to know there would be a media frenzy and outrage over this. Palin is either incredibly naive or someone who wants political office at all costs, even to the detriment of her family. So while the candidates' children should not be made political fodder, I am concerned how a McCain/Palin administration would affect my teenage daughter and her friends.

For those who keep bringing up Bill Clinton's sexual shenanigans, consider this. Many of us liberal Democrats were also sick of the Clintons and did not want him hanging around the White House for another four to eight years as "first man." Even though I admire Hillary Clinton in many other ways, I don't understand why she is still married to that lout. This, however, is only one of the many reasons I support Barack Obama.

The GOP faithful (the hard-line Christian Right in particular) would be having a field day if the Dems had a woman on the ticket who had returned to work 3 days after giving birth to a child with Downes Syndrome, being a moralizer on abstinence also had a pregnant unwed minor teenage daughter, and instead of returning home to support her daughter, continued to pursue her own career ambitions. "Family values", White trash or in some places one in the same?

I love how the Republicans say they believe that the government should stay out of people's business...except when it involves things like abortion, sex education, gay marriage, etc, etc. Fascinating...

Alaska / Maine, must be something about the weather....

I think it is a sad situation for both families involved, but the Palin's beliefs and comittment to family and faith will provide the necessary strength and support. The Palin's are a large loving family and therefore I believe they will do everything to support the young parents and to ensure that the child is brought up in a loving, caring, family environment. I am one person that has always voted republican but was not going to unless John McCain chose a worthy VP candidate. For me, this election comes down to who the VP's will be. With this particular choice, John McCain has made my choice sway in his favor. Sarah Palin has worked against the grain and has shown to be a more family oriented professional that resembles a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" climb to her current position. I also would consider Joe Biden, but he lacks the initiative to move manufacturing back to our shores. Yes, he is well liked by Unions, etc. but that is not pushing to keep manufacturing on American soil. Everyone is screaming for 'change' and to do away with the same old choices, yet the majority of the comments thus far are not supporting this women. The family oriented values that the republican party holds does not apply to immediate family only. Rather it applies to everyone and the majority of evangelicals will agree with this; that mistakes are mad and they cannot be stopped. It is how you and your family support one another that is valued. I am an evangelical that was originally brought up in a different christian faith and I am a young professional with a home and a sick wife. We are fortunate to have caring families that have strong faith backgrounds. Each family has had a sibling have a child out of wedlock and it broke everyone's hearts. Yet our parents taught us that mistakes do happen no matter what you do. Both siblings have wonderful children and have gone on to happy marriages. For me, Sarah Palin represents this while showing the necessary drive that will serve as a catalyst for change. Please put the hate speech (Mass terminology) aside and do not bother comparing either party.

Listen up libruls. Jest because McCain can'ts remamber how manys houses hes owned, and he picked somoeone to be Vise Presnit that's no more qualified than your'e next dooor naybor, he's a Maverick! So what if Palin promotes absternance only, but her dotter got pregnant at 16, that means Palins a Maverick too. Get it know? And never minds that Palin wasn't even vetted and that her own state GOP is attacking her cradentials, you now why? Because McCain was a POW and that makes his judgmint from Jeebus. U Bostin libruls are all the same. Youse want alls of us to get sum brains but we won't. Get it know? This Palin pick is a bold move, a game changer. POW, Leedership, POW, Leidership, POW!!!!!!!!

her daughter is a true republican. She doesn't know when to pull out.......

In reply to Emma...good for you and your brilliant daughter...you stuck up liberal elitist. I would love for you to visit dorchester or roxbury and mouth off to all the 14 year old pregnant girls. you probably live in a nice big cozy house too, and I bet your daughter isn't having sex either...duh.

It seems as though Hurrican Bristol is on the horizon. Too soon to tell if all of the levees will burst or stand tough. Watch cable news cover this "maybe' storm non-stop for 3 weeks. "We make it our business to sensationalize trivial things".
Back to you, Anderson.

Please, God. Send back that voice of reason, Tim Russert.

Bristol Palin is 17 , unmarried and pregnant. Barack Obama's mother was 18, unmarried and pregnant. So what!!! Here's a tip. No one, left or right, with who is not a crackpot zealot cares that either one was or will be an unwed mother..
The level of unbridaled hatred that spews from some on the far left is unbelievable.
Take a hint from Obama: Drop it lest you be unmistakenly identified as deranged..

The hypocrisy of this situation clearly makes this an issue to be discussed. You can't ignore the facts.

Governor Palin would only approve funding for abstinence teaching & then her teenage daughter becomes pregnant?!? Maybe the courageous hockey Mom of 5 should have spent more FAMILY time instead of hunting deer or smiling in front of the nearest camera.

I can't wait to hear the comments from Republican conservatives justifying this as a "non-issue" or that the "pregnancy is a blessing from God" or that everyone makes mistakes in life.

There is plenty of blame to go around when a teenager gets pregnant but the parents are near the top of the list.

In reply to Emma...good for you and your brilliant daughter...you stuck up liberal elitist. I would love for you to visit the inner city of Boston and mouth off to all the 14-17 year old pregnant girls. you probably live in a nice big cozy house too, and I bet your daughter isn't having sex either...duh. Go live in a commie country and give up everything and see how you like it. Your daughter certainly would not be attending BC or Bowdoin.

So this is her families business? Yet if my daughter was pregnant, and wanted an abortion then it is also her business? I do not get it. How can you have it both ways?

I think people are reacting like it is the first time in history that a teenager got pregnant. It looks like Gov Palin and her family will support her daughter and help her in whatever way they can. I am sure that she will show a very good example of how a family should help one another. That is the point.

Alex,

"Sarah Palin has more political experience than Biden and Obama put together."

Uh, no... no she does not.

The timelines are all confusing... did Bristol get pregnant while she was sick wih mono? Or was mono just a cover-up? If so, why cover it up? Did the family actually consider terminating the pregnancy before making it public?

Palin also fired the head of the State Police because he refused to fire her estranged brother-in-law. This is the subject of a Special Prosecutor's investigation. (Her husband gave the order.) Palin's claim to stopping the "bridge to nowhere" was just a recognition of political reality. The failure of her husband and her as parents is less important then their (shared) failure in the governor's office. And that doesn't begin to address Palin's awful positions on drilling in the arctic and forcing schools to teach her extremist religious views. McCain failed to vet her adequately: he should be held accountable.

Liberals are going to the the downfall of this country. Look no further than Massachusetts. You all loved Deval (Obama junior) and look at the state now. Go ahead, vote for The One, the second coming of MLK...the motivational speaker with zero political experience, the enlightened and arrogant one who will turn water into wine and then tour europe like a rock star.

This cult of personality is disgusting. I remember someone like Obama...worshipped, causing people to cry at appearances, moved masses, promising strong economy and a strong country internationally, he also loved touring europe, and considered himself to be the Savior, the One that would lead his people to greatness. His name? ADOLF HITLER.

The REAL problem here is that Mc Cain KNEW this before he presented her to the public. He also raised millions from the evangelical crowd before this little detail was released to the public. Do you think he would've gotten as big a "bounce" (pardon the pun) if the Christian Cuckoos knew about this??

dt_busse :
my 16 year old neighbor just delivered a baby. she had sex ed in school. This situation does stand as a perfect example of the failure of the policy of sex ed in schools....

and how is palin a hypocrite?? children disregard what their parents taught all the time...how easy would it be for her daughter to get an abortion. but, dispite how much harder what they are doing is, they are stinking to their beliefs (and not lying about their mistakes like clinton and ewards did). she is not a hypocrite.. she is a strong woman, mother and soon to be VP.

I wonder if it is her daughter's decision to keep the baby and marry the father. Could it be what her mother is making her do to try to save the campaign?

What I am about to state is a matter of fact via the GOP leadership:

McCain is the father.

This news it is very sensitive and damaging to my beloved Republican party, may the heavens help McCain, on the one hand who knew his sperm still worked, not to mention his small penis.

America has no moral values left anyhow. Nothing shocks us anymore.

Just goes to show that even right wing Christians can't control their kids , no matter what laws they pass installing their morality on us.. I agree with Obama--leave the kids alone! This is a family matter. And I can't stand the GOP! Of course, the Dems aren't much better. Kill Afghani and Iraqi children while trying to legislate the lives of ours.

Susan,
I agree with you on Edwards. But babies having babies at taxpayer expense!
Who does pay for it all????

McCain is the father.

Who cares! It doesn't have any bearing on the run for President, because how does it effect the war, or the ecomomy, or gas prices, etc. etc. Focus People!

no, palin doesn't have more experience than obama and biden combined, just more than obama...

Its my child, maricio abril

No matter what example Sarah will set for the country in dealing with a pregnant teen, she failed miserably as a parent. Her she sits in a public office as Governor of a US State, opposing sex education in the classroom, and doesn't have the decency to talk to her 16 year old daughter about sex and birth control? Shameful. Truly shameful. Sure, teens will be teens and girls get pregnant! But, you'd think the Governor would surely spend some time with her oldest daughter enough to keep her from being another statistic.

I fear this poor girl is going to be be used as a pawn of the GOP. How many other 17 year old marriages do you know that worked out really well??

This is why the world doesn't understand us...we are too religious to be comfortable with sexuality in teenagers and educate them properly like the Europeans and not religious enough to enforce our own like many fundamentalist countries which we claim moral superiority over. Regardless of the spin that gets put on the situation in the media here we will either look ignorant or hypercritical abroad.

Two Questions

1.) If you were the Governor of Alaska, would you have a child while you were in office?

2.) If you had a four month old baby and a daughter who was 17 and pregnant would you choose to run for Vice President of the United States?

Sarah Paulin is throwing her family under the bus!!

Ha!! Ha!! Perhaps Sarah Palin and Britney Spears' mom can co-author a book on raising children!!

Obie,

"Can't watch a 17 year old. How can you watch a country?"

You are kidding, right?

Sarah Palin's plate is really full and spilling over. She needs to tend to business in her own family, before trying to solve the world's problems. If I had a son going to Iraq, a child with down syndrome and a pregnant daughter. I would be asking myself - where should my place in life be right now...with my family or with strangers on a campain trail???

Dear Go Home (post # 128), perhaps you need to go back to school. Your grammar and spelling are horrific. For the rest of you, get a life. The girl is seventeen, leave her alone. At least the Palin family is supporting her---that speaks volumes. Every person in America has had a trying situation come up, in some way, at some time. At least this family is dealing with it in the most honorable way possible. Again, Media gone mad... That should be the headline of the day, not the fact that a seventeen year old had sex and got pregnant.

They're vomiting in St. Paul as we speak!

Even if her daughter was raped, Palin would still have Bristol carry the baby of her attacker. The forced insemination would've been "God's will."

Anyone who's mocking this young lady needs to remember that Obama's mother had him out of wedlock at the age of 18.

Hypocrites.

If this lady can't educate and keep an eye on her family, can she run a country when 72 year old president dies ?

# 263 Tony, tell me how Gov. Palin is going to help her daughter and her new grandchild and her down syndrome suffering infant in a 24/7 job as vice president of the United States!!! She has already thrust her 17 yr. old into a national debate about her that should add extreme pressure and hurt her emotional state immensely .

Gov. Palin isn't showing how a family should help each other, she is showing how her personal ambition come before anything in her life, INCLUDING HER CHILDREN!!!!

Family values, what a joke!

Deep breath "progressives". The comments above are largely unworthy of the Herald blog. Tin foil hat wearing nuts are taking stuff off Daily Kos THAT OBAMA HAS DISAVOWED. (It has been clear since this morning that it is Sarah's baby, no matter how badly you wish it were otherwise). The statements about "white trash" confirm my statement above. Somehow, Palin's family doing that which is routine and accepted in urban America is suddenly scandalous. I anxiously await the next instant daddy (who decides to marry his pregnant girlfriend) being told that there is no spot for his parental status on the job application, but somehow his race is a crucial impediment. I think we may have finally put to rest the trope that Globe readers were more literate and thoughtful. Not hardly.

Seriously, who cares?
You people are seriously judging Palin based upon her daughter getting pregnant? There are plenty of excellent people in this world who had/or are from teenage pregnancies. Maybe you should be more concerned about the media that shoves sex down our teenager's throats each and every day.
and newsflash! Obama's a fraud.
McCain still has my vote.

And how is Obama's Mother having Barrack at 18, with no father around is any different to this? Goes to show you this stuff should stay out of politics. Has no traction. Go McCain/Palin 08!

White Trash!!!!!

What was Bill? Some type of social icon???? Yes, no wonder this happened!!!! I get it. BIll's behavior as well as Brad and Angie's and Ben and Jen's and Brit's lit sis all have something to do with this?

Wow. grasping at straws here. Whenever you point, four fingers always point back at you!!!!

Stop judging. This gives this woman and family even more character.

This is the story of a 17 year old child who made a mistake. She has to live with the consequences, however, I feel terrible for her (NOT HER MOTHER) that she now has to live with a media circus on top of being a teenage mother. This is a terrible thing to happen to any adolescent, and every adolescent (liberal or conservative (even though most of them have not made up there mind s yet at that age) has to deal with peer pressure and hormones. Kids make mistakes, sometimes they are big. This is big. I really hope that the media judges her mother on her policies (which I don't agree with) not her children. I hope that Bristol Palin overcomes the adversity she must face, get herself a college education, and has a very successful life. I also hope she doesn't cave to adult peer pressure and become involved in a forced marriage. The cure to one mistake is never another, and I know very few adolescents ready for the commitment a successful marriage must take (on top of raising a child).

Perhaps Sarah Palin is merely the sacrificial lamb in all this and there are other unknown matters and plans yet to come. We shall see what happens next.

Wow Emma! You have a daughter who is applying to college! That's in-freakin-credible. You are obviously an AMAZING parent. I guarantee that if your precious little daughter got knocked up you'd drag her to an abortion clinic and get that fetus sucked right out of her so she doesn't get "punished" with a child. No one would ever have to know, right? BTW, being labelled a "commie" isn't something to be proud of. Please do everyone a favor and move to France so you can enjoy the company of other "commies" and leave America to those who appreciate it.

Now we know why Bristol was holding Trig at the first public appearance on Friday - to hide her belly!

Voila!!! What kind of family education of our political leaders have???THAT IS WHY American leadership going downhill.No more jokes please!!!

Would there be this many comments if the VP candidate was a man?

Why don't they ever teach about the increased risk of the woman getting cervical cancer when having sex before age 18? It should have _some_ impact on people choosing not to have sex before 18. Why is this never an important part of teaching abstinence? It is clear that some kids *think* they can avoid pregnancy and stds with birth control (neither of which is entirely 100% true), but how to do they plan to combat the increased risk of cervical cancer?

The McCain campaign chose to make this announcement to quiet rumors that 17-year-old Bristol was the mother of a 5-month old son, by proving it impossible by virtue of the fact that she was in early pregnancy at the time? So the '"mudslinging and lies" circulating on liberal blogs" were right, they just had the wrong baby!

This just in: Airport police say they have doubled the plainclothes detail at the Minneapolis-St Paul Airport men's room....just as a precaution due to the large number of visitors expected because of the Republican convention....they apologize for an inconvience to the traveling public.

Jake, that's her business not yours. Can CEO's of large companies that move millions have a family? Or are they also not allowed? You and the liberals have nothing to do with how this woman chooses to handle her personal life. Only she knows if she can handle it, and if she accepted the nomination, she obviously can.
What a sexist bunch of democrats, who would have "thunk it"

dont worry about her personal life. you think she is poor, that she can't afford sitters and nurses and people to watch her kids if its needed? she doesn't have family? Why all the uproar because she is a woman? If the VP was a man in the same situation, you wouldn't even care.

i thought you guys were all about being progressive and equality and feminist rights and tolerance

who's being sexist and intolerant now?

what a disgrace...

A child bride will marry another child in a shotgun wedding and bring a child into the world.

Nice combo for success.

Marie, only if he was a Republican. But you're right. A woman, especially a Republican women would be held to a higher standard. Good point..

Who cares? I hardly think this has anything to do with how she is as a parent. I think there are a lot of great parents out there who have children who have gotten pregnant.

Dear Anne W (post #285),

You say "The girl is seventeen, leave her alone." Isn't leaving her alone what got her into this predicament??

Dear Marie (#300),

You're kidding right? Of course it would be mentioned!! Nothing like playing the gender card! Are you a minority? I bet if you are you place the race card too when something doesn't go your way!

Anyone who picks a candidate based on his/her children is an idiot. The fact that the daughter is not only going to keep the child but plans on marrying the father shows that she was raised right.

McCain/Palin will bring lower taxes, lower prices for gas and other products and an overall better country. Don't get blinded by the smoke screen that the Democrats are trying to put up.

Joe Biden is a racist. Give me Sarah Palin any day.

How is Desperate Housewives on ABC going to top this? I guess we have always liked reality TV!

Why would any loving mother subject her child to this?

Thanks John, I owe you one for this pick !

I laugh at how the dems quickly absorbed the rumor but this is nothing compare to the past.The main point of this election is choosing the right candidate with the right experience,skills and knowledge sufficient to lead the nation forward.Sarah Palin has shown as a public officials of the State of Alaska she has the capacity to MAKE DECISION AND FIGHT CORRUPTION in contrast with Obamas rubbing shoulders with Washington insiders including Joe Biden.Who was the one that ran on changing Washington and now end up with a Washingtonian ha,ha,ha,and a very stubborn one too.Being a President is like a father figure to the people of the country and when daddy promises sweets for the children and end up didn't deliver on that promises quess who's bad and called a liar it's daddy.In this case daddy Obama didn't live up to his promise to us the people of America that he will CHANGE Washington but instead Washington CHANGE OBAMA"S MESSAGE.

All I can say is that it must be driving all of you Obama lovers crazy that even after McCain's pick and Obama's post convention "bump" the polls only show a 1% lead for Obama.
If Obama can't muster more than a 1% lead against McCain - when we have a republican president with the lowest ratings ever, a troubled economy, almost $4 gas, etc. How is he ever going to win in November.... Hint - he isn't.

NOBAMA 08

this is news....how? How does it affect how palin does her job?

I got two words for the Trailer Trash Republicans
- Jerry Springer.

Marie - Would there be this many comments if the VP candidate was a man?

Absolutely not. After all, Our VP has a gay daughter that has a gay partner and has an adopted a child.

As far as the Republican bible goes, in Paul's new testament homosexuality is a sin and all the AM republican bible preachers swear that raising a child in a family that doesn’t have a Mom and Dad is mentally destructive.

So, if the VP was a man and there was a moral issue, they would just nickname the VP “Dick” and there would be less comments because YOU wouldn’t comment.

And you know why the baby is going to be ugly? Because McCain is the father.

This is neither a partisan nor a private matter. Sarah Palin sad to say but parents get judged for the decisions their children make as is true with the reverse. If you were a nobody whether or not one of your daughters had a baby and you faked a pregnancy to conceal it would not matter. If you were a nobody whether or not your teenage daughter became pregnant as you ceremonioulsy claim to be a proponent of abstinence would not matter. When you agreed to run with John McCain you agreed to a level of scrutiny that comes with the territory. Without sounding accusatorial, ask John Edwards how the truth can nail you when you place your political career ahead of your family. John McCain should have done his homework but since he didn't do yourself and your family a favor. Step aside.

Let's define this situation. A woman from Alaska is 5 months pregnant. Her mother is running for political office. End of story.

I wish Bristol a wonderful pregnancy, healthy child, and a great life. Can we remember that Bristol is a human being and not a symbol of anything? Is the media going to follow her into the delivery room? Of what nature is the character of people who want to make this young woman's pregnancy something that it is not?

Here are the key questions that should be answered. Who will be the best President? Who will be the best Vice President?

Red Alert: Both married and unmarried Republicans, as well as their children, have sex. They don't send the stork into the cabbage patch when it's time to reproduce. Can we all please look into the mirror and at OUR OWN lives?

What happened to the guy who had diddled a minor?

If she is a child, then he is going to be arrested. He should be

This is a Statutory rape and Child molestation charges should be brought on this.. no?

His name should be listed and he needs to register to make everyone in the neighborhood know that they have a child molester in their midst

You know, my point wasn't that I'm perfect or that my daughter is brilliant because I'm far from perfect and my daughter is just a normal kid. My point is if a kid - ANY kid - has a parent who PAYS ATTENTION to her, the odds of her succeeding are much greater.

It's not about the Bristol Palin getting pregnant. It's about her mother campaigning on family values and morality and acting superior to those of us who choose to raise our children differently...and then failing to be any better than the rest of us. Which, hello, we all knew she wasn't anyway.

I'm a social worker. I make next to no money to go into the inner-city and have conversations with pregnant teenagers...most of whom have been ignored by their own parents for years. And yet we expect them to do better. Well, here's a news-flash...we need to give these kids the tools they need to do better, and so far I don't see anybody - least of all the religious conservative right wing politicians who give so much lip service to such things - stepping up.

Ok....she is 17 now and 5 month along....so (not sure her birthday) good chance she was knocked up at 16....how old is her baby's daddy? What is the age of consent in Alaska?

My friends..........McCain picked Palin to appeal to the far right conservatives, which tells you how badly his campaign is doing if he has to appeal to the GOP base at this late stage.
But now my friends, the Palin choice is blowing up in his face. The teenage daughters pregnancy doesn't really matter (but the lying about it might), as much as Palins lack of experience, or the investigations into troopergate (and there's the lying about that as well.) Good thing Palins got herself a lawyer to fend of the indictment. My friends, John McCain thinks that Palin is the best choice for VP. POW! That's GOP leadership!

Amazing. Suddenly according to LIBERALS, female parents should all stay home to tend to their children. Laughable even according to Liberal ideology since the 70's. Are liberals now advocating that females stay at home if they have children? Lets hear Obama say that.

Parents are somehow totally responsible for their children. Amy Carter anyone?

Any Democrat who is supposedly concerned about experience won't be voting for Obama this November too. Right.

Any democrat know how many homes John Kerry owns? Probably not because guess what? It's irrelevant.

Leave the poor girl alone.

As a matter of fact leave the poor zero Palin alone too.

The fault for all this rest on the reckless idiot who put these poor losers into the national spotlight and showed the world his leadership and judgment

It must be nice for all you haters to live in glass houses. A teenage girl having sex? This is a first! By the way...who cares what age someone is when they become a grandmother? WHO CARES???!!!!

Why do I care? B/c Ms. Palin is opposed to responsible contraception education, and now this 17year old girl has a baby on the way. Is that how she wanted her life to go? We'll never know and neither will she because she has no choice in the matter. So teach randy teens not to have sex, then they have sex, and they're parents whether they're ready or not. Will the young mother have to resort to welfare or does she have the advantage of her wealthy parents to help her out?

So, is the message "If you're from a rich family, your mistakes will be addressed. If not, too bad."

who the h*ll takes their kid out of school for ten months due to mono? At best, it's two months out of school. Mono is very contagious but only through saliva and mucus, and you can be around mono carriers and not get it.

This story is really fishy.

Alex Taveira wrote:
"Liberals are going to {be} the downfall of this country. Look no further than Massachusetts."

Alex, are you referring to the same Massachusetts that is consistently ranked at the top of the country in areas like literacy, average educational level, health, average income, and near the bottom in areas like infant mortality, divorce, teen pregnancy, and obesity?

I think it's amusing that the same "red" states that spew their Bible-thumping garbage are the same ones that consistently lead the nation in divorce, unwanted pregnancies, abortions, welfare recipients, and illiteracy.

Go live in Mississippi, not a lot of liberals and such a great quality of life there. You'll fit right in. Enjoy my tax dollars, that's where they all go.

If this was Sasha or Malia Obama, people would say "Oh, there goes another black girl getting herself in trouble. This was a 17 year old girl who didn't think of the consequences while her boyfriend was telling her "it's ok". Now she is in the public spotlight because of her mother's candidacy. If McCain wins, Grandma Palin will be too busy being VP to be much help to her daughter with a new baby. You won't see her helping out bringing meals or doing some laundry for a tired new mom. Bristol Palin is in for the biggest rude awakening of her life.

This has nothing to do with the issues and/or the ticket. This is life. Period. I guess nobody else in America has a teen who has gotten pregnant. How many people growing up in their late teen years or early twenties have gotten "the scare". Please. This ticket might not be as perfect as Obama has "presented" to all the zombies following him as he rides into the convention on a unicorn followed by a rainbow. Talk about change...gee...picking Biden who's been in D.C. for 30 years is definitely change. I still haven't heard one thing Obama has accomplished. He's an empty suit who is a good speaker and all the liberals are gaga over him. Notice how the media downplayed McCain's pick until something like this comes up and it's all you hear on every channel now. All the liberals are so brainwashed it's sickening. Not to mention their convention was a complete debacle. And if you haven't realized, the Clinton's hate him. They're just waiting it out. Can't wait for my McCAin/Palin yard sign to show up!

Congratulations to the press. Villify a seventeen year old girl. The trolls love it - just look at all the venomous comments you generated.

Let's see if I have this right

According to most of the anti-Palin postings on this site, Sarah Palin has failed as a mother because her daughter became pregnant at age 17.

So, according to that logic, every woman whose unmarried daughter becomes pregnant at age 17, even if they choose to abort that pregnancy, is a failure as a parent. Right?

Are Democrats willing to make that a part of their Campaign Platform for the next election?

Dear Hockeymom,
Looks like something got past the goalie.

HYPOCRITICAL! If this was a Democrat's daughter, there would be NO END to the right-wing lashing that child would receive. Hypocrisy! There have been too many times that I've heard the phrase "Hillary couldn't control her husband, how can she control the country?" And then when a liberal says it in response to a conservative's family issues....it's irrelevant and we're "low-balling" your VP candidate. The woman has very little experience. And no, being next to Russia DOESN'T COUNT as foreign policy. She wants to enforce laws on the collective female population of America but can't enforce basic household rules with her daughter. We want to put this woman in charge of an ENTIRE COUNTRY? McBush/Palin '08? No way. In his first executive decision, this is what McSame comes up with? No way.

And in response to an earlier comment, Deval inherited the problems that came with decades of Republican leadership which meant passing down the state's debts to the next generation. Thank the previous generation for voting Republican when you get your tax forms.

Geez, maybe if Bill Clinton hadn't been so vague about the nature of his relationship with an intern, perhaps the governor of Alaska could have used an additional role model, other than an unfaithful, disingenuous and manipulative leader of the free world.

Jim R.

Of course I am serious. If you can't take care of your own house how can you take care of a nation. She seems lacking, in my opinion, in the skills of communication. If she told her daughter that being unwed and having a baby was not desirable she apparently did not make a very persuasive arguement. If she never spoke to her at all about this then she just sherked her duty as a parent. In my opinion Palin is a totally bad choice. I know a lot of people like her because they say she is normal/average (hockey mom) person but I think she is just a mess. Speaking for myself I don't want and average person helping run the country I might as well do it myself and I am far from qualified to run a precint never mind a country. I want an exceptional person running this country and unfortunatley I don't see one in the bunch we have running this year.

I can hardly wait to see the results of the state trooper firing investigation due out several days before the election. She just hired a lawyer to help her with the case. McCain must be quacking in his boots about this one. The shame is I am one of those independent voters who was going to go with McCain (he is not exceptional either) but he lost my vote and I am going to try my best to convince others that McCain/Palin is not the answer to get us out of the mess that are latest non-exceptionl President and less then exceptionl Congress got us into.

Do we really want a potential president who can't convince or control her own teenage daughter to "keep her knees together"? Oh please, the shoes are falling off one by one. First it was Trooper-gate, then Baby-Gate, Now Baby-gate 2. This was the republicans answer to replacing Hillary, guess what, It aint gonna work! The republicans are done, this is our last chance to get those Big Biz cuddling creeps out of the white house and get our economy, our political afairs, and and our senses back in order.

It would be even worse if John Edwards was the father...

Trig was born April 18th, not in May...

I for one won't vote for McCain until Cindy is drug tested. That caste that changes collers freaks me out. I'm positive she is using it as a cover to score new prescriptions for narcotics. She lied before for three years, so don't believe her if she denies being back on the dope. But, the republicans will say this is private like the Von Dorken Palin family affiars. I just can't imagine a junkie as first lady. Could she even pass a security clearance? The good people of America should demand she be drug tested.

There is a lot of nastiness on this blog, and from both sides. We have liberals with no tolerance and Republicans who are very unchristian. Is it just this web site or is America full of mean spirited people.

I agree with both Obama and McCain on this one. Lay off the kid! She has enough on her plate without having to deal with the prying of unethical media members and the venomous comments of malicious morons, like some of you folks.

It's really sad to see how Sen. McCain has no concern for anyone, here we have a baby that's going to need to go back and forth to doctors for his medical condition, and McCain has taking his mother from him. He hasn't even considered Governor Palin is still in her post-pardon stage. This could be the reason for the decisions she’s made for her daughter. But most of all what does it say about a mother with a four month old Down syndrome baby and a 17 year old daughter who's pregnant would choose to run for Vice President of the United States leaving a working father with such major responsibility while she's running around the country to become a VP.
My vote is for Obama! Post by Debbie Taylor

Obama was much more intelligent than the people who have commented of this forum, leave children out of the public spotlight! Shame on anyone who mentions Obama's childhood in Indonesia, or his estranged father... right?

The bottom line is that Gov. Palin's daughter's choice to be a mother rather is insignificant, much like Obama's self proclaimed stint using drugs many years ago. Stick to the issues!!!!!

Sex is fun! Republicans are too repressed! They're all doing it - they're just hiding it! Too bad for them 80(

I'm glad the abstinance that they preach works so well. Clearly, they have all the answers. Hey, wait a minute! They're just trying to make more Republicans!

Too bad for the daughter. She has a bad name (Bristol), the father (Levi) has a bad name. She has to babysit for her infant brother for the next 60+ days. And she lives in Alaska.

Certainly a fertile family, contributing mightily to the meager population of Alaska...

To those who say that a 17 year old getting pregnant isn't unusual: well, it's certainly not the norm. If it were, the Gloucester "pregnancy pact" story wouldn't have been a big deal either. Bristol Palin's pregnancy is a significant story because it smacks of irony at best, hypocrisy at worst regarding a significant political force in this country--the Christian right. Like it or not, by virtue of her mother being in the spotlight, so is she. And being a minor, she's still a dependent and therefore a reflection of her parents. A high school pregnancy speaks volumes about upbringing. Today, there is no excuse to have a pregnancy while in high school.

The age of consent in Alaska is 16. There was no statutory rape.

BTW-- that's also the law here in MA .. everyone assumes it's 18. It isn't.

People of America - The Democrat's will be in the White House - Like it or not -

This situation belongs to the Palin family to work out as they see fit.
When Mothering of children is not respected women feel the need to do more "important" things. No one believes being "just" a mom is good enough. Being a "GREAT" Mom requires more time and attention than most are willing to give. It means putting your children's needs (not wants)before yourself and being available to them whether there new-borns or 17 year olds. I have always believed being a Mother is the most IMPORTANT JOB a woman could have but it must be done correctly. All This Will Pass.

Since most of you are probably Massachusetts liberals, what you think about this is unimportant. You are not the McCain/Palin campaign's target audience.

whatever!!

Is Palin's daughter the choice for VP?

This is a family issue. I also think that events in Obama's family should not be considered as criteria for voting.

What does this say about John McCain's judgment? What does this choice of VP say about his view of women? Ask Cindy McCain whose hubby called her the c-word (yeah the really bad one) and said "you put your makeup on with a trowel" on his campaign bus in front of journalists.

John McCain is a misogynist. Unfortunately some women are too but Hilary voters were supporters of Hilary, a very qualified and substantial woman, not just a random uterus. McCain's choice of VP is an insult to women, even more so than Dan Quayle was - at least he was a senator and had more years of experience. John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin demonstrates poor judgement. He didn't even know who she was before she was selected. She was selected for him by his staff of lobbyists. Rush Limbaugh has been pushing for this woman - read OIL. Educate yourselves, sheeple!

Oh and John McCain also told that awful joke about Chelsea Clinton being the child of Janet Reno and Hilary. What was that about keeping kids off limits???
"Respect their privacy" you say??? What about the Clinton family? Have you respected their privacy???

On Friday I thought Sarah Palin was the worst VP choice ever but she is the gift that keeps on giving. On to investigating her abuse of power in Troopergate.

Bristol Palin should get an abortion.......icing on the cake!!!

obviously she is too far along, but how ridiculous would that be?

This whole story is irrelevant.

With only 20 months' executive experience as the governor of a state with a relatively small population and budget, and no national or international experience, Sarah Palin is not qualified to be president. Therefore, she's not qualified to be vice president.

Though I had been leaning toward McCain, his choice for VP is making me rethink his ability as a decision-maker and suitabilty as president. But I don't think Obama has the requisite experience (yet) to be president.

Bush was a huge disappointment. Unfortuunately, his successor might turn out to be one too!

Great insight into why McCain picked Palin even when he knew her daughter was pregnant:

peoplepoliticsandpablum.blogspot.com/

She should simply have aborted the baby and avoided all of this silly mess. I mean that would be better right?

Tis all good, Hollywood just bought the movie rights. Juno II, in theaters 2009. Cha-ching, $1M into election kitty. GOP fundraising takes lead by a belly....

I am a a card-carrying Democrat who leans so far to the left that even my liberal in-laws call me a commie. I also have a 17-year-old daughter who is applying to (and has the grades to get into) Boston College and Bowdoin. She is also NOT pregnant. Guess we liberal folks know a thing or two about raising our children after all.
Posted by Emma September 1, 08 01:21 PM

To Emma: You elitist pompous snob!! You are the reason why people mock us Democrats. I have forwarded your note and email address (yes, I know how to get that) to my professional contacts at both admissions offices at BC and Bowdoin. I will ensure that your daughter does not get admitted to either school. THAT is a promise!!

If this changes the way you choose to vote, please don't vote...

Thanks.

To Marie: If Obama's daughter was pregnant yes. (Of course she is only 10) :-))

IMO, the scandal is not that she is pregnant, its that her mother is supportive of her getting engaged at 17!!!! The pregnancy is not Sarah Palin's decision. The advocacy of the marriage is. Of course she has no problem with her 17 year old daughters getting married, but she wold be dead against it if she was a Lesbian.

Oh I love the hypocrisy of the the Religious Right

It was not necessary for Palin to disclose her daughter’s condition or personal business in order to quell the internet rumors about Trig - a birth certificate could have done that without violating her daughter’s privacy. Obviously, she is allowing her daughter to be used for political purposes, which is reprehensible

This doesn't change my opinion one bit. Don't paint with such a broad brush Dems. Your boy Obama was conceived when his Mom was only 17. Love how the liberal media puts this right on the front page as if it is bigger than what is going on in the Gulf Coast. I have come to expect no less from the Globe.

A woman who would put her children through this circus for her own gain is immoral,both her girls need her and she will be off raising funds for the Republican Party instead of just raising her children

who cares, your all dumb and ignorant, im not voting for him but regardless would this have any difference on how the country was ran.

Emma, please ignore the abuse being heaped on you by jealous right wingers (even the ones posing as Democrats). I think your reply to Matt Damon demonstrates your grace and wit. You go girl.

Don't forget, we were not supposed to care that Bill was not quite
having sex with" that woman" in the White House with his teenage
daughter "in the house." Was that episode a distraction for our leader at
the time? How could he manage the country and deal with that family
issue. How could he make those decisions(and lies) and be expected
to use good leadership? We were told by the left that it was way
overblown and we should mind our own buisness. If you have children
and they stray from your teachings, as they all do, no one beats you up
more than yourself. You moonbats have shown your true colors this election
season....practicing both sexism and racism on your own candidates!
I love this pick, Sara Palin, for she stands for the three founding elements
of this great country: God, Children and Guns!

Hey,
Funny how this and other liberal news outlets stayed miles away from the John Edwards 'love child' story. But when it involves a conservative, it is front page "news". Hey ,and this is a story regarding the candidate's family, and not the candidate.
I will say, the one liberal who showed the most class is Obama the Messiah.
He said today that , I paraphrase, 'family is off limits, after all my mother had me when she was 18'. He showed more class than the lamestream media on this one.
I love when the left denounces what they have a patent on, a good olde fashioned 'sex scandal' .

If she was so "Upfront and Honest", why didn't she tell everyone in that original speech when we all heard the yada yada about her Down's kid, her son volunteer to die in Iraq on 9/11 (how quaint)? Her snowblowing hubbie, the "First Dude" (gag me with a spoon)?
When stuff like this gets admitted under duress it's never a good thing. It shows deception.
Did she not think it would get out?
Welcome to the Big Boys' Game, Baby!

The more I hear and read about Sarah Palin, the more I like her!!!! As is clearly obvious from the tones of this blog, the demmies are in full-panic mode because of her!!

A BRILLIANT pick my the McCain campaign!!!!

Two months from now we'll be reading whines from the demmies about "stolen elections" :^) It was funny when they used the ol' "stolen election" card in 2000. It was hilarious when the whipped out the "stolen election" card once again in 2004. But quite frankly, it will be pathetic if the demmies attempt to use the "stolen election" card again in 2008.

Hey demmies, it's almost time to start printing up your 01/20/13 bumper stickers and applying them to your Prius's ;^) LOL!!!

I'm waiting to see what band will play at the Palin girls wedding. Will it be the same one that played at one of the RNC "Family Values" lobbyist parties? What was the name of that band?......Oh yea, "Hookers and Blow". Party on dudes!

Jebus! You ALL need to get a grip! Both sides! Liberals - this is exactly the kind of nonsense that the majority of voters are fed up with. Drop the fake outrage over this non-issue and stay focused on what is REALLY important. Conservatives - enough with the fake outrage of your own - what you're hearing now is simply payback for the exact same smear tactics carried out and perfected by the GOP since '94. Don't dish it out if you can't take it.

And BOTH of you, cut the cr@p and let's have a serious election for once!

A correction to #11:

Mother at 17, Grandmother at 34, NOT 44!!!!!!!

Is this the second time she is pregant? Is Trig her first child?
Nobody knew Sra Palin was pregant until the day before the birth of "HER 5TH CHILD", How could that be explained????

What a messy family!!!

This is not news. Good for all of you liberals posters who say it is the same as Cheney's daughter being a Lesbian.

HOWEVER, what IS news, is the fact that the Dems picked a VP running mate for Obama who will serve the same purpose that Cheney has. Four more years of the Bush admin is right on the nose! We will once again have a VP running the country.

An old bomber adage that McCain understands. "You know you are over the target if you are getting flak"..The dems know she will kill them electorally. They are throwing everything in the sky at her. Keep shooting......she can take it.

BTW: I have never heard any print or MSM reporter ask Obama if he has enough experience for the job. Why?......(que the crickets)

Big shocker...abstinence only education doesn't work.

Well, again, you totally missed my point there (which was pretty much tongue in cheek, by the way), Connected, but okay. I'm an elitist pompous snob.

If thinking it's important for parents to pay attention to their children makes me elitist, cool. If thinking the people who put so much lip service into morality and values and raising children the right way should actually DO SOMETHING other than give lip-service makes me elitist, cool. What are YOU doing? Other than threatening me here, I mean?

Good LORD. Talk about over-reaction. I don't see why you feel the need to threaten me with your professional contacts because you disagree with my political leanings.

Apparently this is some way to dodge the fact that her daughter already had a baby..it was claimed as Sarah Palins fifth daughter, but anyone with a brain knows that is B.S. My guess is that this is a nice way to bow out and say that this is too much for her family..and I can't say I blame her cause I'm sure it is. She'll be out by Thusday.

The hatred, ignorance, and depravity of Obama liberals, as evinced by most of the comments here, is beyond bounds. I feel truly sorry for you people, you must be miserable. Thank God McCain/Palin, i.e., POW/WOW, will triumph in November.

It's a shame that the whole world has to know that 17 yr old Bristol Palin is 5 mos pregnant but I guess you can blame her mother & McCain for that. Sarah Palin is in favor of schools teaching creationism but opposed to schools teaching sex education and safe sex. Evidently, she is opposed to teaching the same at home. Will the Republican National Committee send out wedding announcements as to when the NRA shotgun wedding will take place?

My friends.....this will be the shortest VP nomination on record. She has not been vetted. Palin lying about her and her daughters pregnancy is pretty minor. The real problem for McCain/Palin (besides her lack of experience), is that she has a closet full of skeletons that McCains brain trust never even bothered to investigate.

McCain will get a nice GOP convention week bounce, right into history, along with Bush/Cheney. Palin will withdraw her nomination by Friday, and McCain will fumble around pretending that he has half a clue, while the GOP sycophants will say: "You see, he's a Maverick! That's GOP leadership! POW!"

To #193 and #197..of course I do not belive that all teens who receive decent sex education (which, includes a strong abstinence message) will not get pregnant! I gave up on that hope years ago when I got started :) What I do believe is that if we took a look at the percent of teens who get pregnant in Europe vs the USA, the biggest difference is in the amount of quality sex ed they receive. That's my point..people are still going to get pregnant, get HIV, smoke cigarrettes, drive drunk in this world of ours and unfortunately, NO amount of education will stop it entirely. I am not that naive to believe that education cures all evils, lol.

If you are interested in our teen pregnancy issue, check out www.advocatesforyouth.org and read the info on America's teen pregnancy issue. Over and out on this one...gotta go teach those wild teenagers tomorrow!

this woman claims to be just a typical hockey mom? what kind of mom goes back to work 3 days after her baby is born with down syndrome? and what kind of mom raises a daughter to be a mom at 17? i understand mistakes happen, but palin should not be marketing herself as a "hockey mom". she sounds like a bad mom to me...

Heidi,

It shows nothing of the sort. "Oh, by the way, my 17 year old is pregnant." When did perfection become a qualification for political office? John Edwards, having an affair and a love child in preparation to his of his wife's death. BIll Clinton. I want to know where Obama's mom was during the convention? Now, that's a guy that I can really respect. She was a single mom who raised him (unwed at 17). I wonder shy she didn't attend? Gag me with a spoon. Loved the pin, too.

Big Boys' Game. How sad. When do smart women get to play? Start supporting this woman, not your politics. Even if you don't agree with her, She deserves better treatment. Instead of being the gossipy neighbors, be kinder.

if this girl was non white / illegal alien this would not be an issue and al & jesse be all up in it !!!!!!

bottom line: this will change no one's vote. liberals are socialists. bill got oral on the oval office floor. jfk banged marilyn. whocares? i care that obama is another jimmy carter. but with less experience. btw, i could givashit that jfk's daughter had half her brain out either. your mom.

For all of you who ask "How is Obama's mother having Barack at 18 with no father around any different than this?"

Obama's grandma wasn't running for vice-president.

Dear Emma: Move to Cuba, if youre in love with that system. And maybe Bill can share his cigar with you on the floor.

I bet you never worked a day in your life, you elitist pompous a**.

I'm sure this has been mentioned, but ....what "executive" experience does McCain have? Apparently, according to Palin, since she has executive experience she is more qualified to be president than Obama! But if this is the logic, then she has more experience and should be president over McCain!

Wow... good thing no MALE politician ever had a teenage daughter get pregnant, or enter politics with young children at home...
That being said, it's obvious the GOP is playing some kind of game here. Regardless as to if this is relevant, it doesn't matter. If people are talking and it swings votes toward Obama, I'm delighted their game is backfiring.
Lastly, how convenient is it for the Conservatives throwing out the 'Christian Values' card to praise the CHOICE of the girl to keep her baby; where were the Christian Values when she was having sex?

Hey, cal it a day and go home

Who cares...

who cares if she's pregnant? She's going to have to take care of her baby, not the rest of the country. I just hope her mom isn't forcing her into getting married because "it's the right thing to do" and not something she isn't ready for.

I believe Obama's mother is no longer alive.

The majority of the comments on this message board display the tolerance and understanding of Liberal Democrats - that is to say, they are an intolerant herd of hateful holier-than-thou jerks.

This pregnancy is a private matter which has no bearing on Mrs. Palin's vice-presidential run.

Jeff- What executive experience did Lincoln have? Or your Mom?

I think she needs to spend more time with her family, not less. It doesn't give me a lot of faith in her ability to prioritize.

Did anyone stop to think that McCain knew about this before he made his VP selection. Well for those of you who had your heads up your butt.....he did and he still selected Palin. I wanted McCain for President 8 yrs ago. Another thing where due think Obama is going to get all this money to fund all his great ideas (edu., Health care, etc.) HIGHER TAXES!!!!! His ideas sound great and are great on PAPER exactly where they should stay.

I feel badly for Bristol Palin. Given her mother's "positions" we will never know if she truly wanted to have the baby and get married. It is not an option for this woman. My sincerest hope is that come January 2009 it remains an option for every other woman in this country who finds herself in a similar situation. Having beliefs and sticking with them is a great freedom. All I ask is that you just allow me to have my own beliefs.

Auntie Sam: How many abortions have you had?

If you care to judge the character of Mrs. Palin, do so based on how she deals with this issue. From the quote released by the family (below), I would say she is doing what any loving parent would do.

“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.”

Obama and Hillary all paid homage to the Daily Kos at the DNC. That's the liberal blog that "broke the story" on a 17 yr old's pregnancy. Funny how the Daily Kos had zippo mention of John Edward's affair and love child (while his wife was undergoing chemo). Nor of Obama's 20-year close friendship with Goddamn Amerikkka Rev. Wright.

You liberal Bostonians are a laugh riot !!! Then again, you sucked up to Teddy "I have no regrets about killing that MaryJo woman" Kennedy.

I feel sorry for you.

I think she's hot!

Why do those who so adamantly want to control MY life have such difficulty controlling their own?

Obama/Biden 08

I agree that this is a private family matter and Bristol is fortunate to be the daughter of a white upper middle class family who can support her and her decision to keep the child.

What if Bristol was a poor black girl living in the inner city with no family support and she decided to keep the baby but required federal assistance to do so?

How understanding would you all be in that scenario?

The issue of teen pregnancy is one in the same. How do we, as a nation, diminish teen pregnancies? Where does Gov. Palin stand on the issue of teen pregnancy? Where does Gov. Palin stand on the issue of sex education in schools? Where does Gov. Palin stand on the issue of a woman's right to choose? Where does Gov. Palin stand on the Federal Government's support of teenage mothers? Where does Gov. Palin stand on STDs?

These are important issues that DO have an impact on the election.

Here's hoping that Bristol and her boyfriend enjoy a life filled with joy & happiness with their baby and their upcoming marriage (whenever that may be) and here's hoping that Americans elect a President who will educate our young people on sex, brith control and abstinence so that they can support children when they choose to have them.

On Nov 4, I'm voting for the white guy with the black father.

I am a a card-carrying Democrat who leans so far to the left that even my liberal in-laws call me a commie. I also have a 17-year-old daughter who is applying to (and has the grades to get into) Boston College and Bowdoin. She is also NOT pregnant. Guess we liberal folks know a thing or two about raising our children after all.
Posted by Emma September 1, 08 01:21 PM

Emma - YOU LIBERAL POMPOUS SNOB!!! I pray every night that your precious daughter gets pregnant the 1st semester she's at BC or Bowdoin. EVERYONE will be looking for her....guaranteed!!!

Frantavia: The republicans are playing a game? The kid is pregnant. Freaking dork. Thats it. The problem with arguing with liberals is they never make an freaking sense anyway. maybe if our gov't gave out FREE condoms and FREE birth control pills, and FREE abortions, which the taxpayers paid for, you would be happy. A**wipe.

Yea I agree, McCain should just push her down the stairs.

Hey Maryjo .. I know this will come as a surprise for you, but Edwards is not running for Pres or VP. Nor is Wright. Nor is Ted, nor is Cheney, nor is Romney.

Point being ... keep to the facts. This woman and her family are a bunch of hypocritical politicians who will leverage their family for office.

If that's what you want to lead the country ... then I might suggest that you leave this country and move to Cuba or Saudi Arabia where you conservatives really have power.

What pretentious, made-up name will this baby be given? Swimmer?
Trailer? Thumper? Maverick? Bridge?

Alaska trash in The White House.......just when we were getting rid of Texas trash.

First things first. This is the US where sex is on every major television station almost 24x7. That said it is not too hard too understand why the US has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in the entire developed world. Free Speech provides for all views--sex included.

Note: The haters on this blog, most of them purported to be our sound like they are affiliated with a liberal philosophy on the Pro Choice, have nothing productive to say other than to cast stones at a traditional US family and put a party before the republic. Shame on you and your pitiful autocratic beliefs. You should all be so enlightened and all powerful. Maybe that is why you all are supporting the next messiah.

A 17 year-old who didn't know enough to use contraceptives is clearly not capable of making a life decision such as marrying someone. Raising a child at 17 will be trying enough. She should not be pushed into marriage to save a political career and appease evangelicals. Everyone knows how badly and unfairly Bush's daughters were treated by the media. Her mother's decision to place her into this situation shows poor judgement and poor character, not the opposite.

September 1st, 2008 9:70 pmI had decided to vote for Mr. McCain 8 months ago. When he announced Ms. Palin as his choice for VP running mate, my confidence in that decision was severely shaken given Ms. Palin's lack of substantive experience, and some of her rabid personal views. Also, troubling matters such as during her campaign for governor in 2006 she was, in direct contradiction to her first speech with McCain in Ohio, in FAVOR of the bridge to nowhere and then after being elected pulled the funding for it.

Not to mention the tremendous challenge as a parent that she faces raising a DS baby.

Today's announcement that Ms. Palin's unwed, 17 year old daughter is five months pregnant makes it clear to me that Ms. Palin needs to be giving solely to her family ALL her attention for the next four or five years. The choice of Ms. Palin as Mr. McCain's running mate was one of the biggest mistakes that the Republicans could have made.

As long as Ms. Palin is the candidate for Vice President of the United States, a position that is just a heartbeat away from the Presidency, I cannot in good faith vote for Mr. McCain. If Ms. Palin truly wants the Republicans to have a chance to win this year, and is not just in this for her own glory, she will withdraw gracefully her candidacy and allow the Republicans to name someone who is both better qualified and not so mired in challenging personal situations.
— Max, northern New Jersey

I'm a Democrat - but I say leave this poor girl alone. Imagine what is going through her mind while all of these photographers were taking her picture holding a small child - and her Mom is talking about "family values" etc. Does anyone really think she wants to get married at 17? NO! This poor girl has to have a baby that she really doesn't want yet, can't emotionally handle, and marry some teenage boy. As a result of her mother's politics, this poor girl has to go along to appease the religious right rather than make a decision that she might not make if politics were not involved.

I feel sorry for this poor girl. She must be scared beyond imagination.

Lets really focus on the candidates. Although VP candidates are really a low factor in having me vote for one candidate over another, palin is a poor choice. McCain is 72 - he is down right old - with health issues no less and to have someone that is so close to taking over while being a complete novice at politics really makes me question McCains judgement. Did he really think that a ultra conservative, anti-choice, zero real management or political experience candidate, is somehow going to win over Hillary voters because Palin is also a woman? Come on.......if there are women out there that supported Hillary and are now going to support McCain because of a female VP choice, then they are as dumb as people voting for Obama because he is black.

Look - vote for the guy that makes sound judgements. Vote for the guy who matches your values and who can really do more for this country. Don't vote for a person because of their gender or race - its irrelevant. Vote for the candidate.

SHAME on Sarah Palin!

She's now involving her daughter in a second lie to cover up the first.
She's making her daughter pretend to be pregnant to hide the fact that her
daughter's real baby was presented to the world as Sarah's. Disgraceful!

And don't believe for a moment that her daughter is pregnant- you watch,
in a month or two there will be a tragic miscarriage, and *poof* baby
gone.

despicable.

Oh, I get It ,all you liberal moonbats who champion womens' rights , the right for a woman to choose, you support it as long as a teenage girl picks abortion but not carry the baby. I guess championing women in the world only extends to liberal women , what a bunch of hippocrits.

PS: keep it up , your candidate is going to lose, even though he did the classy thing today just shows you that he is a decent man ( totally unqualified for the job, but a decent man!)

This story does matter, in that it should be reported. It shows Palin's character as a parent. If she can't even manage her own family, how will she manage an entire nation of people.

I think it's appalling that Ms. Palin is using her children as grounds for her vice presidency in any manner...what are we supposed to look at her 17 year old daughter who won't get an abortion for fear of losing a mother and think wow if she makes this choice to have sex and keep a baby then every other unmarried teenager should do the same???

Wow, such vitriol. I thought Massachusetts was a classier place. This blog is starting to sound an awful lot like the Jerry Springer show. Very angry and trashy.

We have so many important issues to think about. What is best for our country. Who best to lead us out of Iraq, but still protect us from harm. Who will make sure that children and the elderly are taken care of; they always seem to fall through the cracks. Who will protect social security and make sure that everyone can afford healthcare. Who will get our economy going again and help bring more jobs to our shores. Who will protect our earth. I will tell you who. Us. We have to start paying attention. Not just on this national platform, but locally. In our cities and towns. We need to hold all of our elected officials accountable. All of them.

And who is moderating this blog? Anyone? My goodness, there are real threats being made here against the poster named Emma.

We need to be the United States of America. Hell, we can't even be the polite and respectful. What hope is there for us?

I'm a democrat and even I find it appalling that this is even an issue. This is family business and should not be political fodder. If anything at all, this makes Sarah more human, relatable and in touch with middle American concerns than anything else. Stick to to the issues. Leave family business to the family.

Only proves that this woman is human, and has had the stresses many mothers of today have. Good for her for encouraging her daughter to keep the baby! Setting a good example for the pro-life movement (it IS a child, NOT a choice!) is always a good idea, too. Truly, it's no one's business but the two consenting adults. They make a choice. Suck up the truth - it happens to children of both liberals and conservatives alike. Democrats and Republicans. Rich and poor. Who are we to judge? You know what is said about casting the first stone, don't you?

Isn't there a lid somewhere to put on this topic?
It's one day old and it's already tired.

As far as people using "pen names" which cloak their identity:
Be careful because EVERYTHING you type or do with the internet
can be traced to you, thanks to new laws established by the current administration regarding privacy. Be very careful whom you threaten on blogs such as this.

The thing that surprises me (which probably shouldn't) is all the
cocky strutting and personal attacks by people like "Connected" with his (or her)
ridiculous threats to deny college admission to a contributor because of her views.

To "Connected": Don't be surprised to hear your door bell ring one night
because of something you've typed here. Such cowardice can only thrive in the ghetto that is the internet. Now get back to your porno, you naughty republican.

It is not the fact that her daughter got pregnant at 17 that is problematic. What is problematic is that those same Evangelical folks who are now supporting Palin, because "no Christian is perfect" would be the first ones to condemn black girls who get pregnant at that same age. These people are hypocritical and bigoted human beings. They should just secede from the US.

I feel so bad for the kid after seeing her pics from the last few days. She looks completely terrified. Tough thing to go through to begin with, but to go through it now that your Mom has thrust you into the public spotlight (thanks MOM!), and without your Mom being around to support you is unimaginable to me.

It really makes me wonder even more why Ms Palin wouldn't have just said to Mr. Mccain, you know, I'm very young and have only been in office less than 2 years. I have more to do for my state, more to learn about national politics and plenty of time to move my career forward later when my disabled 4 mo old son is a little older and after my pregnant daughter is out of her teens. For now, my family needs me.

Sad story.

I would like to get a Right-Wing Conservative response to one of the side issues regarding this pregnancy. Yes, teenagers do have sex. It's a challenge for the family unit that will never disappear.

My question is in regarding all of those teenage men . . . 18 year old, 19 year old, even 20 year old men who have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for having sex with their 17 year old girlfriends. In most states--maybe all of them--this is statutory rape, and a pregnant 17 year old is more than enough for conviction. There is almost always jail time, and (worse) registration as a "sex offender" for this "heinous crime." And never is a promise to marry the so-called "victim" a way to avoid either sanction.

It's usually the conservative republican prosecutors who are delighted to put these boyfriends in jail and register them as sex offenders. In the interest of fairness, I'm sure there are some "liberal democrat" prosecutors who have as well. In any event, what happens here? Is the boyfriend of the Republican VP-select's daughters off-limits to this kind of prosecution because of his girlfriend's connections?

It's unfortunate that a 17-year-old girl is pregnant. She's only a child. Her parents should not be blamed for this pregnancy; but they should be faulted if they agree to the 'marriage' of two children (presumably the father is also a child).

I question the family values of Sarah Palin -- it is true that she went back to work 3 days after delivering a baby? If she is touting family values, then she shouldn't put her family through this political scene. Having a downs syndrome child demands a lot more time than she can possibly give if she has a full time job.

She has chosen her occupation above her infant baby - over her pregnant daughter - and over the other members of her family, by putting every one of them in the national spotlight. She is obviously putting the importance of pursuing her political career ahead of all.

All she had to do was say 'no - not at this time' to the offer of the Vice Presidency.

Loved McCain's guts for picking Palin as she truly is a great addition to the republican race and equally as qualified as Obama. However, I lived in the inner democratic circle in the 80's when the Clinton's and all their moonshine buddies showed up and ruined DC forever.

Palin needs to bring her troupe in line, otherwise, her daughter will be turn out to be a Democrat and possibly run with Hilary in 4 years.

C'mon liberals in this blog, quit being so self serving and try and get it where this country is going. Give the girl some respect and distance and don't tear her up in your quest to turn Obama into a demonic, homogenized candidate vs. the great visionary and President he could be.

Loved McCain's guts for picking Palin as she truly is a great addition to the republican race and equally as qualified as Obama. However, I lived in the inner democratic circle in the 80's when the Clinton's and all their moonshine buddies showed up and ruined DC forever.

Palin needs to bring her troupe in line, otherwise, her daughter will be turn out to be a Democrat and possibly run with Hilary in 4 years.

C'mon liberals in this blog, quit being so self serving and try and get it where this country is going. Give the girl some respect and distance and don't tear her up in your quest to turn Obama into a demonic, homogenized candidate vs. the great visionary and President he could be.

this isn't about the girl ... it's about the proposed future VP. Who will be caring for her infant with DS? A nanny? a nurse? how much time can she really devote to this model family that she has built? Who will be there to support her daughter? will she hire her daughter a nanny? maybe two?

Family values should not just mean that you have the kids ... it should mean that you actually raise them as well.

This story is relevent. SHE allowed her family to be brought into the spot light from day one.

All great societies are based on unwed single teenage mothers and shot-gun weddings. I'm thankful Grandma Palin finally got her first US passport - now she can travel outside the US if she becomes the next V.P. Unbelievable.

Is Palin the name of chain saw? I've heard that someplace before - but I just can't remember where.

If McCain keeps tick'ng, he'll need to worry about Bob Barr for the silver. Even Dick Cheney would have been better than Palin.

Lots of classy liberals here....

You all should be proud.

It's really too ridiculous...bad choice of v.p. running mate regardless of whether or not her 17 year old daughter is pregnant...mccain is never going to win.

Does any of it matter?

As ridiculous as this McCain/Palin ticket is, can any of us forget who is actually in the White House today? Is McCain/Palin less believable than Bush/Cheney? Face it. If there are enough morons in this country to vote for Bush - TWICE!, there are plenty of idiots to vote for this ticket. It is a joke. No wonder Adams, Jefferson et al were worried about sharing the vote.

If you voted for Bush, you are retarded. And thank you for the state of this country. Keep it going, you creeps. At least your vote won't count in Massachusetts.

hee hee hee hee... this is better than the soaps.
- Highly moral family values floggers have horny badly behaved children too.
- McCain had to go to ALASKA and get a nobody, to find a running mate with no baggage.
- Do we REALLY want this woman a heartbeat away from the oval office?
- if OBAMA/BIDEN aren't experienced enough to be in charge what does that say about BUSH AND CO?
- I give that child's marriage 18 months - then a d.i.v.o.r.c.e.

McCain thought that a good looking, next-door "baby machine" would wash the stink he carries. He is doomed whoever he chooses because he is 90% of the current stinker.

I guess Mama Governor was busy firing the guy who did not want to fire the man who divorced her sister. That's why she had no time to teach her daughter the Christian morals that got her into the office.

I am sure supporters will say, well at least the 17 year old is marrying the guy who got her pregnant. Or as the truth may be, they will force him to marry her...

Either McCain is lying that he knew about the pregnancy, or he was an intense idiot for picking her. So much for putting country first.

Bristol? Isn't that a town in Connecticut? What kind of parents would give a name like that to a girl? Must be elitists.

Wait, I'm confused.... Could you enlightened people help me here?

Palin's *daughter* makes a mistake and gets pregnant, and Palin is no longer qualified to be Vice President.

Barack Obama admits to using cocaine and marijuana, and is still perfectly qualified to be President.

I just don't see how you manage to condemn one and praise the other.... Well?

OK Time out Liberals...no more snide remarks about Bristol and mother, if they agree not to rub their "morality" in our collective faces anymore nd stop trying to repeal Roe v. Wade.

Reading these postings has left me ashamed to be a Democrat. Palin's daughter made a fairly common mistake --- a mistake that teenagers from all backgrounds and political affiliations make.

BRING IT ON!!!! So hypocritical. And this lady is trying to enforce 'family values' on us? No thanks!!! GO OBAMA!!!

I wonder if she went to Gloucester High?

Your (poster @ 9:07pm)-As opposed to what? Paying for the healthcare, education, food, and basic living essentials of an unwanted child for at least 18 years until the cycle repeats itself again?

FREE condoms, and FREE birth control at the tax payers expense is a NO-BRAINER!!!!

What happened to the evangelical Christian creed of abstinence only to prevent teen pregnancy. What a role model this Palin family is for the country!
Am I my brother's keeper - no. However, am I perhaps the keeper of my underage daughter? If this were a democrat to have had a pregnant teen daughter, you know the repubs would have jumped all over this and not have taken the high road like Obama did today. Republicans are such hypocrites.

To # 347
Every person in Alaska receives $2200 per year.
Family of 10 = $22,000. That's a lot of money to those folks way up there!

To # 353
I heard that Cindy McCain is really Tammy Faye under all that makeup.

To # 398
McCain/Palin or Obama/Biden, your taxes are going UP!!!!
Who do you think is going to pay for this war and all the other incidentials? The Iraqis and their $80 billon plus profits as promised to us by Bush?

The bottom line is... McCain has a hair trigger temper, not someone I want seated with the power to use "red phone", or making any other major decision. If we think Bush has cost this country it respect in the world, we ain't seen nothin' if McCain is elected. He has unresolved anger issues dating back to his captive days in Hanoi,
he wants no one to tell him what to do, when to do it or how to do it ever again, and he'd love the chance to demonstrate that to the world.

God help us all if he's elected!

Has anyone noticed that when McCain and Palin appear together it sometimes feels like she is the Presidential candidate and he's the VP? By the way, I guess Bishop Palin took her mother's "hockey mom" speeches to heart. Levi Johnston?

Let's get more respectful out here and stop the name calling, please. This is a serious issue because it goes directly to Senator McCain's judgement. It is clear Governor Palin was not vetted. Senator McCain chose her because he needed the support of the right wing of the party and wanted to get women. However, women and uneducated blue collar voters are not ignorant or stupid and it strains all credibility that Senator McCain is trying to make us believe Governor Palin was the most qualified choice for VP he could make.

Now that this choice has been made, and negative issues are beginning to come out about Governor Palin, the party, strategists, and pundits are trying desperately to convince us that this is a private matter and anyone commenting on it is sexiest. But this is not a game, and Senator McCain doesn't seem to mind playing Russian roulette with the citizens of the US. We are living in dangerous times with a faltering economy, several wars, Senator McCain's age and health. Please don't tell me I am being sexiest because I am a women and Senator McCain could have chosen Kay Bailey Hutcherson, Olympia Snow or Susan Collins they all are certainly qualified.

All you Obama die-hards should take note of what your "leader" said - "People's families are off-limits". Get over it!

some of you guys have way too much time on your hands to be so critical of other peoples lives besides your own. way to judge someone. you may not have the same views but don't point your fingers because you've made some mistakes in your life too. clearly no one is perfect, and this shows in this presidential election. so stop being so judgemental of people especially people in the light, when they mess up because it's going to happen, and im sure situations like this or other situations have happened to you or have occured in your life before. Palin's daughter has nothing to do with what will happen with this election, so people should just let them be. but no one knows how to do that now a days because we have way to much time to sit here and talk crap about people online. leave people alone!!!

Yes, this wounds any credibility Gov. Palin might make about abstinence-only sex education. It also puts another dent into the Religious Right's argument that they've got all the social answers.

However, teen pregnancy isn't the central issue to this campaign.

This campaign is about rebuilding the American economy, infrastructure, health-care system and credibility in the world. That won't happen just leaving everything unregulated and to be "decided by the Market".

If people vote Obama/Biden in November it will be for their political arguments; not because of some naive kid in Alaska embarrassed her VP-nominee Mom.

If it really is "Country First", then "Yes We Can".

I'd like to know what the big deal is?
She's pregnant at 17. So was Jamie Lynn Spears, no one seemed to care about that...
Granted, the GOP talks about morality or what have you, but this makes me almost want to vote for Palin, if nothing else. She's talking about real issues.
Her being pro-life has nothing to do with her daughter. I love that you guys wouldn't WAIT to pounce on this.

Go ahead, tell me you never heard of a preggo 17 year old before.
And what does that have to do with how McCain OR Palin will run this country?

I'm waiting....

I am a liberal from Maryland. I intend to vote for Senator Obama. I have three grown daughters. This entire story should dry up - the immediate families of the candidates ought not to be the storyline of this campaign. We have two decent and honorable presidential candidates who differ on issues of great importance. They would take the nation in two different directions - we should choose between those directions in November. I do believe that Governor Palin's qualifications are an issue - in terms of education and experience. Those items are worthy topics for debate. Internal family matters are not.

Levi...... you are not the father!
Maury Povich

This is not a big deal.
And for whomever said you liberals raise your kids right, you have GOT to be kdding me.
Kids get preggo because we as a LIBERAL society has made the sex life sooooo acceptable.

It's not the conservatives. Believe me, I am NOT a conservative. If anything, Im liberatarian or independent.

But to say that because you are liberal you raised your kids to not get pregnant is an assinine comment.

Doesn't matter who McCain has or what the family values are of his running mate. At the end of the day McCain gets my vote no matter what. His victory preserves the checks and balances between the three branches. I am scared to think what will happen with Hussein Nobama, Bella Pelosi, and Harry Reid in control. We think that Bush had spent a lot. Just with the democrats taking control of Congress just two short years ago, gas went up almost three bucks in that time, compared to just under two in six years for Bush. Congress controls your wallet, the president appoints judges. Good ones I hope.

It is a private issue. Should not be in the news. Does not matter. Obama's response to this was perfect. Thank you for taking the high road. You got my vote and now stronger support for your response.

I do not want a modern day, bigotted, self-righteous family coming down off of the Alaskan version of "Waltons Mountain" running the White House. Actually 'The Waltons' was only a TV show.

This is about running the United States of America. Please do not tell me that the Vice President is not an important office. Wake-up people.

I cannot believe how many Amercians are acting like this is "no big deal". When the Republicans want change they want a constitutional amendment and talk about "activist judges".

When a Republican screws up (pun intended) it's a personal choice and the states right to decide. I'm NOT judging this typical, horny 17 year old girl or her family, so I don't want her judging MY family or trying to tell MY loved ones how I should behave with MY body. Stay out of my bedroom and out of my church, and I'll stay outta your's!

Christ said, "Though shalt not judge". If we could all show each other a little respect, the World would be a much better place. Good night.

Okey dokey, let's say that all else is well with Team Palin.

A 4.5 month old child in a room with thousands of screaming people and big old piped in music--this is awful--beyond terrible to expose a baby of that age to. It's hearing damage loud for a kid that age. Truly.

And okay--I'll bite--the kid who is 4.5 months old is Sarah's--and this is not unimportant--no matter what you believe about poilitics--this is another matter of child abuse from someone who professes to love the unborn, the pre-born.

She says herself that her water broke in Texas and then she flew back --10+ hours after that to Alaska to have the kid. This is nuts. If she knew the kid--and this is assuming she knew enough to have decent pre-natal care--that the kid was a downs baby--and even if she did not that as a woman of her age--that the child was at a higher risk--that she flew home and did not check into an excellent Dallas area hospital.

This is not sensible. This is not judgement in any way shape or form--unless you hate the child who might be born to you---

Not a sound thinker. At all.

If you are a Jesian and all that stuff--a true believer and not just a knee jerk sort--what do those two things mean?? Really. I am asking.

I am a non-believer and I find those two behaviors--exposing an infant to dangerous hearing loss at a political event and to expose a pre-born to death, to severe harm--and to--by flying all that way--to expose yourself to that same harm, to possible death (and the orphaning of your kids)--I think that's reprehensible, moronic, amoral.

Bob

The Right Wing Republicans in this country would be dragging Obama or Biden through the mud right now if this was one of thier children, and to say for a second that would be otherwise would only prove your ignorance. The Christian/Conservative right live off 0f character assassinations.

This is not the end of the world these things happen...but to say that a woman married at 17 a grandmother to he 17 year old daughters child at 44 who thinks that its ok for her 17..17!!! year old daughter to get married..(all of which flies in the face of so many things she supports) and whos political life consists of being Gov of Alaska...ALASKA!!....which is just barely civilization....for only 2 years is qualified to run the country...is an absolute joke....I was on the fence this election but if this pandering choice is an example of the decisions McCain is going to make for the next 4 years...yikes...a frightening thught

Creationism in action!

All you folks so down on Palin's daughter who will give birth at age 18 ... You are aware that your hero, BHO, was born when his mother was age 18, aren't you?

Obama's mother had him at age 18. Don't see much difference between 17 and 18.

I wonder if Levi knows he's getting married yet.

No matter your opinion on teenage pregnancy either in general or when it involves a conservative Veep candidate's daughter, this is a distraction to McCain's campaign. So isn't Troopergate. You have a woman with very little political experience and a bucket load of children including a three-month old. I love children but they are time consuming. She comes from a state in which corruption is rampant. McCain is long in the tooth and has had numerous health issues. Whether he does not recognize his own mortality or does and believes Ms. Palin is a logical choice as leader of the free world if anything should happen to him is irrelevant to me. He has demonstrated an amazing lack of judgment. There is no way I would trust him with the reigns to the country.

WHO CARES! So she is pregnant? Does that mean that her mother is no fit to run a state? does not have the economic know-how to fix fiscal problems?

Honestly, she is from Alaaska, not much more to do up there besides hunt, fish , ski. Pregnant doe snot equal axe-wielding murderer. She had sex. So what.

It's wonderful that the family is supporting their daughter in this and it shouldn't really be important in this campaign, but Sarah Palin is the one who brought this front and center. Her ambition topped her family. She may very well be capable of being VP, we really don't know as she has almost no experience and there are Walmarts with more employees than Alaska has residents. If the story is correct she knew about the pregnancy for months yet is willing to put her family and daughter through intense scrutiny for the sake of her ambition. This has nothing do do with her ability, but does her judgement. Is the daughter's keeping the baby and getting married for herself or her mother's ambition? We shouldn't even be asking this as a compassionate and caring mother would her this.

Talk about an oops. The question really is:

If McCain knew what in God's name was he thinking putting Pallin on the ticket?
If McCain didn't know what were his people doing in Alaska? You'd think during vetting her: oh by the way I'm under an ethics probe and my 17 year old is expecting would be deal breakers for most campaigns.

Secondly more important I think. It says a lot about her character that she'd be willing to go for this at this time. She had to know this would become public and her daughter would be humliated. This has NOTHING to due with the morality of it. It simply the way politics works on both sides.

As a mother hurting my kids is something I try to avoid. Humliating them in the national press takes it to another level entirely.

This is in response to Annie's comment (#384) who was wondering why Senator Obama's mother didn't attend the convention. Umm, If the poster had watched the convention or perhaps done a quick google search, she would know that the Senator's mother died of ovarian cancer in 1995. So, please do some research before you cast judgement!

I've got news for you.

If elected VP, all of the Palin kids and the granddaughter will be living at the expense of the taxpayers.

So much for fiscal conservatives.

In reference to post 396/ Your comment about Lincoln is a reference that both sides should look at very very carefuly.I do not know of any president that has the prior experience to handle the hardest job on earth and that is to lead this country.Lincoln failed most of his life in jobs,but became one of our greatest presidents. Who had any experience in leading a country with a civil war.

I keep hearing about how could this woman lead a country if she did not know what was going on in her own family.How could Hilliary lead the country if she did not know what Bill was doing.

There are scandels in both parties .Because we believe in our seperate ideas those scandels are a reflection of how we can say our side is right? The media is the media and we all know scandel and bad news sells. It is up to us to put the negative aside of both parties and look at the issuies and more importantly how those issuies will be solved.

Obama and Macaine know the issuies but neither has told me how they plan to solve.Both parties have been promising for years how they are going to takr care of a problem education, jobs, lower taxes,etc. Problem is we have the same problems now that I recall hearing about 40 years ago. When the parties and the people of the parties stop calling each other names and unite to really solve a problem using a combienation of each sides ideas then we will truly have better goverment a soultions to problems

I think this is a new reality show...
America's next top president!!!!!

My God... all you "hollier than thous" thinking this is great as you can "rub the noses" of these "right wing nut jobs" in this pile of crap that happens to be a child about to be born to someone who... wait for it... WANTS a baby and will care for it!

All of you typing these great "well serves you right" comments are plastered to your PC's while your sons and daughters are out doing the same thing!

Why was McCain's pick a good one... BECAUSE SHE IS NOT IN WASHINGTON ALREADY! Obama, McCain, Biden... all in Washington and all with their heads so far up each other's backsides that NONE of them can help the average American living pay check to pay check.

I don't want a 72 year old man running the country. I don't want a Muslim senator with no experience running ANYTHING running the country.

I WANT ROSS PEROT TO RUN AND PAY OF THE DEFICIT SO I DON'T LOSE 40% OF MY PAYCHECK TO TAXES!

ps - When Ted Kenedy dies, I am chaning my name to Ted Kenedy and running for the Senate. Figure that will be good job security in MA. We vote blue, no matter what is going on or who it is... call us Lemmings, Do Do birds, whatever you like. Last one off the cliff, turn of the light so we don't have to put windmills off the Cape!

Mike, I believe we as a society should treat both kids the same. They both made decisions that will dramatically affect (being generous here), their lives. We as a society should help them to an extent (and of course their children with any support we can give them, since they had no choice in the matter) but the parents must suffer the brunt of their decisions on their own. Anything else just perpetuates the plantation system of entitlements that we have been burdened with for 40+ years.

An upper middle class family (what is upper middle class these days anyway) may only be a bit better at helping a child with a pregnancy. In a way their lives are over also.

One of the grandparents has to stay home and helps raise the kid while “mom” goes off to school. That’s if they have the luxury of being able to live off on one income. Personally I don’t know of anyone who can do that today.

Hmmm... it looks like a lot of self-righteous people here are forgetting that Obama's mother was also an unmarried teenager when she got impregnanted by a married graduate student who had just left his pregnant wife back in Kenya when he took off for Hawaii. In any case, Obama has already decided ahead of time what would happen if one of his daughters gets pregnant as a teenager - he would want them to have an abortion because in his reasoning he wouldn't want one of his daughters to be punished with a baby. Wow, that's very loving. By the way, with all the vitriolic banter against Palin, I wonder why no one seems to remember that Biden is well experienced with plagiarism... both in law school and as a politician.

BC is not in the same league as Bowdoin, one of the top schools in the nation.

Maybe she went to Gloucester High School as well....

I wonder how the ReSmuglicans will deal with it?

For all of you who have written in asking "Why is this relevant?" I will tell you why: It's because Sarah Palin home-schooled her kids, and part of the curriculum is Abstinence Only sex education. Her daughter's pregnancy demonstrates that either a) she is a lousy teacher, or b) Abstinence Only sex education is a sham, ,or c) both.
It makes people angry to have Conservative Christians tell them that they should abstain from sex while they themselves do not abstain. Then they have the nerve to tell us it's wonderful because it's "life". That is the definition of "hypocrisy".

What's not to love: smart, feisty and young. As a working mom myself, I can imagine how hard she must work and how exceptional she must be to have accomplished so much. A Gov. of Alaska with 5 kids who has an 80% approval rating? This woman can do anything!

I'm happy to vote her up the ladder and may we finally, hopefully, break that damn glass ceiling once and for all!

I wish it was Hillary being pushed through it, but I will vote Palin to get it done NOW.

The Republican Party is so pathetic it would be funny if it weren't for the fact that McCain is polling close to even with Obama.... That makes it very frightening.

Does anyone actually know whether Bristol Palin's education included sex ed. If it did, I'm not sure her mother's opposition to including it in the public school curriculum would be relevant.

Hey, I'm trying to find relevancy in this sexist non-sense that we're treating as a news story. Politics truly brings out the worst in people.

I am a very liberal democrat who wouldn't vote for McCain or Palin if I were given a winning lottery ticket. I disagree with her on virtually every issue in the campaign. However, the very idea that a 17 year old girl should be dragged through the press this way is deeply disturbing to me. Leave her alone. She and her family have made a choice that she will keep the baby. I am very pro choice, and for me this means we leave women to make their own choices, even if they are different from what others might do. Even if her mother supports abstinence only programs -- which I oppose -- this view should in no way be a reason to spotlight her daughter and her difficult situation.

Here is a female candidate who trying to have both a family and a career. She is a candidate for a job that would shatter a glass ceiling.

On the precipice of such a breakthrough, Liberal Democrats have decided that they can't consider her for a promotion because she should be at home raising kids.

We'll see which party actually believes that women can be both professional achievers and moms at the same time.

The daughter of that candidate is living a personal story not unlike the one that produced Barak Obama himself, are you saying the world would have been better if Barak's' mother had avoided marriage and mother hood at a young age, thereby depriving the world of Barak himself?

I think that swing voters, with no particular reason to bid Palin ill, will actually decide to support her in her efforts.

It would be A-OK if the girl was from Gloucester.... She'd have daycare right in high school,but since it happened to a right winger, grab the pitchforks and torches!

I guess I got my answer. A Right-Wing Conservative 'Limbaugh Nation' Republican clarified that the "age of consent" in Alaska is 16. That does make an incredibly huge difference. All of those Republican Prosecutors who prosecute, jail, and register 18 and 19 year old teenage fathers as sex offenders for getting their 16 and 17 year old girlfriends pregnant in the lower 48 must be breathing a sigh of relief that this issue isn't going to throw their own prosecutorial efforts in sharp relief. This won't become the same "statutory rape" issue it might have become had Bristol been a 17 year old unwed mother in Colorado! We can all afford to be sensitive about this being a "private family issue," focus on getting sex education and condoms out of our high schools, and focusing american tax dollars on faith-based abstinence education programs.

It saddens me to know that this child has to grow up so fast because of this, but getting married also at 17. Please.... Having a child is not easy, but trying to manage a marriage at 17, give me a break. All I know is if this was happening to the Democrats the republicans would have been all over this case. I'm all for women having such a strong role in this election, but just not this one. My 11 year old daughter asked me today after watching the news with me if she's going to have a baby and get married at 17. I took that opportunity to have a long mature talk with her. I'm my daughters role model, but i also want her to have other strong independent women to look up to also, sad to say that Sarah Palin won't be one of them.

A few things here:

To the geniuses claiming statutory rape, age of consent in Alaska is 16. Go back to your holes.
To the zombies claiming Sarah Palin is the grandmother of Trig, I have two words for you: Dr. Phil
Finally, for those partisans claiming Palin is unfit because this shows hypocrisy, it's hard to show hypocrisy when you don't have a record that shows otherwise an you hadn't even heard of her five days ago, and well, last time I checked the responsibility for the behavior of a 17 year old under the law fell to the 17 year old.

Other than that you guys are spot on......

What does this poor child's pregnancy have to do with politics? I'm a somewhat conservative democrat who feels badly for this child (who is having a child). I'm sure it wasn't planned, I'm sure it was a mistake, I'm sure this chid is intelligent, however - I do believe it puts into question Sarah Palin's readiness to lead. It was her choice to keep this child which is why I am Pro-Choice. So I absolutely must, in all good consciousness, support this family's decision. PLEASE, for the love of God, leave this child out of any and all debates. She has enough to deal with. So does her mother, for that matter. I'm sorry. It's just not the right person for the job.

ha! that is absolutely disgusting.

I am fair, I guess: It's the two Ms. Palins' business and no one else's. That, of course, is the Liberal in me.... What people do in their bedrooms is their affair as long as they or their partners have passed a certain age. And by 17 you should know about the birds and the bees. Maybe Ms. Palin might rethink her born-again stance on contraception. But I don't think so. anyhow, the family has the money, so they can support Bristol Palin's child, too. They'lll be ok. I still will not vote for the GOP ticket.

After reading most of the comments on this issue I have come to the conclusion that liberal's teenage daughters don't get prego because they're kids don't make mistakes and that they're smarter than the rest of us. Just blame and trash the successful mother who has 5 kids because she doesn't subscribe to the left wing crap that they do..liberal democrat=HYPOCRITE....

Poor Bristol. Raised by a family that believes creationism is science and a promise ring is as effective as a condom at stopping unwanted pregnancies. If only she knew about the rhythm method...

You know what I think? It's none of our GD business and the Globe has sunk to another new low. Get this garbage off the front page of the newspaper.

It is obvious that McCain rushed into this. He has met her twice, and only took her because he was too stubborn to listen to his team. He wanted a woman that would take some of the Hillary women vote. But if I am a Hillary female voter I would be pissed to think that they would assume they could get my vote. One of the most important things about this campaign is the VP. McCain was beating the lack of experience thing into everyone's head about Obama..and I hate to say it was working. Now he has taken all the teeth out of that argument. The bottom line is McCain is 72, has had cancer 4 times! Biden, although not perfect, is a far far far better person to take over should something happen to Obama than would this woman in a very likely event that something would happen to McCain.

I think that this pregnancy speaks volumes for American today. Why is a 16 year old (at the time of conception) having unprotected sex? Because her mother does not believe in birth control, or sex education. In today's world this is a scary thing. Now that it appears that McCain clan knew about this I bet they thought that it could turn around in their favor. The whole "jesus forgives" thing...

It is time for this country to rally behind barack obama and biden. This country is in such poor shape after 8 years of bush, invading a sovereign country for no reason, violating constitutional rights to privacy, firing judges who did not follow his beliefs, sending thousands of troops into harms way without proper equipment, and forcing the injured soldiers to stay in rat and shit infested hospitals that should be shut down. Katrina happened under his watch and because he had his eye off the ball. His FEMA leader had zero experience and was famous for raising horses.

President Bush should be tried in the Hague for war crimes for what he has done.

Since some of the bloggers here stated that Barack Obama was born out-of wedlock to a teenage mother, here are the facts. Barack Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, met Barack Obama, Sr., while they were both enrolled at the University of Hawaii. After an engagement, they were married on February 2, 1961 in Maui, Hawaii. Barack Obama was born to the couple on August 4, 1961. At the time his mother was age 18, a college student, and married to his father.

RE: Good Sex Education...

If I had good sex education as a kid, I probably would have had GOOD sex as a kid. But what I got was "don't even think about going out without a rain coat. If you don't wear a rain coat, you might catch something nasty that could end your sex career or kill you. Or worse, you might have a kid." That was enough for me. That's not sex ed, that's how to prevent your teen years from screwing up your young adult years.

I have to ask, how old is the father? If he is an adult, everyone seems to be missing the big picture here, Bristol is a minor, 17. I wonder if that thought has crossed the parents minds? Our daughter may have had sex with an adult male? How would mom look at that? The same way the Spears family looked at their 16year old getting pregnant by a 19 year old adult male?

While it is unfortunate that her child has made a mistake, Gov Palin has handled the situation in a positive manner. Her family has displayed forgiveness, love, and support of her child despite having made a grave error. I applaud her daughter's decision to have the child and do the right thing. All children are a gifts from God regardless of their physical or mental state. My sister was on medication and was encouraged to have an abortion when she found out she was pregnant, but she resisted the temptation. As a result, she gave birth to a beautiful and talented daughter. If she had listened to everyone else, she would have had to live the guilt for the rest of her life and would not have been blessed with a wonderful daughter. Gov Palin and her family are showing America how situations like these ought to be handled. She is helping her daughter make wise choices and avoid a life of guilt, low self-esteem, and regret. I think she would be a good role model for young women in this country! This is NOT a negative indicator of her ability to make good decisions. Let's concentrate on the real issues that matter.

If anything, I blame the liberal media for the moral decay of the American family. Through television, the internet, magazines, etc. our children are confused about what good family values are and how to respect the sanctity of marriage and procreation. Sex education in the public schools will not fix the problem with teenage pregnancy. (I'm pretty sure a 17 year old already knows about sex.) The liberals are the ones who undermine the traditional family values that are being taught in the home!

she cannot even manage a dysfunctional event in her family, now facing a dysfunctional nationwide economy. She should freak out. As a consolation she should be proud at least her daughter is fertile.

Sarah Palin;

- Wants to teach creationism in public schools but not sex ed.
- Has 5 kids ! Talk about irresponsible.
- As best I can tell all 5 of her kids are named after German cartoon characters...... Just the fact you have 5 kids and named them such abusrb "oh look how special I am" names makes me hate you. Why not moonunit ?
- She has shoved her no sex ed, no birth control BS down her daughters throat now her daughter is paying the price and having a kid at 17 and forced to get married at 17. But even worse she wants her private extremist beliefs to be law !
- She will see to it that any new Supreme Court justices are anti-abortion (EVEN IN THE CASE OF RAPE AND INCEST) and we will have Roe overturned within several years.
- This woman is an extremist. A lunatic ZEALOT !
- Lastly, this is what we have come to know about her in TWO DAYS...wait until we know more! You really want a psycho like this a step away from running the country ?!?!?

I think she needs to spend more time with her family, I wonder her ability to prioritize. I understand mistakes happen, but palin should not be marketing herself as a "hockey mom". she sounds like a bad mom to me...

Another example of how liberal attitudes are destroying America. If mom stayed home and took care of her children instead of running around playing politician, I'll bet that her daughter might have had less of a chance to screw around.

It's about time that we all faced reality. A woman can't do two 100 hour a week jobs at the same time. If women want to be politicians, doctors, lawyers or business executives, they shouldn't have kids. Period. If they want kids, then they should be willing to set aside 18 years to stay home with them to provide care. Palin is another selfish, self-centered woman who has sacrificed her family for her own self interests.

McCain is such a liberal.

Between cheering on Hurricane Gustov so it can ruin the Republican National Convention (and in turn ruin many more lives), and ridiculing a 17-year old girl for her pregnancy just to score political points, I'm really sickened by the comments on this site, and other left-wing blogs. I am disappointed to see the "big tent" party showing so much hate and intolerance of others - exactly what the other party has been accused of by liberals.

Birth control? How about common sense? Setting aside religious issues, abstaining from sex is plainly practical. How are a couple of high school students going to provide for this child? They lack a high school diploma, any skills to speak of, and any sort of life experience. They can't afford a place to live, medical care for the baby, food, clothing, a car or energy. Thanks to their selfish act, they're now jeopardized the future of an innocent baby.

From where did this self-absorbed, narcissistic attitude come? It comes from the liberal revolution of the 60s, where irresponsible drug use, free sex, evading the draft and selfish attitudes became mainstream values instead of the warped attitudes of a small sect of the population. Teen pregnancy has nothing to do with birth control training or lack thereof. It has to do with a lack of responsibility, and a lack of concern about the state of our society.

95% of the comments above have been generated by terrified Obama supporters. Most of whom probably have had sex well before the age of 17 and came away unscathed. Really people, where's the crime? It's our biological imperative.

nobody else's business but the families involved!

This scandal is gross!!!
Obama/Biden

I guess no one can remember being 17 and the stupid things we all did. I drove home drunk (drinking age was 18) and thankfully never killed anyone in the process. I drank to excess on more than 1 occasion and never got hospitalized. Sex, drugs and rock and roll. Judgment is a 2 way street so I hope none of you ever find yourself or your children in a predicament that you were not expecting. Never say never. This is a child who needs her family's unconditional love regardless of her mistakes. I certainly hope you treat your children better than this. The girl made a mistake, is owning up to it and trying to do what is right for her. If you want to go down the religion road, let's take a look at Obama's alliances in the religion department. Should we judge him by the pastors he is associated with?

Birth control? How about common sense? Setting aside religious issues, abstaining from sex is plainly practical. How are a couple of high school students going to provide for this child? They lack a high school diploma, any skills to speak of, and any sort of life experience. They can't afford a place to live, medical care for the baby, food, clothing, a car or energy. Thanks to their selfish act, they're now jeopardized the future of an innocent baby.

From where did this self-absorbed, narcissistic attitude come? It comes from the liberal revolution of the 60s, where irresponsible drug use, free sex, evading the draft and selfish attitudes became mainstream values instead of the warped attitudes of a small sect of the population. Teen pregnancy has nothing to do with birth control training or lack thereof. It has to do with a lack of responsibility, and a lack of concern about the state of our society.

Why is this news? It is only news because it is something to stir the pot by the liberals that think this is bad. If they think this is bad, then maybe they should see how old Obama's mother was when she had him. For those to lazy to look it up, she was also a teenager and look how he turned out.

As someone who is unenrolled in a political party, I usually vote democrat. That said, this is not a politicial issue and should not be. Obama is correct to say "hands off". Lets move on to real political issues.

The most important is the child (Lo principal es el niño).

Congratulations to Bristol for taking the decision to be mother, and also for her parents (Felicidades a Bristol por tomar la decisión de ser madre, y también a sus padres).

Nice to see people are taking Obama's message to heart and not politicizing family situations.

You don't bring family into politics. Palin has more experience than Obama. I rather have McCain running this country than some con man that has no experience.

Kids of politicians should be off limits BUT in this case it is an example of the failure of the abstinence only approach which brings it into the public discourse.
Palin who believe that talking snakes changed the destiny of mankind but our reactions to a non existent manmade global warning will not is NOT qualified to be president...

It's none of my busniess, nor anyone else's.

whos is going to take care of these kids? One with downs and one whose mama is in high school. Sarah Palin is abandoning her family. No values whatsoever!

AllIS FAIR IN LOVE AND POLITICS. THIS HAS BEEN A REPUBLICAN END GAME FOREVER THE SHOE IS ON THE OTHER FOOT AND THEY CRY FOUL. THE MORAL OUTCRY OF A PARTY THAT HAS BEEN DELUGED WITH ONE MORAL CRISIS AFTER ANOTHER HAS RUN OUT OF EXCUSES

I just think its ironic that these are the pro-life, anti-birth control folks. Aren't they supposed to be against pre-marital sex, too? If she can't rule her own roost, how is she going to run the country if McCain cannot?

Picking Pain to be VP was a cynical attempt to grab some historial perspective from the nomination of Obama. The republicans are also betting that the American population is too stupid and polarized by gender. They are betting that all of those disenfrancised dems that are upset over Hillary will see another woman on the ticket an run to her. The problem is that as soon as she opens her mouth about abortion and gun rights you will get visions of Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. She is righter than right....

The fact her 17 year old is knocked up is crazy. I am sure she preaches abstincense to young folks. However the fact she cannot teach that message to her own kids is not a good sign,

If this were, for argument's purposes, Joe Biden's 17 year old daughter, the Evangelicals would say it shows a "serious flaw in Biden's Christian values if he can't teach his daughter abstinence." Of course, she'll get a pass by them.

Lets just sit back and enjoy the delicious irony. Conservatives: maybe the world isn't as scary as it seems...maybe we just need NEW approaches to solve these problems that aren't being fixed by old ones. Isn't it worth a try?

the real issue here is that we have a potential VP that has a 5 month old son with Down syndrome and a daughter that is having a baby. how can she possibly be focusing on assisting running hte country with all this. I find it wrong for her to run for office at a time when her family obviously needs her around.

Why does anyone care that the VP candidate's daughter is pregnant? I really dont see how that is going to affect how she does her job. Do people think that she is the ONLY seventeen year old, unwed female to get pregnant? Lets get serious people and start focusing on the policies and less on people's personal life.

Ironic

I believe that this issue should have been kept a private family matter. It is for she and her family to decide alone; the press should be focusing on items which matter greatly -- our economy, the war in Iraq, education, faulty monetary policies, poverty..etc. I am an Obama supporter; and as Obama said, that is their family's matter. Move on to real issues, and behave as real journalists. Leave the tabloids to the tabloids.

Interesting how so many people criticizing the 17 year old for getting pregnant are the same who were so silent in criticizing Clinton for chaeting on his wife in office.

dont you just love how the dems/left wingers/liberals who are all over this story, sarah and her family...not to mention mccain as well
YET
either forget, dont know or fail to mention their "superstar" of a candidate had a single mom who gave birth to him at 18.

Hi pot please meet kettle.

It's a good thing Mom is a lifetime member of the National Shotgun Association.

The real joke here is that this article's title and story was written under the "Political Intelligence" page of the Boston Globe.

I find it highly amusing that the Christian right can excuse anything under the guise of acting first and apologizing later, which in religious terms would be sinning and repenting. They appeal feel they are exempt from criticism under that guise. "We're all sinners." "Everyone makes mistakes." Please, spare me. We were born with brains, too, not just wild hormones. Funny how you never hear the religious right mention brains and common sense.

First, I feel very badly for Bristol - pregnant at 17 is awful enough, and suddenly having the whole world know about it just makes it that much harder to deal with. And to have to marry at 17 in order to make it 'look right' just compounds the problem. This girl really needs to be out of the spotlight.

However, this also makes you wonder about the character of her parents. When Palin was elected governor, she had 4 children, who, while not adults, were in school and presumably able to handle the changes this brought to their family. That isn't at all unusual- every family has adjustments when Mom or Dad gets a demanding new job.

Now though, the family has changed dramatically - Palin got pregnant in her 40s and now has a special needs baby , and of course her daughter is now pregnant. Palin's decision to go after/accept McCain's invitation to be his running mate reflects very poorly on her and her husband as parents. When your family is in turmoil your first responsibility is to them ,and you must put aside your ambitions, at least temporarily and work to help the people who are your first responsibility. She should have said, "Thank you, I'm flattered, but I'm needed here right now. "

I agree with Obama that families are off-limits, but this isn't about Bristol, who needs support. It's about her mother who doesn't seem to know that sometimes you have to put your own ambitions aside, it's about John McCain who again made an impulsive decision without adequate research, and its about how these character traits reflect their inability to govern a country with problems that require the ability to reflect , analyze and plan for solutions for good of all affected.

Interesting how so many people who criticized Clinton for cheating on his wife in office are the same who are so silent criticizing the 17 year old girl for getting pregnant. I guess "family values" apply differently according to political affiliation.

I think the music that should be played at the Repugnican National Convention when Palin and her family is introduced should be Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want To Have Fun"!

This pick kind of reminds me of bush's aborted (sorry for the pun) pick of Harriet Myers for Supreme Court justice...

As the sister of someone who had a baby at age 17 after a shotgun marriage,let me tell you that the baby will suffer from being raised by someone who is a child herself. Both their futures will be curtailed and deformed. The mother will be isolated from her age cohort. Her body will suffer from carrying the pregnancy and her psyche will suffer from the 24-hour-a-day care required by the baby.
After a half-century, my sister's child is still affected by the way she came into the world-- a poor and selfish mother to her own children and an angry daughter toward her mother.
So, women be wise---get an abortion for your teenage daughter. Don't follow the Palins' example.

IM really really "shocked" to hear that all you people from the GBoston area are voting for Obama.. I mean really, once you tasted all the handouts and freebies that a socialist government will provide for you, why else would you want to do anything for yourself again. As for whats really wrong with the USA? Well thats easy, the last 16 years we have elected Presidents with 0 foreign policy experience, and guess what, we are experiencing exactly what comes from having them in the White House. 2ndly, Neither Party it seems, can be trusted with all the keys to the Govt, our system of Checks/Balances have been thrown out of whack, so why would you trust Either party with both the WH and Congress. So ill challenge a thought out of you all. IF you feel that Congress with be controlled fully by the Dems, I challenge you to vote for SOMEONE other that the Dems for the WH, as thats the ONLY way for Positive change to happen here.

Here's some hindsight for you. The daughter, who we learned a few days later was 5 months pregnant, was holding her newborn brother in front of her when being introduced at the announcement. Perhaps people were still trying to hide the pregnancy, before the press and bloggers found out who Gov. Palin was and started digging for dirt about her?

Coincidence? I think not.

Why does no one talk about the Keating 5 and how McCain received thousands of dollars and hospitality from Charles Keating leading to a tax payer 112 billion dollar bail out of Lincoln Saving and Loan. Or about how McCain was found guilty of poor judgment in attending the banking commission's meeting with the other Keating 4

Who gives a hoot about Palin's daughter, shes not running for anything

1st. THIS IS THE VP candidate we are talking about. Complain all you want, but point out ONE VP who has actually done something (other that filling in when a Prez died).

As for her abilities as a MOM. 5 kids, thats good, i dont know if you ever been to Alaska Before, but i mean really, whole days without sunshine, i think we all would have 5 kids.. well, unless your a gay couple, and then your just jealous of the fact you cant "naturally" have kids.

Her Daughter getting pregnant, is Unfortunate for her daughter, she took a risk and now is going to be a mom way too early in life, but I respect that she didnt take the Liberal way out and have her child KILLED.

As for who will raise the kids, while Mrs Palin is the VP. Well, i guess it will be for Her Husband and Father of all 5 kids to do that. Im sorry, why are we criticizing the girl so much in this? Last time i checked the BOY has as much responsibility for this, and it seems that he is MANNING up and doing the Responsible thing for this. So, Yes, they will have a tough time without extra education, etc. But Strong families can make that an easier process, lets hope/pray that they learn a lesson and teach their young child about this lesson.

As for more sex ed in school, IT ISNT THE SCHOOLS responsibility to teach morals, sex, etc.. Its the Parents. The liberals always think they know more than you/I so they feel that they should be the ones to teach us about how we should live.

Now that the Liberals are Killing God, and Morals, and teaching that well, almost ANYTHING is normal, aka, 2 guys marrying, or 2 girls marrying. Tell me, Whats next? are we going to allow siblings to marry, or how about older men marrying young boys, i mean, its only love, right?

Grab a backbone, STAND UP FOR YOUR LIFE and dont allow this type of Socialist, dummed down behavior to keep infiltrating our lives.

THere is only RIGHT or WRONG, there is no RELATIVITY to it at all.

Didn't Obambo's mother get knocked up at 18? And his dad hit the road shortly thereafter? I'm not even going to mention John Edwards. These people are all phonies. Anyone that pays attention to politics is a fool. I disregard anything they do or say.....I give them as little of my money as I can and they will never see me carrying a rifle for a dope like George W either........

Why do liberals cry hypocrosy every time a conservative makes a moral mistake?good for this kid for having the baby and not making the liberal "choice"good for her mom for having her downs syndrome baby and not making the liberal "choice"why is it that liberals prefer serial addicts and rapists like Bil Clinton?

This should in no way even be a political matter but the media and the two parties have turned it into one.

There are just so many points to be made, but this is the one that stands out the most for me. All of the pro-lifers and republicans stating that this is the not a political matter, they are right and you will not hear me agree with them too often.

But they can’t have it both ways abortion should not be a political matter if this young woman’s pregnancy and her decision to keep her baby is NOT A POLITICAL MATTER THAN NEITHER IS THE CHOICE OF THE YOUNG WOMAN WHO CHOOSES TO END HER PREGNANCY. This issue is between this girl, her boy friend and her parents (and only her parents because she is underage) It is really no one else’s business how they handle this situation.

Would I vote for Sarah Palin, NO, but it has nothing to do with this, it has to do with where she stands on the issues, and she and I do not agree on much.

I think she should be home taking better care of her family and then maybe her teen age daughter would not be with child

Simply amazing... Let's see how family values really work. Mom is governor of the state and Dad is up on the North Slope and no one is home loving the four kids. These days, teenage pregnancy is less about a lack of information as it is about a lack of love and caring. I would say that Mom and Dad have put their needs above that of their children. Really fine example...

The Globe has kept this headline on its front page for two days now... spin, spin, spin...the Globe is the MSNBC of newspapers....

"McCain cut abstinence programs" More liberal spin thinly disguised as journalism.

typical liberals....need to use smear tactics...Republicans and even more so Christians never claim to be perfect or without sin...there was only One without since about 2000 yrs ago. The left sees another presidential election slipping through their fingers (AGAN!!) so they attack a 17 yr old girl and her mother. GOOD JOB!! I guarantee that you will be on the losing end again in November.

Why can't the left concentrate on issues....because they have none except "bush bad...need change."

I THINK HER JUDGEMENT TO PUT HER DAUGHTER IN FRONT OF THE WORLD WHILE GOING THROUGH THIS FAMILY CRISIS AND HAVING A NEWBORN WITH DS IS NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF HER FAMILY. SHE CLEARLY CHOSE ADVANCING HER CARREER OVER SUPPORTING HER DAUGHTER. WE DON'T NEED A PART TIME VICE PRESIDENT. ESPECIALLY ONE WHO'S OWN VIEWS DIDN'T WORK ON HER DAUGHTER.

Obama's mom was 18 when she had him. What is the debate here? It doesn't matter people

While I think this is completely irrelevant, it will interesting to see how right-wing talk show hosts and their ilk spin this.

After all, Rush Limbaugh had this to say about Jamie Lynn Spears (who is just about the same age as Bristol Pilan):

>>>
CALLER: Would you tend to think that a family in this position,
though, wouldn't you think that there would be a more watchful eye as
a parent to be watching over these kids so this doesn't happen to
them?

RUSH: I would certainly hope so, but it's long past time for this to
happen. The parents here are the culprits!

Laura Schlessinger (on same topic) :

I feel sorry for children who are robbed of their childhoods of
innocence by parents who are negligent or voyeuristic. I feel sorry
for the unborn baby, whose precious life is bound to be a toy in the
hands of these young people.
>>>>

I wonder if he thinks Sarah Palin is the "culprit" here??? How will Laura Schlessinger spin it?

The good ole boys have had a busy weekend. Joe Biden must be squeaky clean.

nice, we will now pay for an aupair/day care so this kid can go to school, tax dollars working for them - NOT us!!

I think we'll name him Mitt.

It has been only a day or so since this "Daughter's teen pregnancy" story broke, and I am sick of it. What is the matter with all of you media people around here? Big deal. IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT SARAH PALIN'S QUALIFICATIONS!!! HELLO, McFLY! Ok then, let's go on about Barack O'Liar........... In his acceptance speech, he promised everything under the sun he was going to do for us, like he is the Messiah. So I would consider him a liar. And of course George W. Bush should be in jail for war crimes - lying to us about why we went to Iraq, lying to us about what is going on in the Justice Department, screwing up energy policy, being a nitwit, screwing up response to Katrina, on and on. And Cheney's Daughter is a Lesbian, what about that? People, let's get a life. If anything, this makes me want to vote for McCain more. At least Sarah Palin and family are having some REAL LIFE experiences, not like the elitist Kerry, O'Liar , Bush and others. I am a registered Unenrolled. I am sick of this partisan crap. I am starting a COMMON SENSE PARTY of the United States............ a party that will list all the things to do that are RIGHT for AMERICA, not RIGHT for the Party. Remember if you look hard enough, you could find even find fault in a 5 month old infant........... wow, he/she fills the diapers too much, wow, only sleeps 4 hours per night, my life is ruined, wow, baby cries too much/not enough. Give it up people and get a life on this one

Emma-

We have 3 sons and raised them in a good home with supervision and direction as well as giving them opportunities to learn to make decisions for themselves. They each found alcohol and drugs and experimented. We got thru it....and they are all in great schools ( i will not brag as you felt the need to do) and do well but things happen. Raising teenagers is tough.

I think you are in for a fall when she moves on and out...

Wait till it happens to you. But then it will be ohhh poor me, how did this happen. It was George Bush's fault or someone else's beside you. So if all your rants are true , anything your kids do should come back and haunt you. Your kid gets pulled over for DUI you should lose your License. ETC.

My comments: This time next week, we will be saying Sarah who?

Here is a delicious receipe for chocolate chip cookies

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional

what's with all these people saying that she can't control her daughter??? Her daughter is a living breathing person with a mind of her own. There are plenty of people out there who come from good, loving homes who do STUPID things! Likewise, there are plenty of people who come from sucky homes, who go on to do great things in their lives. Would all you liberals have Palin lock up her daughter in a room somewhere??? I think not...

Post 434 is absolutely correct - we (Americans) have bigger issues to solve. Move on!

When are the American people going to realize that our politicians - regardless of political party - are liars, are as corrupt as the day is long, and also have problems that many Americans have? Just like the rest of us, they too have problems with marriage, have family issues like pregnancy and drug abuse, have kids who are homosexual. Why does this stuff make the press other than to exploit it? It shouldn't sway your opinion of their political character.

I plan to vote for Obama. Palin having a child with Downs or a teenage daughter who is pregnant doesn't change my mind from a week ago. These issues shouldn't matter. Don't vote on her personal issues - vote on her previous political experience and how she represented her constituency, which, unfortunately, isn't much.

no one was silent during the clinton trial. and guess what, the whole world was laughing at us! we are so unsophisticated about sex. what is different about this situation is that clinton didn't base his whole philosophy on the premise that he was some kind of moral authority. The base of republican ideology is in playing off the fears of the masses (fear of change, fear of being "cheated," fear of losing control) and the idea that they have some sort of christian superiority. Liberals find this situation funny...or at least I do...because the republican party claims to be the authority on all things divine and moral, but their methods and claims are invalidated by their actions...ineffective methods of preventing pregnancy, countless corruption scandals, liberal use of torture... . The point is not so much bashing a teenage mother but venting frustration over a party that seems to spit in the face of logic at every turn.

Let's see...The last democrat president received oral sex in the oval office from someone other than his spouse, then lied about it to the American public, John Edwards (a Democrat that ran for President in this election) had an affair while his wife was home with Cancer, and Al Gore's son drives over 100 mph while on drugs putting other peoples lives in danger in 2007.

Funny how the Democrats have such a double standard. This girl will have a child and marry the father of the child. She is 17 and the last time I checked you can vote and die for this country at 18. Are you all suggesting she abort this child? Do you ignore the fact that Obama's mother was 18 when he was born (making her 17 when she got pregnant)?

How do these head-in-the-sand Republicans continue to claim that Palin has more experience than Obama? She was the two-term mayor of a small town in Alaska and is in her first term as governor of a state with a smaller population than Brooklyn. Before that, she ran a snowmobile business with her husband and was a sports journalist.

Compare that to two terms in the Illinois Senate and his current first term in the U.S. Senate. And before that, he worked in community organizing to alleviate poverty. Oh, and let's not forget his law degree from Harvard.

Stop drinking the Karl Rove Kool-Aid. Palin is a lightweight even with the extra baggage of a failed abstinence policy and undue executive influence in firing the guy who would not fire her brother-in-law-gone-bad.

#435:
I don't ever remember Clinton running on a platform of faithfulness to your wife. Sara Palin is and has run on a platform of only teaching abstinence only and not giving teens a well-rounded sex education. Her daughter is proof of how abstinence only education works.

#434:
I think this is a "real" issue because it proves that abstinence only sex education does not work. I do not think that the press should in any way try to question Bristol or the baby's father. But, I do think that it is quite alright to question Sara in regards to her abstinence only educational policies.

Sarah Palin is a liberal's worse nightmare. Gorgeous, educated, highly successful and believes it is wrong to murder unborn children. Instead, she and her daughter choose to raise them in loving, caring and prosperous households. What horror! Don't they know that the rules for modern women were set in Cambridge?

It's always ironic and hypocritical when objective moralists run into bumps in the road of life. It becomes naturally comedic. The subjectivists jump all over it, feed their egoist loser lungs for day and go back to wondering why their lives are a cynical and bitter mess. When it happens in they're word, well it's just about sex.

Wasn't Barak Obama's mother pregnant at 17? Do you find irony and hypocrisy in that? This is a great story and worth celebrating the life soon to be led. Can you handle it?

The sexist elite feminazis are out in force. Imagine how they would be screaming racism if Obama was attacked in this manner. Bottom line, I'll take Palin with 'faults?' like a premarital daughter as a mother, than Obama with Wright, Rezko and Ayers any day in the week.

The only upside is that if every politician with a family member who has had premarital sex resulting in the birth of a baby, there would be nobody left to govern. It is interesting to note that so little has been made by the MSM about John Edwards. Double Standard? No, the liberal media has their panties in an uproar because Republican warts need to be bigger than Liberal warts.

Wow, I would think all these liberals would rejoice at the fact that perhaps MR Palin would care for his kids while MRS was at work. Who says that Sara has to be a housewife just because she has kids???

First this is no ones business except the family as we are dealing with a minor age child here.

But let's evaluate our moral outrage for a minute. It appears GOP wins the higher ground issue here, but who really cares anyway.

Now Obama and Bristol Palin will have a lot on common, Obama's mom was an unwed 18 year old, I believe Bristol will be 18 but wed when she gives birth.

Our Dem Presidents/candidates:
Edwards - cheater while wife battles cancer, oh I forgot she was in remission
Clinton - cheater with girl the age of his daughter,
Carter- guilty of lust in his mind,
Johnson - hard to believe but reputed serial womanizer
Kennedy - serial womenizer,
Truman - appears to be untainted
FDR - longterm realtionship with personal secretary

GOP
McCain left 1st wife with long second marriage
Bush - wild youth, alcohol issues but not a cheater
Bush Dad - appears clean
Reagan - early divorce with long second marriage
Ford - a good man
Nixon - a troubled soul but apparently loyal spouse
Eisenhower - rumor but nothing confirmed

If Palin is so unworthy, why are the Dems so intent on destroying her? The pregnant daughter is a non-issue, it is a family matter and the family seems to be dealing with it.

Barney Frank and Jerry Studds!!

Enough said!!

Whatever, I agree with O'Bama, (can't believe I said that!) who said his mother had him when she was 18....this is not politics....(of course I believe that someone leaked this information to his benefit....and he is taking the high road).

just a media frenzie....this will play out like all the others...regardless of the party.

....how quickly we forget John Kerry discussing Dick Chaney's daughter... and O'Bama getting flack for putting his kids on TV a while back... nothing is ever off limits...even if they tell us blue in the face that it is.....whatever.

It's funny how all you Democrats critcize Palin for having a pregnant teen daughter when your presidential nominee was born to an 18 year old mother.

Yes, these are family values: Snopse family values!

Why have words like 'trollop' and 'hussy' fallen into disrepute? They'd have been so useful in this context.

Yes, this is a real issue: this child's recklessness is very much a reflection of her upbringing. In fact, like many teen pregnancies, it may be the child's attempt to get the attention that had been denied to her while super-mommy was off attending to her special needs child and being governor of Alaska!

Under no circumstances should her mother be 'a heartbeat away'.

Didn't your mothers ever teach you that you can't build yourself up by tearing other people down? It's more a reflection on your own character when you speak of other people in this way. As a professional mother of 3 (including a daughter) I am so happy to see Sarah Palin nominated. Who decided that abortion and birth control were the defining topic of women's rights? Neither I nor any of the women I know get up every morning worrying about abortion rights. We worry about keeping our jobs, finding good day care, filling the gas tank, and paying for groceries. Those are the things Sarah Palin thinks are most important to women (and men) and she's right. As far as her daughter goes, it is so sad that you bloggers have so much hate in your hearts that you can attack this family. Last time I checked all politicians (of any bent) were human. If you are so perfect that you could withstand your life and family members' lives vetted on national t.v., please run for public office.

would this even be an issue if sara palin was a man???

Reading some of your comments shock me. I can't believe that is this day and age people are shocked that a 17 year old is pregnant. PLEASE. Give the child a break she made poor choice and is now dealing with it as an Adult. Some of the people who are judging her should look at there own familes. I am not a bible thumper but I believe there is a passage that says He who is without sin shall cast the first stone.

Even Obama said that this should not be an issue in the campain. Show that he has more class that the people in the media who keep harping on it. I hope she does not leave the ticket. It shows that she is a human with a family that has real issues.

liberal = angry self-righteous hypocrite ??

i think that's the right conclusion to come to based on the tone of these inflamed, even hateful, comments.

aren't all you liberal folks backing obama - the man of the new way forward, the man who will break down party lines for the good of all, ...

apparently, mr. obama has quite a lot of work to do.

Who cares about any of this? It's their personal lives it shouldn't have anything to do with their careers .

I think Barack Obama has the right idea about this....children are off limits in the political arena, especially underage children. I knew a lot of stupid girls who got pregnant growing up...some from uptight conservative family backgrounds, and some from liberal free-loving backgrounds. The final word on teenage pregnancy is that they are old enough to make those choices at that age. At 17, they may or may not have sat threw sex ed...but they definitely sat threw algebra and science and history and many other subjects they didn't pay attention to either. It's the choice they make with their lives. She's lucky her mom is sticking by her, and I hope she counts her blessings nightly.
Now....back to talking about real political issues.....

MNo

Now

Awwww, the poor Republicans. Hoisted once again on their own sanctimonious petard. Hey, righties, since you and the whack job you're supporting keep saying it about your attacks on Obama and his family, I'll return it to you - what's the matter, you've got no sense of humor?

It's too bad that the Globe / NY Times can't have as much class as Obama and let this go.
No class. You're as bad as Fox News.

I didn't know Bristol Palin went to Gloucester High! Here's the deal: It's Bristol's choice to concieve, put up for adoption or abort. What confuses me is Gov. Palin's choice to run for VP while having five children including a Down's infant and a pregnant teenager. What mother would choose a job that takes her away from those responsibilities...not to mention the media attention that is sure to consume the family? No mother would take herself away from this situation if the responsibilities involved in being vice president takes as much time and energy as assumed.

WHO GIVES A CRAP??? REALLY...STOP WASTING YOUR TIME WORRYING ABOUT SOMEONE ELSES PROBLEMS.

NICE DISTRACTION...PROBABLY PLANNED TO WIN THE VOTES OF PRO-LIFE, ANOTHER ISSUE THIS COUNTRY SHOULDN'T WASTE ITS TIME ON. TRY, ENDLESS WAR AND CRAP ECONOMY...NOW THOSE ARE ISSUES.

The libs refuse to acknowledge that the increase in sex ed in the past decade (still not enough to satisfy libs) has coincided with a decrease in the age at which children engage in sex and a rise of teen pregnancies. Yet to the libs, the answer is more sex ed (ie: how to use a condom). The libs refuse to acknowledge that their sex policies are not geared at prevention of sexual activity in teens, but are based on a presumption that "since teens will have sex, teach them how to do it right." If we had the same presumption about teen alchohol and drug use, we'd have programs that presume "since we underage drinking and illicit drug use occur in teens, let's teach them how to drink in moderation and do drugs safely." The immaturity of the libs' approach to mentoring teen behavior is palpable.

To the Globe:
Read post #5. This poster suggests that the 17 year old was in bed with the father.

I have my posts filtered because I have challenged Obama's alignment of rhetoric and record. Obama has no record of making any substantial change anywhere. How you would filter out my posts and leave this one is beyond me.

The danger with Obama is that the "tone" he is talking about doesn't align with the change he is talking about. If you want to have a positive tone you need to just go along with the network in power. If you challenge and want to change the powers at be, you will face resistance and most likely you will be vilified like Hillary Clinton.

If you want to be liked by everyone you don't take a tough stand on anything (like Obama). Obama voted to confirm Condi Rice to Secretary of State. Why would he do this if he thought the War was immoral and based on lies? Why did Obama vote "Present" so many times? It was because he didn't want to ruffle any feathers. How on earth can you talk change if you don't have the backbone to confront it? Obama has voted to fund over $300 Billion to a War he is supposedly against. The Democrats in Congress were so limp that they couldn't even pull the plug in spending on the War, like they did to end Vietnam. The current Democratic Party is filled with weak people that can overcome the pressure to conform. Obama voted the Party line 97 percent of the time. He embodies the "In order to get along you've got to go along" mentality. How on earth is this record a basis to promote oneself as an agent of change?

I am glad you have this post because you can see a lot of people on the Left with hate in their heart.

Have you ever noticed the two biggest predatory religions of the world (Islam and Christianity) are the biggest whiners with the most victim complex in this world?

Why the fk should we keep supporting these aholes? there are so many small tine spiritual religions out there that need our help and support from these two monsters hurting them.

Please do not keep feeding these two monstors of the world (Christianity and Islam) anymore.

the real issue here is that we have a potential VP that has a 5 month old son with Down syndrome and a daughter that is having a baby. how can she possibly be focusing on assisting running hte country with all this. I find it wrong for her to run for office at a time when her family obviously needs her around.
(Post #431) Posted by tg, September 2

Would you say the same thing if the candidate was the Dad??? I sincerely doubt it. Double standard as usual coming from liberals. Keep those women in the kitchen!! Stay out of politics or the corporate board room until your children are all grown up and graduated from college!!

We need ethinc cleansing in our own country to get rid of the relgious right.

to # 415

I am not a terrified Obama supporter, I am however a senior citizen that had sex at an early age, became pregnant and gave the baby up for adoption.
I had no choices....abortion wasn't legal in my day! I for one understand the meaning of choice!
If Bristol wants to keep this baby and marry, that's her choice (maybe) it could be since she's only 17 that her mother is making the choice for her, then it's Sarah making the choice and forcing that choice on others like all Republicians do. Even God gave us the free will of choice, he doesn't cram his ideas down our throats, we can answer for ourselves when the time comes.
I believe choice is a freedom in this country, and I don't want to force my ideas and thoughts on others, they need to make the choices that are right for them and then answer to God when there time comes.

Guess which 2 are the biggest predatory monstrosity of a religion in this world and which two suffers from the severest case persecution complex?

I rember well Thomas Eagleton and McGovern backing him 1000 per cent, after his depressions treatments made the new.
The vetting process goes along something like this "You there, young person, I would like you to be my running mate on this ticket. Do you have anything to tell me that I should know about that?"
"No sir"
"Your in"
The withdrawal from the ticket occured a week later.

FROM WIKIPEDIA:
"Palin eloped with her high-school boyfriend, Todd Palin, on August 29, 1988, when she was 24 years old.[7] According to her mother, the reason was simple: "It was a shock but she did it because she knew we couldn’t afford a big white wedding."[132] Their first son, Track, was born eight months after their wedding.[133]"

So here we have habitual pre-marital pregnancies in the Palin family. I really don't care, but the finger wagging about abstinence instead of birth control from the Christian Right is a sham. Stop using the Bible as a Diaphragm! JHC!!!

To those of you who say this is not news and does not belong on the front page, I must say that I differ. These circumstances directly speak of the parenting that the Alaska governor thinks appropriate. The expecting daughter is still a minor child according to most law in this country. A responsible citizen/voter must ask what guidance and supervision underlies juvenile pregnancy. And knowing this, Sen. McCain wants us to this selection as that of a "maverick" and not as a callous, politically calculating, and disingenuous means to deflect attention from a failing candidacy.

Furthermore, are we to suppose that the crusading Gov. Palin has now accomplished her mission to clean up state government in Alaska? In 18 months, the compelling corruption she was so motivated to rout out has been vanquished and all will be well? Haven't we heard "Mission accomplished!" before?

When will someone ask these questions of this woman who - according to the social conservatives, Republican spokespersons, et al. - is to be the next "Lady Liberty." More than once I have said we deserve the government we get because we elect it. As with the King's New Clothes, it sometimes takes the honesty of children to discover the truth. But in this instance, it seems many want to keep a blindfold over their eyes and simply refuse to see fools.

Just what we need!! A grandmother who prides herself as a soccer mom with a family to take care of in Alaska who will move to Washington DC with a husband that loves the woods. Then we will throw in a 72 year old president that had a bout with cancer. Well, maybe she can take time off from her motherly chores to speak to the President of Iran when he calls. What a joke!! This is for the woman's vote. I cannot believe a sane female would support this shameless attempt to get their votes. Of course, Hillary's people may buy it.

This so called front page news is a such a waste of print. One young girl has the misfortune to become pregnant at a very young age and her family is supporting her. This was their personal choice and it should be left alone. The Democrats are ripping her and her family apart during what I can only imagine is a traumtic time in her life. Don't they remember when the pervert PRESIDENT Clinton lied to the entire country when he was "not having sexual relations with that woman" who was the same age as his daughter and made a mockery of his marriage? Go back through the moral history of the White House. It's all pretty sad on both sides. Vote the McCain/Palin ticket!!!

If my teenaged daughter's birth control fails tomorrow, and she finds herself pregnant, all I will want for her is a safe, legal, abortion. There is no way she is equipped to be a Mother. I find it sad that Bristol has so obviously been painted into a corner by her mother's belief system [which itself has been discredited by this event] that she effectively does not have that option. I wonder whether, just maybe, somewhere deep down, Gov Palin harbors a tinge of regret about being such a public figure right now. Perhaps if the family had the luxury of anonymity, they might have found that their concern for their daughter's future (i.e. not wrecking her life with an unwanted child) might have outweighed their holier-than-thou public posturing. I have seen exactly that happen before. Back to the political realm, why can't Republicans ever seem to wrap their heads around "separation of church and state?" I wish Rudy Giulani had stayed in the race. He was the only one who got the whole package right (fiscal conservative, but live and let live.)

This is in response to #91.

She, if her mother and McCain are elected, will be getting 100% medical care for her birth, and medical care for the child on the taxpayer dollar. Do you think that politicians pay for their healthcare? They don't. They live on the same socialized healthcare the rest of the developed world gets except for us (*see lobbyists).

After spending millions upon millions on impeaching bill clinton, I think we have the right to jump on this. It is also getting tiresome listening to the religious right and their lemming-like followers constantly backing up when one of the flock gets caught, say, in bed with a gay prostitute and snorting coke of their butts. "oooh praise jesus. Its all about forgiveness". Where was the forgiveness when Bill got serviced?

Also, why do these religious nuts get a free pass telling the rest of us how to live our lives because they believe in god? That is why we are jumping on it. Cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Talk about reading through a mountain of dumb A commentary. Teenage pregnancy is a major issue in America, yet so many can boil it down to Right versus Left. Kudos for being that stupid. Does anyone really think that government can solve the problem? If so I have a deed on a bridge for you. By the same token, singularly teaching abstinence or safe sex is not workable. All need to be taught, and so does a healthy dose of emotional issues, i.e. being pressured into sexual relations, peer related issues, self confidence issues amongst teenagers etc. I like John McCain, I dont think much of the gum chewing Sarah Palin. But the issue is not about Bristol Palin, she will likely be fine. How about addressing the real issue which happens throughout America every day.

Evangelicals are all LIARS and closet cases. I trust them about as much as I trust the Bush administration. These are the same people who want Creationism to be taught in public schools, something that has been scientifically disproven. They like all Bush.McCain republicans are a disgrace. As a former Reblican, I am disgusted with myself for ever sharing in the saem views with such disgusting people

The fact that her daughter is pregnant isn't such a big deal. What needs to be considered is the other skeletons in her closet that have yet to be revealed even though she way so called vetted. The woman is an extreme right winger, with a pregnant partying daughter whose daddy drops the F bomb more than needed on his my space page. Sarah must be so proud/

Senator Kerry had this right. The selection of Palin was a craven gesture to the extreme right wing of the Republicans. The fact that her 17year old, unmarried daughter is pregnant, and Republicans have always ballyhooed that they are the party of family values , shows disgusting hypocrisy.

i agree with you Cathy, this should be a private matter, not front page of boston.com. I am sure Obama would agree as well having been conceived under similar circumstances(by a 17 year old, at the time unwed mother). Now, on to the real news, people!!!!

WHO CARES...IT'S NOBODY BUSINESS.

WHO CARES?!?!?!?

Bristol is not running for office!

Roger Clinton was a coke-head and has a few DUI's under his belt. Did it affect Clinton's Presidency?

WHO CARES?!?!?

Just curious about the folks who are supposing that Palin's four month old son is actually her grandson. How can a 17 year old who is 5 months pregnant be the mother of a 4 month old baby??? Maybe they should add math class to the curriculum in addition to abstinence only education.

All you Globe commies wish Palin would step down, because adding her to the ticket has absolutely ruined your year. The news about the daughter's pregnancy only brings Palin sympathy from ordinary folks (who don't read the Globe). In fact, the nasty reaction (above) from the party of compassion will do more to hurt Democrats in November than the news itself would ever hurt Palin, McCain, or Republicans. Also interesting that after 30 years of liberal women telling us that children don't influence their ability to do the job, that they should be paid the same and promoted alongside men, what's the first thing out of their mouths? "Well, how is she going to do this job with 5 kids?" Bobby Kennedy had 11 kids while running for President, not VP, and I'm sure none of you had an ounce of concern about him. Hypocrites.

I agree who said the child is off limits. I agree completely.

It however says lots about both McCain and Pallin personally.

On McCain's part. If he knew about this what was he thinking if he was thinking at all? First she is under ethics(somewhat serious) investigation in Alaska now this. He had lots of qualified good male and female options and he chooses someone with a story the national enquirer couldn't make up if they tried.

Secondly if he didn't know he made a snap very bad decision on something that obviously should have been throughly vetted. It says something about his decision making methods. VP is an important choice and more so when you are 72 and have been ill previously.

Pallin: it says too much. She is ambitious enough to make Hillary look like a dove if she is willing to drag a 17 yr old daughter in front of national press while expecting. She had to know this would happen and what the press would do. Her daughter is 5 mos. along not 4 weeks, so this should not have been a huge surprise.. If she didn't know what the issues would be, she's not ready for prime time.If she did then she is ambitious to the point of ruthless.

If Pallin wants to play in the big leagues ,she has to know the rules not blame the media for what they've always done on both sides.

I am very surprised McCAin made such a poor choice given the many options he had both male and female.

Hey #473... Am I really to understand that you are holding Richard Nixon up as an example in support of Republicans holding the "higher [moral] ground"??!!?? Man, is THAT warped!

And Mort - What have you got against goatees? Was, say, Abe Lincoln unfit to be a president because he had facial hair?

Come on all you Republican HYPOCRITES!!!! How can anyone say that this is not relevant when both McCain and Palin are against funding for sex education for teenagers???? McCain and Palin both support teaching abstinence, which obviously does not work!! No one here is attacking Palin's daughter. Obviously teenagers have sex, which is why it is important to teach them about birth control and safe sex.. But McCain and Palin are both against this WHY??? You can bet that Sarah Palin has never talked to her daughter about birth control or protected sex, because she ONLY teaches abstinence. This is not about Palin's daughter, however it does bring needed attention to teenage pregnancy and it is relevant, and it show's how wrong McCain and Palin are on this issue...

Many of the same democrats that are hypocritically calling this a moral outrage would not hesitate to counsel thier own child to get an abortion and get on with thier lives. Jesus called this "swallowing a camel while straining at a gnat." At least Miss Palin is owning up to her responsibility by allowing the child to live.

I keep reading comments about how ironic it is that Obama's mother was 17 years old and unmarried when she had him. This may be the case, but last time I checked she wasn't running for the ruler of the free world. If Obama's grandmother was running then I guess then it would of mattered. Complete apples to oranges comparison.

I have to admit it, but before the pregnancy topic even came out I questioned why someone would want to run for higher office when they had 5 children, 1 which has down's syndrome. I realize that we are no longer in the days of June Cleaver, but one has to question where her priorities lie, and obviosly it looks like they lie with her career and not her family.

To read the venom implied by the libs posting to this discussion, the glee they display in discovering Palin's daughter is pregnant, simply reaffirms that Obama and the legion's of true believers of his radical, fundamentalist, hate-filled and division peddling left, are not the direction the country should follow.

It all makes sense now --- Blair wasn't at the announcment on Friday, because she was "in the bus, taking care of her napping brother". Then, later in the day, she's pictured with her brother in her lap -- talk about a bad cover-up!!!

Is this the best the GOP could do? McCain's an old idiot. The more the spotlight is on him, the more he'll fade.

LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: Sarah Palin was pregnant with her first child (Track Palin) when she and Todd Palin eloped in 1988. Can I get an AMEN for Wikipedia? You can't use the Bible as an IUD.

#512"I agree who said the child is off limits" and then you spend 6 paragraphs doing just the opposite. I believe the word for that is "lying". Immutable fact: MSM had to be dragged kicking and screaming into (Progressive hypocrite) John Edwards's issue but pounced onto Bristol Palin's pregnancy in a New York minute. (What is the 17 year old running for again?) Does this show that abstinence-only sex ed doesn't work? Looks that way. However, it also appears that the same "honest" people who laid off Chelsea Clinton (and still do!) have no compunction about throwing this kid under the bus. (And will complain about the lack of civility in public life.) Amazing.

Republican's calling the Democrats hypocrites??? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black??

Thank you for having this post. It offers your readers an opportunity to vent their inner hatred of anyone who has a different opinion. It also offers an opportunity for your readers to voice their ignorance and ingrained prejudices.

It also proves that the Bradley Effect is real and will show up on November 4th. The Obama candidacy is doomed. People are mum about their true feelings in public but given the privacy of an on-line posting or behind the curtain polling booth they will show their true colors.

People are natural hypocrites. You've made your point.

So much hate.

All the womens rights liberals sayiing she should stay at home and watch her kids. LMFAO.
They cried and bood when questions are asked of 28 year old Chelsea.
This is what separates Repubs from Dems. Dems deny until there is video evidence, then say they admitted it after caught. Repubs are just more honest.
She is a 17 year old girl, and a daughter, you really should not hold her to a higher Standard than Senator Kennedy, President Clinton, or Governer Edwards.
wait a minute, she is more mature than any of them. She stood up, took the blame and moved on. She did not say she was drunk at the time, say i did not mean is the way you mean is, or say, my personal favorite, I had sex with her, but it is not my child.

First, there is no way that this poor (in situation, not family cash), naive, 17-year-old, pregnant kid needs to be on the front page any more. It is, however, a good jumping-off point for sex-ed classes and church group discussions.

The real election issue this points to is McCain's decision-making.

If everyone in the McCain camp knew about this, it does make you wonder about the reasoning that brought Gov. Palin to the ticket. It's no crime to have family issues. However, if McCain set out to get elected, but placed a large (nearly unavoidable) distraction in his own way that could cause unnecessary distractions on reaching that goal, what does that say about his general approach to problems?

It seems an awful lot like, "We don't need a plan B. We'll be greeted as liberators."

Anyone dumb enough to accuse Palin's daughter for McCain losing the election will only have to look back over the last 8 years and pick a poison, RECESSION, IRAQ, 4k plus US Troops DEAD, $5 GAS, THE DECLINE OF THE DOLLAR, FORIEGN POLICY, CONDI RICE, DICK CHANEY, GEORGE BUSH! THere is no doubt that ignorance is running rampant in the USA, but to accuse/abuse a young woman that did what most all high school students do....well, as old saying goes, he who bares no sin, shall cast the first stone...Anyone ready to start throwing?