Can This Get Any Weirder?
Sarah Palin today announced that her 17-year old daughter Bristol is pregnant. She will marry the father.
Word comes from McCain sources that the family announced this in response to rumors that Palin’s son Trig, who has Down’s Syndrome, was actually Bristol’s baby. Those rumors have been effectively quashed by this photo taken in April, just before Trig’s birth.
There are still many questions swirling about Sarah Palin’s decision to board an 8-hour flight from Texas to Alaska AFTER her water broke. She was one month premature with a special-needs child and risked infection and a dangerous airborne delivery by going back to Alaska and not having the baby in Dallas. Anecdotal conversations I’ve had with women show horror at the prospect of getting on an airplane after leaking amniotic fluid late in pregnancy. Who would do that? Isn’t that reckless?
All of this comes on the heels of an ongoing investigation into Sarah Palin’s potential abuse of power for firing the Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan for not removing Palin’s ex-brother-in-law from the police force. Mike Wooten, the trooper in question, had been abusing Sarah’s sister and was embroiled in a nasty custody dispute.
Each of these stories in isolation would be noteworthy and a bit odd. But taken together they portray a family in a great deal of crisis – a special-needs infant, a sister and brother-in-law embroiled in a conflict that could result in legal charges filed against Governor Palin for abuse of power, and now a teenage pregnancy, made public apparently to deflect attention paid to the bizarre circumstances of Trig’s birth.
I have no idea what the political ramifications of all this are. I suppose many people will just feel more sympathy for a family that is all too “real.” I know that I feel sympathy for them. But the thought that John McCain knew all of this and decided to promote her from Alaska Governor to a heartbeat away from the Presidency is quite stunning. What does it say about McCain’s judgment? Die he really vet her? Or did he figure that our tabloid-obsessed nation would somehow not care about these things? Or maybe he calculated that these stories would just make her more authentic and sympathetic. Who knows?
All I can say is that this campaign has gotten truly bizarre. Is there any modern precedent for this? GOP officials are supposedly a bit stunned at the Bristol pregnancy. Does this factor in to a “family values” campaign in some way? As a decidedly non-family-values voter I have no idea how to calculate it.
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47 Responses to “Can This Get Any Weirder?”
There's an old saying:
“Those in glass houses should not throw stones”.
To me it seems like Sarah Palin's family is like just about any family I've ever heard of, complete with messy relationships and human errors. The public will judge how “horrible” of a candidate she is based on these things.
Don't look for her honesty to be a bad thing. The fact that she offered it up for what it was might actually work in her favor.
Obama needs to tread very lightly when it comes to criticizing scandals in other candidates…Very lightly…
Karl Rove, you magnificent bastard, I know you are behind this.
Who else but a genius could have not only picked a beauty queen, soccer mom, pro-energy snowmobiling governor, but then arrange to get her daughter pregnant in the same week.
The largest demographic of swing voters is lower income single mothers, and if Sarah didn’t have their vote before, she sure does now.
How does this guy do it?
What Joe Scarborough really thinks about Palin Nomination!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTbsbeY5k5k
Let's see how they spin it this week.
“But taken together they portray a family in a great deal of crisis – a special-needs infant, a sister and brother-in-law embroiled in a conflict that could result in legal charges filed against Governor Palin for abuse of power….”
I wonder if the Palins knew what they were getting themselves into with Sarah accepting the VP nomination. Not just her, but her husband…. I see that he is now going to be a “stay at home Dad” which is great, but of course since this is politics I can't help but wonder if they've been coaxed into saying this…. Mr. Palin, with his multiple cross-racing championships on snow mobiles, etc. seems too much of a “frontiersman” than a stay at home Dad…. He (and his wife) obviously did not have enough supervision of their daughter…. If Sarah Palin can't even supervise her own family and keep them out of trouble, then I wonder how she's supposed to be VP and supervise world affairs.
Even if Sarah had the experience, she is clearly not in a place in her life, especially with a special needs newborn, where she can devote her attention to the duties of VP (or as president if something were to happen to McCain). It's one thing to be a working mom and take an afternoon off for teachers' meetings or go to the hospital to attend to the needs of your family. It's another thing to be VP (or president) of the world's only superpower in two separate wars with threats of further conflicts arising.
If we can only get Obama or Biden to say on television what Stockboy SF wrote, the republicans would win every election for the next 50 years.
Hi Sil
Is this “lightly” enough for you (Obama's position on Palin's pregnant daughter)?
From ABC News:
At a brief press availability in Monroe, Mich., ABC News asked Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., if he had any response to Gov. Sarah Palin's statement that her unmarried 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant.
“Let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people's families are off limits,” Obama said, “and people's children are especially off limits.
“This shouldn't be part of our politics,” he continued, “It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president.
“And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,” he said. “You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn't be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that's off limits.”
Asked about the insinuation from the McCain campaign that the liberal bloggers trafficking in rumors about Palin write for websites that mention Obama, the senator said, “I'm offended by that.”
The Democratic presidential nominee said, “There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us. I hope I am as clear as can be – so in case I’m not, let me repeat: We don't go after people's families, we don't get them involved in the politics. It's not appropriate and it's not relevant.”
Concluded Obama before getting on his campaign bus headed to Milwaukee, Wisc., “Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be. And if I ever thought that it was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they'd be fired.”
I'm with Barack.
Oh well, I guess I’ll just wait for Biden in one of his famously “unguarded” moments.
Bristol Palin should REALLY be off limits. Poor girl. My reaction is what a horrible thing to have a politician as a mother. Poor Bristol. Poor Edwards' children. Poor Chelsea…. Thankfully, Sen. Obama may have some effect on out of control scandal mongering. Or maybe not. sigh.
I should restate: what a horrible thing to have a PARENT as a politician. Definitely not singling out the women or mothers.
Yorkie – WTF exactly are you implying? That they cut Bristol open and shoved another baby in there?
The more this goes on, the more all you sanctimonious pr!cks on the left that have been bubbling and whining forever about the mean-spirtedness of the right have lost any moral high ground you may have thought you had.
You are showing your true, sick, vile, hateful selves for all us to see.
Austin, how do you spew such hate speech without getting banned here? And why?
Bacalove, thanks for the link. That's perfect, especially the line about Clinton supporters not accepting “a substitute for Hillary… I think they view that as condescending”. Hope she and the Dems run with that one. It appears the only thing they have in common is chromosome count.
jwest, “If we can only get Obama or Biden to say on television what Stockboy SF wrote, the republicans would win every election for the next 50 years.”
Look, first of all Palin and her family need to understand what the job of VP and president means (which apparently she does not), the responsibility of those positions and being at a place in their lives where she can successfully attend to a nation of over 300 million people. A nation in two wars and other countries saber rattling. Given that Sarah Palin can not even seem to properly supervise her own kids (and they don't follow her advice) then I am very concerned about Palin making decisions which directly impact my life and the lives of everyone in this country.
I sympathize with her wanting to juggle parenthood and being a “working Mom” but the president (which she would become if something happens to McCain) takes an oath to uphold the US Constitution. If she is president there will be times when she must decide between her job and her family. That's what every working mom (and dad) juggle. I just feel that the job of the presidency requires and demands so much attention that she should not be forced to juggle her talks with Russia, Iran, Korea (or whoever) with parent/teachers conferences.
Given Palin's slim record as Alaska governor she hasn't shown good judgement and I don't think she's ready either personally or with the necessary experience to lead this country should something happen to McCain. After all the ultimate question we should be asking about Palin is if she can be president. After all that is the purpose of having the office of the VP (and not as a “president in training” position). Give Palin a couple more years so her youngest (if she doesn't have any more) is older, she gains more experience (and understands what is required of her) and then we can have a good debate about her and her policies. Right now she doesn't have a position on much of anything.
Austin,
Apparently, you haven’t received the memo yet.
Now we are the kinder, gentler Republican Party.
• The party of single moms.
• The party of working women.
• The party of blue collars guys who had a few too many drinks 20 years ago.
• The party of real American families.
• The party that doesn’t hang around with domestic terrorists.
• The party that likes drilling for oil.
• The party that goes to churches that don’t hate America.
• The party that wins wars instead of surrenders.
We are running against the arugala-eating elitists who want to “change” our country into something unrecognizable to the un-French.
Sure, we’re going to lose a few votes. The two parent, Harvard educated African American demographic is gone. Some of the people who can’t afford jet fuel and have to fly commercial won’t be voting our way. Aside from that, just about everyone else will be going for McCain/Palin.
I’m liking this new image.
Stockboy,
Obama has two young children and his wife has a job that pays double what he makes right now. Shouldn’t he forget about running and stay home with the kids?
I pretty sure the San Francisco chapter of NOW is trying to track you down to make an example of you at their next women’s rights rally.
“Does this factor in to a “family values” campaign in some way? As a decidedly non-family-values voter I have no idea how to calculate it.”
Not in the way lefties are used to thinking about it, but actually in an even more politically potent way.
AR: The more this goes on, the more all you sanctimonious pr!cks on the left that have been bubbling and whining forever about the mean-spirtedness of the right have lost any moral high ground you may have thought you had.
This from the guy who only two hours ago said, “I still say Michelle Obama is a Chicago crack whore.”
Yeah I know, you were merely reiterating what you read in an email and probably don't really believe that. But I'm sure you really did read that in an email. The point being that the sick, vile, and hateful among us know no party bounds. And certainly one cannot rely on what an anonymous blogger says in order to imply some sort of official affiliation. But there is something notable here: when Obama was asked to respond about the rumors concerning Palin he disavowed them forcefully. What has McCain had to say about Jerome Corsi and his book, “The Obama Nation”?
Yeah I know, that's different. But is it really?
jwest: Now we are the kinder, gentler Republican Party.
• The party of single moms.
• The party of working women.
• The party of blue collars guys who had a few too many drinks 20 years ago.
• The party of real American families.
• The party that doesn’t hang around with domestic terrorists.
• The party that likes drilling for oil.
• The party that goes to churches that don’t hate America.
• The party that wins wars instead of surrenders.
Hot damn, where do I sign up? Of course, before I do could you please fill in the details on the following:
• The party of single moms.
• The party of working women.
• The party of blue collars guys who had a few too many drinks 20 years ago.
• The party of real American families.
• The party that doesn’t hang around with domestic terrorists.
• The party that likes drilling for oil.
• The party that goes to churches that don’t hate America.
• The party that wins wars instead of surrenders.
Just asking.
rico- I am SO sorry. I forgot that the lobotomy (that is when they cut out part of your brain) required to join the left makes it impossible (not able to) to know when someone is making fun of you, or is using hyperbole (over-stating to make a point).
I will try to use smaller words when I direct a post to you, or add definitions like I did this time, in the hope that you might be able to keep up.
rico – Just so you can keep up this time, there was no email. I made that up.
I made all the crack whore stuff up. That was the point.
Hyperbole (big word, I know, but I did define it right above).
Ricorun,
It’s called identity politics. Who do you identify with?
• If you’re a working woman – Palin
• If you’re a single mom – Palin’s daughter
• If you’re a blue collar working guy – Palin’s husband
• If you’re a real American family – The Palin family
• If you don’t hang out with terrorists – Anyone but Obama
• If you want more drilling – Palin
• If your church doesn’t preach “God Damn America – Palin
• If you like winning wars as opposed to surrendering/cutting/running – McCain
Check the list, see if you fall into any of the categories.
Now, doesn’t it give you a warm, fuzzy feeling knowing that you’ll vote republican this time?
Plus it looks like Elrod will have to reevaluate his future as a Democratic Party official………….
“Our people were not involved in any way in this, and they will not be. And if I thought there was somebody in my campaign who was involved in something like that, they would be fired.”
Elrod will probably keep his job, but I don’t know about everyone at MSNBC.
To summarize stockboy's comments: women working while raising children is all fine and good, so long as they know better than to take on a job that has a lot of responsibility.
jwest: “Obama has two young children and his wife has a job that pays double what he makes right now. Shouldn’t he forget about running and stay home with the kids?”
The Obama's have made sure that Barack's campaigning and public life minimally impact the kids. The decision to run for president was considered long and hard by both of them. Barack's and Michelle's kids seem very well behaved, very intelligent and well brought up.
Sarah Palin and her husband seem to have difficultly managing the responsibilities of her being governor and the raising of their kids (at least the daughter). Palin has failed to properly supervise her children and instill her values in them. To be clear my goal is to point out Sarah Palin's inability to juggle her family and job as Alaska governor. What happens beyond that is their business and as I said in my first posting I am very glad to see that her daughter and boyfriend are taking responsibility for their actions: they've obviously sat down, talked about and have settled on a course of action. The details and decisions really aren't my concern nor the point I'm making.
Furthermore, let's say Palin does become president in a year or two but then decides to have another kid (or to even take care of her youngest with Downs) and she wants to take some time off. Are you saying that it is fine for her to take a couple years off being president to raise the kids in the middle of her term? All I'm saying is that Palin (and any president) should be at a point in their lives where they can devote the necessary time and attention to running the greatest country on Earth. Being president is not just something you do in the middle of your career as you climb the corporate ladder… (much less taking time off to raise a family in the middle of your term). The demands of the presidency are hard and if she chooses to go down that path she and her family need to understand the commitment and sacrifice she is making.
CStanely, thanks. That's mostly a good summary…. But there are tons of jobs out there that require a lot of responsibility, and if the mom (or dad) want to take time off, that's fine (or at least it should be fine). They should have the ability to raise a family. But the job as president (and VP since the VP's primary purpose is to replace the president if necessary) has the highest standard and requires sacrifice and the ability to serve our country, especially as Commander in Chief.
Thanks for the summary….
Stockboy,
You may be right.
All you need to do now is reverse the last 30 years of the women’s movement, which has argued that women can do exactly what Sarah Palin is proposing to do.
StockBoy,
You really ought to drop the line of commentary about them being unable to control their daughter. I don't know how serious you are about it, but it has nothing to do with her qualifications for VP or lack of same. And this comes from someone who thinks she is completely lacking in qualifications and really doesn't care for her ideology.
Obama, no offense, doesn't have a newborn with Down's syndrome and a pregnant 17-year-old. That is actually a slight difference.
For once Jim and I agree- except for the last sentence of his post, of course.
This is hilarious. The right is actually going to do, as its agents here are doing, a “full throated” endorsement and defense of Palin as being the best choice in America to step in as president at a moment's notice. The best choice Republicans have to offer. Damn. You guys really believe that?
GD: I believe that as much as you believe that Obama is qualified not just to step in, but actually to be president starting in January. I see Obama and Palin being a wash in terms of experience, though each brings different types of experience to the table. That's always the case with Senators vs. Governors.
I actually think both of them will have to get up to speed if/when they take the reins as POTUS, but with Obama, if he's elected he will have to step into that immediately. Odds certainly aren't on McCain keeling over on Inauguration Day.
Aside from all that anyway, GD, what we're actually defending in this thread is the general concept that families deserve privacy and that candidates presumably have worked out their families abilities to handle the challenges of office should they win the election.
And I'm an 'agent'? Cool!
AR: I will try to use smaller words when I direct a post to you, or add definitions like I did this time, in the hope that you might be able to keep up.
I appreciate the thought. But don't bend over backwards on my account. Use as many complicated words you want. I'm pretty sure I can keep up. In fact, I'm so sure that I find your implication laughable (especially about the lobotomy thing — if you only knew). But that's neither here nor there. The fact is, your attack on me is nothing more than an ad hominem one. And frankly, I doubt you are capable of much more. At least you have never exhibited such. You never even answered your own questions!
So, I will rather respond to jwest, who at least has responded in detail, although he has changed the questions. What a surprise. Anyway…
• If you’re a working woman – Palin
What legislation can Palin point to in that regard? More importantly perhaps, what legislation can McCain point to which he has supported in that regard?
• If you’re a single mom – Palin’s daughter
Ditto.
• If you’re a blue collar working guy – Palin’s husband
Now that's downright funny.
• If you’re a real American family – The Palin family
And somehow neither the Obama family or the Biden family is. Good luck selling that. Especially now.
• If you don’t hang out with terrorists – Anyone but Obama.
Beware of McCain's lobbyist connections.
• If you want more drilling – Palin
More to the point, if you want ONLY more drilling – Palin. It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.
• If your church doesn’t preach “God Damn America – Palin
Hmmm… I suspect her connections may complicate this meme as well.
• If you like winning wars as opposed to surrendering/cutting/running – McCain
If you want a coherent foreign policy — Obama/Biden. If you want an incoherent foreign policy (or one that doesn't have a clue) — McCain/Palin.
So… do I get to offer my own points now?
A lot of the debate regarding Palin's motherhood and grandmotherhood illustrates the theory behind McCain's “Hail Hary” move. Her relative anonymity, now suddenly cast into the glare of the nation was supposed to be the needed distraction from the real issues of this campaign. As long as we follow the sideshow we don't get any substantive focus on what McCain really intends to do granted the presidency. I already hear the cable news trying to set up Biden that he will have to reign himself in and be nice to her in the debates, etc. If Obama and Biden maintain their discipline regarding staying issue focused they have it in the bag. Any criticism will still be directed at McCain himself, his running mate being such an unknown that it doesn't matter what she thinks, she has no policies to attack. The GOP are praying to hear criticism regarding her mothering abilities in some effort to fire up all these supposed disaffected women voters out there. That Palin is unprepared for the job has little to do with her parenting.
rico – again, I overestimated your ability to read.
I DID answer your 'questions' to me, by trying to tell you I MADE UP THE CRACK WHORE STUFF!
Why? I appreciate (now) you trouble understanding that. It was that big word 'hyperbole' again.
Jazz (and others) have been making a big deal that 'we have to investigate if Palin is really Trig's Grandma', because even though there are pictures of her being pregnant at the time, well, that wasn't good enough. Sliming her daughter seemed so much more fun.
Then, when it turns out that Bristol is currently pregnant, and has been for long enough to exclude her (yet again) as the the mother of Trig, then we get an unbelievable accusation that either the new pregnancy is faked, or as i said, the stuffed a new baby inside her to protect her Mom.
If the Left is willing to believe that BS, then why shouldn't I start my own set of completely facetious, implausible, and offensive rumors? I have been waiting for Jazz or one of the other illuminated lights that do the front page postings to run with it. After all, my rumor is as equally soured, and relevant, as all this crap and Palin, Trig and Bristol has been.
If you STILL can't understand what is going on, then there is nothing more I can do to help you overcome your comprehension shortcomings.
lurxst – How cynical. And how likely to be true.
I hadn't thought of that perspective, because I haven't thought of any logical reason she would have been selected.
I don't work for Obama. And this post is not presenting anything that isn't in the public record.
Like it or not, the family stuff is part of politics. Its important to respect their privacy. But this could be the First Family and the nation can expect to have a window into it (as they do with the Obamas and Bidens).
AR: rico – again, I overestimated your ability to read. I DID answer your 'questions' to me, by trying to tell you I MADE UP THE CRACK WHORE STUFF!
I apologize for confusing you with jwest. But now that I have you all worked up, answer the Jerome Corsi question I asked you.
Poor women have often worked while raising families — textile mills in my Appalachian ancestors cases, etc. Working as maids etc. I don't know why this is such a big freaking deal now that middle-class women have done it in great numbers.
Jim S (and CStanley): you're right. Though my comments are more about Palin being able to balance work and home life, something we all struggle with, especially single parents. I've said enough. Sorry for my rants. Once was more than enough.
Thanks-
rico – OK, saw your Corsi question this time.
I agree, it is not horribly different, and to McCain's detriment, he has not addressed it in an honorable way.
Ricorun,
You missed my point about identity politics.
It doesn’t matter what her positions are to the group of voters we are talking about. They wouldn’t know how to interpret the policies nor would they care. These people don’t pay attention to politics, but they vote in Presidential elections.
Barak will get basically the entire black vote due to identity politics. The African American community identifies with Obama. Guilt-ridden high income liberals will vote for Obama due to identity politics. They knew Hillary was the more experienced and ready, but they identified with the cause of electing a black candidate to help cleanse their ancestral shame.
Single mothers, working moms, blue collar men and a few other groups will identify with Palin – she is one of them.
jw
I'm been a single mother, a working mom, blue collar to boot, for 24 years, and Palin is NOT a woman I identify with at all. Her values aren't my values. Being radically Anti-Choice for ALL Americans is completely opposite of how I raised my children.
Jackie,
The fact that you read this website places you outside of the group Palin is meant to target.
She will appeal to swing voters who don’t really pay attention to politics.
Of course, for every pro-choice voter there is a pro-lifer canceling them out.
jwest, I understand your point about identity politics and low information voters. But the fact is that some issues oriented stuff does filter through — especially in battleground states. The real question is how it will play. And it's not just about pro-choice vs pro-life. If you ask me, the big elephant in the room is corruption. Right now the GOP is playing up her maverick status in bucking her own party to clean up the swamp they had up there. And that's what's playing best right now. But closer to the election Ted Stevens will be standing trial. And I suspect that will mean her ties to him will become clearer to the average voter. Additionally, the investigation (one of them anyway) is supposed to come out with their findings just days before the election. If that doesn't go well McCain is in big trouble.
jwest has made my point for me, again. The GOP must trick voters into voting against their interests with emotional issues and “identity politics” rather than relying on the strength or in this case, weakness, of their positions. So, the GOP is praying for “low information voters” to hand them the victory that they can't earn with their policies.