via the NYPost
The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant, Palin said on Monday in an announcement intended to knock down rumors by liberal bloggers that Palin faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her child.
Bristol Palin, one of Alaska Gov. Palin's five children with her husband, Todd, is about five months pregnant and is going to keep the child and marry the father, the Palins said in a statement released by the campaign of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
For my part I'll apologize for entertaining the conspiracy. It'll be interesting to see whether Kos apologizes.
I don't imagine the revelation will have much of a negative effect on Palin. Oh, she'll get a few bumps and bruises from the evangelical cadre of her base perhaps and the left will murmur about hypocrisy, I suppose. But an unwed, pregnant 17 year old is hardly an earth shattering revelation in today's society for most of us, I shouldn't think.
I don't believe Palin is stupid but cracks in her political savvy are showing very early on. Perhaps Half Sigma is correct, if not in his scathing (but funny, in a wincing fashion) criticism but that McCain should heave her overboard and bring on a more mainstream candidate. Could McCain survive (politically I mean) such an incredible (unprecedented) shift? I suspect not. He'd as much be admitting his lack of judgment and laying his own head on the political ax man's block.
No, I think for better or for worse (and who knows, the masses are fickle and oft unpredictable, Palin could prove a boon for her naivety) McCain's course is chosen and he's going to have to ride it out to November.
9 comments:
"...and who knows, the masses are fickle and oft unpredictable".
Those damn masses, you just cannot trust them. They end up voting their own minds and, as was the case in 1948, they will end up voting for some dunce like Truman, a President who promptly thereafter became as unpopular as Bush while still in office. But history proved that the voters had it right in the first place. What a shock!
It appears hard core conservatives are circling their wagons around Palin and the far left bloggers who started this debacle have somewhat isolated themselves as a result. Even the Obama statement on the matter is quite critical of their activities. I suspect McCain remains quite pleased today with his choice, especially since he knew about the pregnancy long before announcing his pick.
Cracks in her politcal savy?? Not sure where your coming from on that, Jay.
At least for now, Palin was a good choice.
"she'll get a few bumps and bruises from the evangelical cadre of her base"
No.
Pro-life people will be very understanding, kind, supportive on this. They are in favor of people having babies instead of killing them even when it's hard. That's kinda sorta the whole point.
What I noticed about news coverage of this was whenever one of the talking heads (Dem or Rep) brought this up in the context of sex education, he or she was resoundingly smacked down left and right (politically not literally).
"At least for now, Palin was a good choice."
Jeff, I admire the way you're starting to hedge your bets on Palin.
It's interesting to read about how the McCain camp may not have vetted Palin thoroughly, and that some interesting chickens are coming home to roost. I see, for example, that she was a member of the Alaska Independence Party.
Jeff, perhaps you're right and the McCain campaign's political savvy is showing cracks, the assumption here being that it was a campaign decision to hide the daughters pregnancy. I claim no political genius but were it me, I'd have let the young Palin's pregnancy slip to the public much sooner. The Obama camp has sworn off including this in their own strategy. That, however, does not mean independent sources won't toss it back at her.
lexington green, I'd expected some small backlash in light of Palin's abstinence stance. It would appear little if any came about, indeed the pro-life message is carrying much greater weight.
A backlash was/is not likely. Her extremist position on abortion will get her into trouble with non-evangelical women though.
Opposing abortion in the case of rape is not only unpractical but deeply unpopular. That she backed this up by saying she would want her own daughter if she was raped to have the child only makes her look kooky and deeply unserious.
I am pro-life, but I have seen women and children born of rape. Its not something worth defending or a choice any human being should prevent another from having.
Obama has started running ads about McCain/Palin's abortion record and views. This will keep his hopes reasonable in the election and may help lock up most of the remaining indy women voters out there that aren't evangelicals.
Oh, she'll get a few bumps and bruises from the evangelical cadre of her base perhaps and the left will murmur about hypocrisy, I suppose. But an unwed, pregnant 17 year old is hardly an earth shattering revelation in today's society for most of us, I shouldn't think.
You still think that after the super majority of attacks and comments concerning this subject have been shown conclusively?
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