Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior economic policy adviser to the McCain campaign, spoke at a Monitor lunch in St. Paul, Minn., Monday. (Mary Knox Merrill/Staff)
Palin (and news of pregnant daughter) steals GOP convention spotlight
By Peter Grier | Staff writer/ September 1, 2008 edition
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Douglas Holtz-Eakin, McCain campaign policy director, touched on several subjects at Monday's Monitor Luncheon in St. Paul, as Monitor correspondent David Cook reports.
( Washington Bureau Chief David Cook )
St. Paul, Minn. – Douglas Holtz-Eakin is a serious person. He’s John McCain’s top economic adviser, and before that he was chief economist of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and director of the Congressional Budget Office, among other things. He’s taught economics at Columbia and Princeton.
So what was the first question reporters asked Mr. Holtz-Eakin at a Sept. 1 Monitor lunch here?
OK, to be fair, it was the second question. But it wasn’t about tax cuts or budget earmarks or the future of Social Security. It was, of course, about Gov. Sarah Palin, the overwhelming top nonhurricane topic of the convention.
Specifically, what did Holtz-Eakin have to say about the revelations that Governor Palin’s 17-year old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant and plans to keep the baby and marry the father?
“Senator McCain has complete confidence in [Palin] as a running mate,” said Holtz-Eakin. “It’s a matter of speculation what the impact will be in the public eye.”
Whatever this line of questioning says about the press, it reflects a reality instantly apparent to all the delegates and media gathered here: Sarah Palin is it. She is topic one. Every aspect of her life up there where it’s cold all the time and people ride float planes is newsworthy and fascinating.
On the plane into Minnesota this weekend, it was all the delegates could talk about. (Yes, delegates wear those pins and state sashes all the time. Really. ) If the unscientific polling method of eavesdropping is any guide, the pick has at the least energized the GOP delegate faithful.
Will revelations about her daughter change that? Time will tell. In the meantime, Holtz-Eakin did have things to say about what he felt were Palin’s economic credentials.
Maybe she hasn’t been to Bosnia, but she’s balanced a budget, in Holtz-Eakin’s view. She’s had more executive experience than either Barack Obama or Joe Biden – albeit some of it as the mayor of a relatively small town.
“She comes with experience that [McCain] obviously feels has prepared her well. It is common for governors to run for president,” says Holtz-Eakin.
And there’s a particular aspect to Alaskan budgeting that’s like its Washington counterpart, says the McCain adviser. The ups and downs of the oil industry subject Alaska’s revenues to wild swings – similar to the ups and downs of the congressional appropriations process.
“That gives you good training for the federal budget,” says Holtz-Eakin.
The question of whether familiarity with polar bears has any sort of Washington implication went unaddressed. Holtz-Eakin did talk about the general energy level here, however.
“It is fabulous to have Governor Palin on the ticket…. I’ve never seen anything like this excitement,” he says.
Comments
2. adell | 09.01.08
I like others have been watching Gustav. On more than one occassion, experts from the National Weather Service indicated that the destruction of wetlands in the Mississippi as a result of drilling, removed a natural barrier that would have helped minimize Gustav’s impact. Will this re-open the debate about to drill or not to drill?
3. Laura Walker | 09.01.08
As a values voter I am trying to shake this off, but this has become a bitter pill for me to swallow.
I believe that once you decide to have a family, you make a commitment to your children, and to god, to raise them to the best of your ability. I am not opposed to women working, but only if there are no children to raise.
Governor Palin claims to be a conservative, and to believe in abstinence only education. However, it does not appear that she was able to instill these values in her own children. Now, is this just a reckless child? Or does it support my first belief that instead of being governor, she should have been home raising her family.
After having a current vice president who’s daughter trampled family values, I am not sure I can support another. Family first.
4. michael | 09.01.08
my major concern is about McCain judgement. what does this say about the moral values of the Palin family. if McCain knew of the teen pregnancy, how can he still pick her as the VP?
5. Vivian | 09.01.08
Clinton, Edwards, Martha Stewart — now Palin. You just did not tell us the truth.
6. Brian | 09.01.08
I’m more concerned about Palin’s judgment as a mother. She knew that by accepting the VP offer, her daughter’s pregnancy would be pushed into the spotlight. She apparently cares more about being VP than about the absolute humiliation her daughter must be feeling right now.
I feel bad for Bristol, all children deserve better than to suffer the spotlight of a foaming-at-the-mouth media circus. Her mom should have thought so too. Very poor.
7. Robyn | 09.01.08
I’m a staunch feminist, but I’m also a mother of two teens, and it seems like Palin’s children need her far, far more than the United States does.
8. farside | 09.01.08
Chris P:
Let it go you clueless clown. You clearly do not have teenagers. Are you responsible for your parent’s actions?
A pregnant daughter does not reflect on the parents. In fact, the parent’s response shows their character are mores. It shows exactly the correct response: love the child unconditionally, keep the baby, marry the father, do the right thing.
No doubt you would have forced your daughter to have an abortion so as to alleviate your shame.
What’s next? Are you going to criticize the Palins for keeping a Down’s baby??
You ignorant, mean-spirited, self-righteous, opportunistic sob.
9. joystick9874 | 09.01.08
When you review all the information out there, there’s only one conclusion: Bristol is really closer to three months pregnant and she is expecting her second child. No way Sarah Palin flew from Texas to Alaska after her water broke. NO way she gave birth to Trig without ever having a baby bump.nO way Bristol was out of school for six month with mono.
She covered up her daughter’s first pregnancy but this time it’s out in the open.
10. Hank | 09.01.08
The revelation regarding Governor Palin’s daughter’s pregnancy should not become a point of political discussion. I do wonder, however, what the Republican reaction would have been, if during the 1996 election the Clintons announced that Chelsea was pregnant.
11. Kevin | 09.01.08
Her pregnant child is 17 and Ms. Palin is trying to make us all feel better by assuring us that she is going to GET MARRIED? Since when is getting married at 17 considered a good thing? Is it even legal for a 17-year-old to marry in Alaska?!? For goodness sake, she is a CHILD. She made a mistake. And now she is being forced (apparently) into marriage to make her mom look better - another horrible mistake.
12. Barbara | 09.01.08
I frankly cannot believe the hypocracy in all of this. The woman is clearly unqualified to be the VP. And now we find out that her own daughter is pregnant at 17. What about the parents of the father of this baby? What if they don’t want their son to be forced to marry this girl just because her mother happens to be running for VP of USA and has a reputation to consider. And don’t even get me started on her 4-month old downs syndrome baby. The politicization of that is disgusting and the fact that she doesn’t have the ‘family values’ to stay at home to raise this poor infant herself! Who’s going to mother this child? PLEASE. It’s become a no-brainer at this point. Obama/Biden all the way.
13. Joyce | 09.01.08
I talk to my daughter on a frequent basis about this issue. I tell her that if she becomes pregnant before marriage, then her life will become much more difficult. I try to discourage my daughter from becoming pregnant before she completes her education and marries. I don’t endorse Gov. Palin putting her family in the spotlight when she has an infant and pregnant out-of-wedlock teen daughter. VP is a demanding job. She is only 44 years old. She should have declined because of family issues. Now, suddenly, so-called conservatives are happy and proud of unwed teen pregnancies. Stop the madness. Stop the lying and hypocrisy. Our children’s futures are at stake. Palin’s career can wait.
14. Carmen D’Angelo | 09.01.08
It has been refreshing to see the ultimate outsider John Mc Cain pick a maverick outsider in Sarah Palin and to see her stick to her political and social agenda to compliment the achievements of her presidential partner is the grit and intensity the two of them will take to washington dc.
Sarah and Todd Palin promote their beliefs to heart with child Trig and future grandchild of daughter Bristol demonstrating love and support and example to all of us that have families of our own.
It is refreshing to have a politician that is one of us and I trust in her decisions to make the decisions I know she can make because she makes such important choices with her own family.
John and Sarah you have my vote!
15. John Christopher | 09.01.08
Between Ms. Palin’s insistence that she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere in her speech last week and finding out she actually supported it as candidate for governor of the state of Alaska, her being investigated by her State’s Ethics Committee, and now her lack of instilling family values in her own children leads me to think that Sarah Palin was not the best choice. I would have preferred someone who actually practiced what she preached instead of political posturing.
I now have to wonder what other skeletons are in her closet.
Most importantly, since Sen. McCain only met her 2 times prior to selecting her, considering her “credentials”, I also wonder if he is being adequately advised at the least, or question his judgement at the worst.
Thank you.
16. MichaelO | 09.01.08
College football started this weekend and I am an avid Bulldog fan. However, what I dislike about our political system is that we behave like the Democrats vs. the Republicans is like Harvard vs Yale, Georgia vs Georgia Tech, USC vs UCLA or whatever your favorite rivalry is. This is wrong. Our country is much more important than a football game. Layout all the issues that are important domestically and internationally. Discuss the positions of McCain and Obama and quit talking about about all the useless other stuff. Obama was right. This topic should be off limits, but so should all the trivial little comments each candidate has made ($5 million, 100 years, clingers to guns and religion, etc.). I would love it if we can discuss how each of the presidential and vp candidate stands on the issues (healthcare, immigration, iraq, afganistan). All four of them seem really smart and all four have their own experiences to bring to the job. Please let them talk about the important issues we face as a nation and let all this other trivia go.
17. Lori | 09.01.08
It is disturbing to me that we are still questioning a mother’s dedication to her family yet not questioning the fathers who routinely leave their children. Even stranger, no one is questioning Michelle Obama’s decision to leaver her children at home for a significant time during the long campaign or Nancy Pelosi’s decision to leave her family to focus on her position as Speaker of the House.
18. GuyBlaise | 09.01.08
The matter of Sarah Palin’s daughter is a private matter. The question is why she revealed it to the public at this critical time of the Republican convention, knowing the American media and their obsession for “big bad news.”
She is known as being a proponent of abstinence-only sex education. It’s so ironic that her own daughter didn’t follow her values! Yes, soon or later, people would find out but the news coming from Sarah Palin was an opportunity for her detractors to jump on the occasion. Being pregnant at seventeen and not being married is not what the “conservatives” preach.
As the Tutsi of Rwanda say, “A judge’s child is not a judge.”
http://guyblaise.com/
19. GuyBlaise | 09.01.08
The matter of Sarah Palin’s daughter is a private matter. The question is why she revealed it to the public at this critical time of the Republican
convention, knowing the American media and their obsession for “big bad news.”
She is known as being a proponent of abstinence-only sex education. It’s so ironic that her own daughter didn’t follow her values! Yes, soon or later, people would find out but the news coming from Sarah Palin was an opportunity for her detractors to jump on the occasion. Being pregnant at seventeen and not being married is not what the “conservatives” preach.
As the Tutsi of Rwanda say, “A judge’s child is not a judge.”
http://guyblaise.com/
20. Steve Jersoi | 09.01.08
Since when do kids do what their parents teach / say?
Judging the woman for her daughter’s actions?
hah.
21. Judy | 09.01.08
Do you think if Sen. Obama had a pregnant, unwed teenage daughter who was keeping her baby, that the religious right would be falling all over themselves to congratulate him on his family values? I think not.
22. CDavis | 09.01.08
How many young women in this country, which has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world, have made the ‘mistake’ of falling for a guy and having sex with him. They are planning on getting married. But, not because they have to, but because they want to. Sure, I am sure their parents want them to. But, I firmly believe that if Gov. Palin and her husband would not ‘make’ Bristol marry if she didn’t have feelings for the guy. All I can say is that Gov. Palin didn’t cheat on her husband. Her daughter is having a baby. At least now we can lay to rest the untrue rumours about Trig being Bristol’s son and not Gov. Palin’s. She has always put family first. There are a couple of articles I have read that Gov. Palin leaving important meetings to breast feed and change Trig’s diapers. How is that being a bad mother?
23. Clara | 09.01.08
1. Picking Palin without knowing much about her indicates McCain’s poor judgement. If he were elected President (I pray not), he would have even more significant decisions to make.
2. What does Palin know about the other 49 states and our problems? Does she understand inner city problems? The inner city of Wasilla looks like a bar and a gas station. And I bet it is rather homogeneous. Does she have any ideas on improving race relations, combating crime, improving innercity education, creating jobs, improving housing, and tackling all of the other myriad problems we have down here in the other 49???
3. Can Palin even name the 9 members of the Supreme Court? As one heart beat away from a senior citizen president she might very well be in a position to appoint one to three Supreme Court justices. Think what one to three more like Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Samual Alito, and John Roberts would do to any balance or judicial fairness one might hope for on the Supreme Court, and the consequent disastrous results for our country.
4. Palin opposes a woman’s right to choose. She may be too young to remember when abortion was illegal in this country. Women of means found ways to have a safe abortion. Poor, usually young (like maybe 17), uneducated women frequently died at the hands of an illegal abortionist. I much prefer “safe, legal and rare.” Compare this with prohibition. As a non-drinker, I see no good that ever comes from the consumption of alcohol. It seems to me that automobile accidents, child and spousal abuse, a great deal of crime, and health problems come from alcohol, but this country witnessed what happen when it was made illegal. The drinking didn’t stop. It went underground and created an enormous crime and corruption problem.
5. What kind of foreign policy experience could she possibly bring to this job. One trip to Kuwait and living within a few hundred miles of the most desolate part of Russia hardly counts.
6. We have had two “light-weight” vice-presidents in recent memory - Dan Quayle and Spiro Agnew. Do we really need another?
24. Gina Tan | 09.01.08
Is Sarah Palin really the best vice-presidential option that John McCain had? I am terrified at the prospect of a person (male or female) with 20 months of experience running a state with fewer people than many major American cities becoming 2nd in line to running the most powerful country in the world.
I used to admire the old John McCain and looked forward to an election where the prospect of either Obama or McCain winning was something that I could live with. Now I am afraid…John McCain is a shell of his former maverick self. The John McCain of 2008 will now do anything to pander to the people he used to call the “Agents of Intolerance.”
Because of McCain’s insane suicide choice that clearly shows that he is going for his campaign before country, I will do everything in my power to help Obama win.
25. Sandra Lilly | 09.02.08
hold on a minute…palin is the one screaming right-wing family values…and she has a child who has conceived without a nucleus family? i’m tired of preaching abstence for everyone (EXCEPT YOUR child)…lets accept that unwanted pregnancies occur…lets try to reduce the number with accurate information and last-resort abortion options. But grow up, children have sex, drink underage, and some fall victim to gay biology. Let’s take out the special case exemptions and learn to work honestly with all problems, especially our youth.
If palin grandstands about her son joining the service on 9/11 and deploying to iraq on 9/11 AND about her baby being a victim of down’s syndrome…then SHE has placed her children on the stage.
Man up. Take responsibility and learn compassion…lets work to make ALL america a better place.
26. Don Guillermo | 09.02.08
I, too, am a “values voter,” but as a matter of intellectual honesty, how can one ignore the concerns raised by those who question Palin’s work/life balance? With five kids, including one with Down Syndrome and a pregnant 17-year old, how could anyone find enough time to be both an adequate mother and a vice president? For that matter, what honest Republican can deny that George W. Bush’s 8-year tenure has been sub-par? Personally, I am changing my voter registration to Independent, and may even boycott the election.
27. Colleen | 09.02.08
Both McCain’s and Palin’s judgment must be in question. I just can’t help but think how I would have wanted to just kill my mom if she had done something when I was 17 years old that would have embarrassed me around the world. For a lot of reasons, Governor Palin should have said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” Not just because she knows she’s not qualified, but now her family is being scrutinized in a way that is really none of our business. In this case, Governor Palin really needed to put her family first. I don’t see how being McCain’s VP is worth the trouble and the potential damage to her family, especially for the excruciatingly embarrassed 17 year old daughter.
28. JulieB.T. | 09.02.08
What is wrong with you people? As IF parents can make their kids do anything!! Children start making their own choices very early on in their lives.We, as parents, can only guide them through their lives and hope and pray that they make choices that will be good for them, safe for them and help them later on as they go through life.It is not Gov.Palin or her husbands “fault” that this happened to her daughter.This was something her daughter and her boyfriend chose to do.Now, they must deal with it and luckily , they have the love and help from their families as they go through it.Good luck and bless you both for choosing to not have an abortion.
29. virgil | 09.02.08
as a canadian and following the election closely it seems the Evangelical voting block can spin the story and their belief system into a positive reply no matter what comes their way. If everything is excusable what is the point of even saying you have a code of moral ethics.They seem to shift at will to accomadate any situation ex: palins daughters pregnancy. If this is how the extreme rtght works shouldn’t they be putting John Edwards in the WHite house. wasn’t that a forgivable mistake? I cannot see this woman negotiating with the middle east, china,russia. come on people a normal middle class mother is not the answer to your prayers.
30. Carrie | 09.02.08
pregnancy a private family matter
If this is the position Sara and McCain are taking can we safely assume, that they will be keeping government out of our families lives and not promoting their abstinence only and pro-life agenda.
31. winnow | 09.02.08
Remember the idolization of teen preganacy by the media not long ago with JamieLynn Spears on the covers of magazines ect? Why was there no outcry over this pregnant teen? She became a “role model” and was glorified. Now, with the news of Palins daughter we are expected to believe that this is some sort of scandel? Give me a break.
32. Carrie | 09.02.08
http://www.myspace.com/ilovekkc The kids of small town Wasilla home of the Matanuska thunder fck (POT)recognize any of them
33. Doug | 09.02.08
I think it says a lot about the moral values of this family - instead of getting an abortion and not even telling her parents about it(as the pro-choice people would do), or staying a single mom and letting the taxpayers cover her bills (as many do in urban America), she’s actually marrying the father of the child, and He will support them (although I’m certain the new grandmother and grandfather will help out as much as they can with the 4 other kids still to raise).
The only hypocrisy I see when posters condemn Governor Palen for daring to hold public office while she and her husband are still raising their kids. I haven’t heard any complaint about the Obama, Clinton, Carter, Johnson, or Kennedy families and their children.
34. Howell Roland | 09.02.08
The choice of Palin reflects diretly upon McCain judgement or lack of it. And his willingness to take risk. Do we need a wild west gunslinger in the White House willing to take righ risk? And remember that McCain has melanoma and is at high risk of even finishing his term a President if elected. Do we want MS Palin with here finger on the button to launch nuclear weapons?
35. Nick | 09.02.08
I’m dissapointed how the CS Monitor chose to place this article in its news headlines. Teenage pregnancy is part of America, and particularly Evangelical America, which the Monitor won’t discuss. I applaud the Washington Times for its article entitled “Palin’s Pro-Life Work With Moms Hits Home” at http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/02/pro-life-work-with-pregnant-teenagers-hits-home-fo/. This unbiased article tells us that Obama is leaving personal family matters out of his campaign.
I can’t say the Palin’s are being hypocritical. The information had to be released for better or worse. I commend them on the steps being taken in not aborting the pregnancy and getting married. One misstep doesn’t mean that the future of a child and its family has to be jeopardized. I took a course in a evangelical church that emphasized “Get to know the person and not the body” when you are dating. It doesn’t matter what background you grow up in kids and unmarried adults are going to experiment. We all sin and fall short. Americans can choose to forgive or hold a grudge, it’s their choice. But this teenage and adult unmarried pregnacy problem is not going to go away. We have to deal with it, for better or worse.
36. Todd | 09.02.08
Instilling values and getting an EXACT result are two different things. Let’s not make more out of this than it really is, which is a physcially mature teenager paying the price for following a basic human urge. To pretend that we can accurately judge Palin’s work/life balance (or parenting skills) from one unfortunate incident is really kind of stupid. Isn’t it?
37. edd | 09.02.08
I supposed there is a connection between being a candidate for the Vice President of The United States and having a 17-year old pregnant, unmarried daughter. I just don’t what it is at this point.
38. Robin | 09.02.08
Jhn 8:2
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them.
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus,
“Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them,
“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her,
“Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
39. Andrew | 09.02.08
Here’s the deal: For all of the GOP’s high-mindedness, they slipped badly on this one — over many fronts. What should be of major concern to any likely McCain supporter is the fact that the nominee failed to take the time to review his candidate for Vice President, a position made even more important over the years by Al Gore and Dick Cheney. Vetting from the campaign can be disasterous. Vetting by the media can be deadly!
40. Michael R | 09.02.08
It is deplorable that the liberal media will not leave Sarah Palin’s family alone, even as the chief liberal-in-charge, Obama himself, has instructed. Most families make mistakes, of one kind or another. The Palin’s are handling this with grace. The over-focus on Palin’s daighter is a blatant attempt by the mainstream media to derail the McCain-Palin campaign. Perhaps the media should now focus on the skeletons in Joe Biden’s closet, of which there apparently is at least one?
41. Christin | 09.02.08
What people are forgetting to mention here is that Palin’s daughter is a separate person with her own thoughts, and decision-making abilities. Whether the daughter’s decisions are right or wrong, it is admirable that Palin is making the stand to continue to support and love her family through tough times as well as the smooth. Name one family out there that hasn’t had challenging times to weather- Liberal or Conservative. Political beliefs aside, we are all human, and apt to make mistakes. It is how one handles the storm that shows the real merit of the person. As every parent knows, you can raise your children to a certain point, and hope that they make wise choices. But ultimately, everyone is his/her own person, and will make his/her own choices in the end. I don’t think that this shows hypocrisy, it shows reality. You can’t force someone to follow your own beliefs, you can only set an example, and hope that that is enough.
42. john m morcos | 09.02.08
A while back Arnold Schwarzeneger starred in a movie entitled
True Lies …
Perhaps it was an OMEN of thinks to come from the Republican Party. They seem to have two sets of standards, or at least John McCain does, one that justifies all their ill actions and motives, and the other that is on a much higher plane, for everyone else to be judged by …
True Lies should be the motto of the current Republican Party …
43. Robert A, Dunphy | 09.02.08
Enough is enough —- allusions to one’s family should be off limits. Let’s stick to the issues (health care, pensions, social security, education, poverty, wars, drugs, immigration, etc.,) and not laboriously try to connect the activities of a 17-year old to the wothiness of a vice presidential nominee.
This kind of venom can cut both ways, and this country cannot afford to slant the dialogue to non-issues. As we have so tragically seen, a president does hold the power of life and death —
I dare say that in this overly sensitive, politically correct, holier than thou, hyped headline climate, FDR, JFK, Ike and Harry S. would not have been elected, that is if they tried.
And, for the devious among you, I’m an an Obama supporter.
44. Petro | 09.02.08
This woman is a token candidate. The only thing missing is that she is not black. Yes, I said black. But, if she were black, the press would be calling her a ***** not “off-limits” as both campaigns have stated.
I think McCain is trying to capture an audiance that is sooooooooo far away from his reality that once again, HE DOES NOT GET IT.
Send Palin back to Alaska where she and her family can figure out how to raise this child of her daughter’s. She can also do research on Down’s Syndrome.
She can go fly a kite, invent the cure for cancer - I don’t care - something - just do not patronize me with a token to keep the peace with the women who can’t and don’t think for themselves. NRA? Good Lord.
45. Jonathan Guyer | 09.02.08
I can’t figure out how McCain is going to spin his choice at the RNC. Without a doubt, those repub strategists have been prepping Sarah Palin for months. Forget her morality, what about her decision-making capacity?
mexmw
MIDEASTbyMIDWEST.com
46. Margarette Bull | 09.03.08
What worries me is the fact that the Vice President becomes President by default if something happens to the President. Hillary had a chance to become the first woman President of the United States. She didn’t make it this time despite her extensive experience in government partly due to the fact that many individuals will never vote for a woman. What if Palin becomes the first woman President? That will be a slap in the face for Hillary after the long campaign trail and millions of dollars spent. Let the media compare the experience of these two women. Is Palin qualified to become President if the need arises?….I don’t think so!
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1. Chris Pearcy | 09.01.08
The subject Palin’s pregnant teenage daughter is being vastly dismissed as a private family issue. However this became a public issue when McCain nominated Palin as VP. What does this say about parental responsibility?? What does this say for proper work/life balance?? AND what does this say about the effectiveness of Palin’s own “abstinence only” polcy?? These are issues that McCain picked Palin for in the first place. The fact that her 17 year old daughter is pregnant clearly demonstrates that Palin has not taken an active enough role in supervising her daughter and that she has devoting too much of her time to her work and not enough to her family and daughter. Further, this undermines Palin’s own “abstinence only” position. No one is necessary judging the daughter here. They are judging the VP candidate, her hypocrisy, and McCain’s judgment in choosing her.