This is no rumor.
The 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is pregnant
[…]
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.
Wow.
UPDATE: A couple of things. First, this really should put to bed the rumors of Bristol being the mother of Palin’s youngest child, Trig, as there is no way she could be 5 months pregnant now after having given birth four months ago.
Second, I’ve been hearing over and over that Sarah Palin does not believe in birth control, even between a husband and a wife. As I backtracked through trying to find the source of that, it appears that the it was simply the echo chamber of the blogosphere and not reality. According to TIME:
She is Christian and pro-life, but also a supporter of birth control: she’s a member of Feminists For Life (FFL), an anti-abortion, pro-contraception organization.
I trust that TIME has a source for this.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Thank you for your even handed coverage.
Ah. But Feminists for Life is “pro-contraception” in name only. See this 2006 article, or any of a half dozen more recent articles.
Time is just lazy.
In fact, the more I read, the less I confidence I have in any assertion that Palin supports contraception (that that is even a question shows how absolutely ridiculous this has become). And “Feminists for Life” certainly doesn’t. From the same article linked above “When Feminists for Life has chosen to address the issue of contraception, it has invariably been to point out the health hazards posed in particular forms of birth control.”
Can we all just agree that Bristol Palin’s pregnancy is not a political issue and that we don’t need to ruin the life of a 17 year-old girl ?
I can just see what the press corps and the blogosphere will do to this child if this story isn’t dropped, now
Vivian,You must not have anything better else to do on labor day than blog on this pointless story. Who care? The liberal press glamorized the story of Jamie Lynn Spears and her pregnancy and made it out to be like it was the greatest thing! I didn’t see you blogging on that one!
Dunno, was Jamie Lynn Spears’ mother running to be the Vice President of the United States and relying on her stellar family values and parenting skills as part of her qualifications?
~
Doug, I don’t think anyone is really talking about the young woman herself. What we’re talking about is Palin’s parenting and values (which we’ve been had waved at us as proof of what a stellar VP she will be) resulting in having a daughter that gets knocked up at 17. That’s not parenting we can believe in!
MB,
Who cares about Palin’s parenting, she’s not running to be anyone’s mother.
This is a dangerous road to go down because you and I both know that there are politicians on both sides of the aisle with family skeletons in the closet.
Doug, are you telling me that Palin’s parenting is, er, was not being held up by her running mate, party, and supporters as proof of character, and thus qualification for VP? Really? Did you just avoid political coverage for the last 72 hours?
I’m not saying that this is a solid issue to jump on (for any number of reasons), but it’s hardly something to declare as “off limits” the minute it doesn’t work in your favor.
As to the “dangerous road” bit, I’m not at all bothered about the political affiliation in instances like this. It’s the hypocrisy. And it just so happens that on family/social issues, the Republicans have a much stronger track record than Dems (where the hypocrisy is more like Biden’s representing MBNA better than the working class, on bankruptcy issues).
MB,
You are aware that no less a person than Barack Obama has said that this story is, in fact, off limits ?
http://tinyurl.com/57xceo
IMO, that should be the end of this discussion.
And just so we’re clear, what I really think of Sarah Palin can be summed up by reading pretty much everything I’ve written about her since Friday:
http://tinyurl.com/56wj3t
It’s just that I don’t think that her daughter, or how her family handles an issues that families deal with all the time, is something that belongs in a political campaign.
On that issue at least, I agree with Obama.
Stop the drama. Vote Obama.
Here is a statement about contraception from the website of Femininists for Life:
On the surface it looks reasonable. The problem is that many of the most effective forms of contraception are defined by them as “abortifacient.” These include IUD and birth control pills. They would also oppose the morning after pill in the case of rape. In addition, many of their members would argue that birth control pills are harmful to women’s health, and in some cases, that could be true. But it’s not necessarily a reason to support making the pill illegal for all women.
I don’t know Palin’s position on contraception. If she told that to the Time reporter, I’ll accept it as true, but as usual they did not do their homework regarding the organization FFL.
Republicans have better family values? I’m 17, and the image that pops in my head when I think of Republicans is some homophobic politician turning up in gay sex scandals.
I’ve yet to see an actual quote from Palin saying that she supports contraception. In any event, even if there were one, why would you accept it as true, AIAW? Palin has already demonstrated an inability to correctly understand the facts (or, less generously, tell the truth) when it comes to politically sensitive issues, and the groups with which she affiliates certainly have worked against contraception.
This “under the table” issue along with a few more for the Palin family is going to hurt creditibility and trust. IE: are the US taxpayer’s going to have to pay for visitation rights for a grandchild if this “father” decides to leave? IS he a US citizen? Voters need to know the whole “first” family and vice president family. This is not a private issue if it affect US Security and voter trust.
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson issued a statement commending the Palins “for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out even in the midst of trying circumstances.” He added: “Being a Christian does not mean you’re perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord.”
Roberta Combs, president of the Christian Coalition of America called the pregnancy private. “It’s a matter that should stay in the family and they have to work through it together. My prayers go out to them.”
Added Combs: “We’re excited about the governor and think she’s going to do well.”
Mathew Staver, dean of Liberty University School of Law, said: “We’re all sinners.”
“We all make mistakes. Certainly, the ideal is not to get pregnant out of wedlock. But she made the right decision after her mistake,” he said.
“P.S. Obama’s a Muslim.” “Did I mention John McCain was a POW?” “Look — over there — it’s a hurricane.”
I agree with AIAW that this birth control question needs to be answered, now.
And what was Palin thinking putting her child in the public spotlight at a time like this? Why didn’t she just turn down the offer? She could have saved her family a lot of uncomfortable scrutiny.