17 year old Bristol Palin is pregnant

[ldzppln]

OMG. Did the McCain campaign know about this? If they did, are they so desperate for the pro-life vote that they'd pick Sarah Palin so this story could play out?

Amazing.

From CNN.com

Bristol Palin, 17-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin, is pregnant and will keep the baby and marry the father, a senior McCain aide confirms.

[ldzppln]

Okay, let me see if I get the McCain campaign's logic.

These evil liberal blogs are spreading mean, nasty rumors about Sarah Palin's daughter having had a baby.

So, in order to put an end to the mean, nasty rumors, they announce Sarah Palin's daughter is PREGNANT!

To rebut rumors, Palin says daughter, 17, pregnant

ST. PAUL (Reuters) - 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.

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

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," the Palins' statement said.

"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. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support," the Palins said.

The Palins asked the news media to respect the young couple's privacy.

"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, respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates," the statement concluded.

MCCAIN KNEW

Senior McCain campaign officials said McCain knew of the daughter's pregnancy when he selected Palin last week as his vice presidential running mate, deciding that it did not disqualify the 44-year-old governor in any way.

In the short period since she was announced last Friday, Palin has helped to energize the Republican Party's conservative base, giving the McCain camp fresh energy going into the campaign for the November 4 election against Democrat Barack Obama.

McCain officials said the news of the daughter's pregnancy was being released to rebut what one aide called "mud-slinging and lies" circulating on liberal blog sites.

According to these rumors, Sarah Palin had faked a pregnancy and pretended to have given birth in May to her fifth child, a son named Trig who has Down syndrome. The rumor was that Trig was actually Bristol Palin's child and that Sarah Palin was the grandmother.

A senior McCain campaign official said the McCain camp was appalled that these rumors had not only been spread around liberal blog sites and partisan Democrats, but also were the subject of heightened interest from mainstream news media.

"The despicable rumors that have been spread by liberal blogs, some even with Barack Obama's name in them, is a real anchor around the Democratic ticket, pulling them down in the mud in a way that certainly juxtaposes themselves against their 'campaign of change,"' a senior aide said.

[hork]

now i know the vast majority of folks on this board will have issues with her being pregnant and that it reflects her family values and character, but really i personally (and again as has been pointed out repeatedly i'm in the minority) don't see this as a real issue that should have any bearing on anything.

just interjecting my opinion and no need to flame i know most of you don't agree as you've made it clear numerous times.

[StockTrader]

Actually, I may be conservative, but am being to take the stance of a true Republican.

I personally feel that abortion and gay marriage should be dealt with at the state level.

Now that I have that out of the way, I would much rather she keep the child and marry and father, than abort the child. I do not think this has anything to do with Sarah Palin or her bid for the White House. Hell, Cheney's daughter is gay ... does that make him less capable?

Nick

[hork]

Originally Posted by StockTrader

Now that I have that out of the way, I would much rather she keep the child and marry and father, than abort the child. I do not think this has anything to do with Sarah Palin or her bid for the White House. Hell, Cheney's daughter is gay ... does that make him less capable?

Nick

I'll admit I'm somewhat surprised (but agree whole-heartedly).

btw are you going to sign up for football?

[rich76]

The only thing I'm not surprised about is that Andrew feels the need to make this more than it should be. I guess the fantastic plot by the McCain machine to use this to their advantage is more important thann certainly OTHER issues that question her abilities and experience to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

[StockTrader]

Originally Posted by hork

I'll admit I'm somewhat surprised (but agree whole-heartedly).

btw are you going to sign up for football?

Crap. I have been reading those messages, and here I was thinking that I had already signed up.

I am on my CrackBerry, so I will do it later tonight.

Nick

[ldzppln]

Palin told McCain about baby last week
Posted: 03:15 PM ET

From CNN Ticker

Gov. Palin told Sen. McCain about her daughter's pregnancy last week.

(CNN) — Top McCain adviser Steve Schmidt said Monday that newly-minted Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin informed John McCain of her daughter's pregnancy in one of their "private conversations" last week.

McCain aides insist the Arizona Republican already knew about the pregnancy prior to that conversation, having found out earlier during the lengthy vetting process.

"She was very upfront about it," one aide said.

Speaking with reporters, Schmidt also said McCain expected the pregnancy would eventually become public, as did Palin.

"Obviously people would know because she’s going to have a baby that she was pregnant," Schmidt said. "What we want to see happen is the privacy of Governor Palin’s daughter respected. And that’s what Senator McCain wants."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the McCain campaign's vetting process involves peering into private medical records of minors? Or maybe they just followed Palin's daughter around, talked to her friends and figured it out that way. I think it's odd the McCain campaign finds it necessary to say they knew about this before last week when Sarah Palin told McCain - that they found out about it during the "lengthy vetting process". I'd be willing to be they found out about this yesterday.

[StockTrader]

Originally Posted by ldzppln

Palin told McCain about baby last week
Posted: 03:15 PM ET

From CNN Ticker

Gov. Palin told Sen. McCain about her daughter's pregnancy last week.

(CNN) — Top McCain adviser Steve Schmidt said Monday that newly-minted Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin informed John McCain of her daughter's pregnancy in one of their "private conversations" last week.

McCain aides insist the Arizona Republican already knew about the pregnancy prior to that conversation, having found out earlier during the lengthy vetting process.

"She was very upfront about it," one aide said.

Speaking with reporters, Schmidt also said McCain expected the pregnancy would eventually become public, as did Palin.

"Obviously people would know because she’s going to have a baby that she was pregnant," Schmidt said. "What we want to see happen is the privacy of Governor Palin’s daughter respected. And that’s what Senator McCain wants."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So the McCain campaign's vetting process involves peering into private medical records of minors? Or maybe they just followed Palin's daughter around, talked to her friends and figured it out that way. I think it's odd the McCain campaign finds it necessary to say they knew about this before last week when Sarah Palin told McCain - that they found out about it during the "lengthy vetting process". I'd be willing to be they found out about this yesterday.

How is it odd that he'd know? Do you not think they would talk about things that might bring press knocking?

Nick

[ldzppln]

Originally Posted by StockTrader

How is it odd that he'd know? Do you not think they would talk about things that might bring press knocking?

Nick

The article says Palin told McCain last week, but that the McCain campaign already knew her daughter was pregnant - before Sarah Palin told John McCain. My question is, how did they find out? I think they McCain campaign did NOT know about the pregnancy, until Sarah Palin told them, but they're saying they knew well ahead of time so it doesn't look like their "lengthy vetting process" missed something so huge.