ST. PAUL, Sept. 2, 2008
GOP Delegates Unfazed By Palin Pregnancy
CBSNews.com Reports: In St. Paul, News Of Bristol Palin's Pregnancy Prompts Support For McCain's Vice Presidential Pick
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Palin Family Pregnancy News
John McCain's Campaign released a written statement revealing that Sarah Palin's unwed teen daughter is five months pregnant. Chip Reid reports.
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Reactions To Sarah Palin Nod
Alaskans are proud of their governor as John Blackstone reports. But Democrats are questioning John McCain's VP choice, Bob Schieffer tells Maggie Rodriguez.
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RNC Reflects On Gustav
Delegates and Politicians at the RNC react to Hurricane Gustav and how the weather is affecting the convention.
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Bristol Palin, 17, at the campaign rally where Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced Bristol's mom, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, as his vice presidential running mate in Dayton, Ohio, Friday, Aug. 29, 2008. (AP)
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Photo Essay
Sarah Palin
Alaska's youngest and first female governor tabbed to be McCain's running mate.
As the scaled-down Republican National Convention kicked off in in the shadow of Hurricane Gustav Monday, the presidential campaign was shaken by revelations that Bristol Palin, the 17-year-old daughter of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s newly-minted running mate, is pregnant.
It was the latest curveball tied to Palin, whose sudden rise to national prominence came as a shock to both Republican insiders and the media. The Alaska governor’s nomination spurred ceaseless debate over whether McCain’s selection of woman who is largely unknown and relatively inexperienced - but who is extremely popular in her state and pleasing to the conservative base - will ultimately prove a help or a hindrance to the Republican ticket.
Monday’s news reportedly prompted concern inside the GOP establishment that more potentially-damaging stories about Palin’s family will come out. (Indeed, Monday also brought the revelation that Palin’s husband was arrested in 1986 for DUI.) The story seemed to feed into the notion that Palin, who is untested on the national stage and was not aggressively vetted, could bring so much baggage that it outweighs her benefits.
There’s a potential problem with that interpretation, however: Republicans on the convention floor in St. Paul remain just as fired up about Palin as they were when the pick was announced. If anything, the news about Bristol Palin, who the family says will marry the father of her child, has spurred more support for her mother.
“Like so many other American families who are in the same situation, I think it's great that she instilled in her daughter the values to have the child and not to sneak off some place and have an abortion,” said Louisiana delegate George White.
“Especially in the society that we live in now, it’s a commonplace event,” said Madison, Mississippi delegate Walley Naylor. “Not that it's right, but it doesn't reflect badly upon her. I think that it’s great that even though young children are making that decision to become pregnant they've also decided to take responsibility for their actions and decide to follow up with that and get married and raise this child.”
Keri Brehm, a Colorado delegate, was one of three women wearing shirts that spelled out “We Love Sarah” on the back. She said yesterday’s news has not dampened her enthusiasm for the soon-to-be vice presidential nominee.
“That's a personal, private family matter and I trust that they will handle it in the best way,” said Brehm, who describes herself as very conservative and in line with Palin’s views. “I'm glad she has a lot of family support to help her.”
Palin opposes abortion rights and backed abstinence-only education during her run for governor two years ago. The McCain camp says McCain knew about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before tapping her and did not feel it had any impact of Sarah Palin’s potential as a running mate.
“It's an American issue and I hope she gets elected and that will be one issue they can focus on - make sure we're teaching kids abstinence,” said North Carolina delegate Justin Burr, who said Bristol Palin’s pregnancy offers the opportunity for a greater spotlight on such issues.
CBS News’ Steve Chaggaris and Arden Farhi spoke to five self-identified conservative, evangelical, anti-abortion female GOP delegates. Across the board, they stood behind Palin.
"What American family doesn't have to deal with a family crisis?,” one asked. “It shows that she feels our pain."
South Carolina Republican Chairman Katon Dawson echoed that message in an interview with CBSNews.com, saying that the situation is a "family problem not unique in America." Dawson remains "euphoric" about the choice of Palin for the ticket and said that her selection has set conservative activists "on fire" in support of the ticket.
Conservatives had long ago rallied around Palin because of her devotion towards her youngest son, Trig, who was born with Down syndrome. Anti-abortion activists have rallied around her because prenatel tests provide women the choice to abort such pregnancies and the governor has publicly discussed her decision in relation to that. The fact that Bristol Palin is having a baby, news the McCain camp suggested was released to knock down rumors that Trig was actually Bristol’s child, in a sense burnishes Palin’s anti-abortion rights credentials.
Republican delegates attending the convention are the core of the party and at odds with the overall electorate on some important aspects of the political landscape. Eighty percent of the delegates in a recent CBS News survey said they approved of the job President Bush is doing - a far higher percentage than the American people overall, who put the president’s approval rating at 28 percent. But these are the activists McCain needs to energize as a force for the fall election, and his selection of Palin still appears to be doing just that.
“I think that's a family matter and I've seen my own friends that have been pregnant at a young age,” said John Tyler Hammons, an Oklahoma delegate who at 19 is the youngest mayor in the country. “It's a burden that's very personal and I don't think it needs to be discussed in a public fashion.”
By Brian Montopoli
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See all 1845 CommentsWe should check on the dude being forced into a shot-gun wedding to marry the pregnant 17 year old to clean up this mess and keep tabs on him too, make sure they are not waterboarding the poor dude! LOL
When, EXACTLY is Bristol''s date-of-birth and when, EXACTLY, is the babydaddy''s date-of-birth?
Of course, the Governor could issue a pardon to either one.
Bunch of baby machines in that family.
Posted by Tawpdawg111 at 01:54 AM : Sep 02, 2008,,,
Good link!, nice pics! McSame don`t have to worry about vettiing Palin, we will vett her! :) We just learned Palin even existed a few days ago! Let the `real` vetting begin!! LOL
What if she miscarries, or the baby is born prematurely, or she has it cesarean, or the baby weighs over seven pounds...or under seven pounds? OMG, can the Republican Party survive! It''s just so nerve-racking!
Deciding to get pregnant? Is this man who said this handicapped? Most Republicans are, little Christians.
http://cajunboy.tumblr.com/post/4
8304770/im-going-right-down-with-you-on-
this-one-baby
this is very convincing evidence that the daughter is INDEED Trig''''s mother - NOT Sarah Palin.
The key is to look at the dates, and sister Piper''''s maturity in the family portraits.
Piper''''s maturity is key, because it demonstrates that the picture (with the baby bump on sis) was taken in 2007, NOT 2006. An actual shot of the family in 2006 shows a SIGNIFICANTLY YOUNGER sister Piper.
As the blogger puts it,
"Are you kidding me? This is unreal. Kids don%u2019t grow backwards, not even in Alaska."
BUSTED!!
Back in the day (of like say, last week) the GOP would have been all over the Dems with the contrasts of Barack''s abortion/punish-with-a-baby comment. Now they''re like the kinder, gentler more tolerant, compassionate, and understanding family sort of a deal.
Whereas the Dems who have always been the champions of equality and humanity are ripping into every woman in site on tv, or at least the ones who don''t agree that Palin''s just a piece of meat.
Exhausting stuff!
Where is JERRY SPRINGER when you need him to host this show.
So this is what the Presidency of the United States has come to. It suddenly became the hillbilly state fair..*SIGH*.
I tell you-
This is Thomas Eagleton in the making-
She hasn''t been nominated yet.
Sign me another white middle aged rural western state gun-owner for Obama-Biden.
Not this right-wing Paris Hilton.
1. Yes, Sarah Palin has Executive experience running a state and Obama does not.
2. Yes, Sarah & Todd Palin can relate to regular people, union workers, struggling everyday parents, etc. and Obama cannot.
3. Yes, Sarah Palin has battled Big Oil & won, and Obama has not.
4. Yes, Sarah Palin has fought corruption and Obama has not.
5. Yes, Sarah Palin has proven herself capable to lead a state and Obama has not.
BUT, Sarah Palin is a WOMAN!!!
There is a reason NO WOMAN has EVER led this country. THEY ARE INCAPABLE. And men know it.
A state, sure. A country, no way!
No more argument.
Notice that men came out in droves to make sure Hillary lost.
Men will come out in droves to make sure Palin loses.
Think about it. Even the most racist White guy would rather have a Black man president than a woman vice president.
No Ferraro! No Hillary! No Palin! NO WOMEN! No way!!!!
Isn''t the larger issue teen pregnancy? If I were a parent, I''d feel so small and intimidated trying to keep my child safe and pregnant-free in this fast-paced world where *** is so glamorized.
Apparently there''s like hundreds of thousands of teenagers who get pregnant every year, and it doesn''t seem like either abstinence or *** education is working.
It''d be nice to hear some new ideas on how to tackle the problem, wouldn''t it? I wish magazines wouldn''t waste so much time covering Paris Hilton - let''s have more Dianne Feinstein! :)
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Looks like all the whack jobs are out in force this morning.
Where is JERRY SPRINGER when you need him to host this show.
So this is what the Presidency of the United States has come to. It suddenly became the hillbilly state fair..*SIGH*.
5 Yeses and One Big %u201CBUT%u201D
1. Yes, Sarah Palin has Executive experience running a state and Obama does not.
2. Yes, Sarah & Todd Palin can relate to regular people, union workers, struggling everyday parents, etc. and Obama cannot.
3. Yes, Sarah Palin has battled Big Oil & won, and Obama has not.
4. Yes, Sarah Palin has fought corruption and Obama has not.
5. Yes, Sarah Palin has proven herself capable to lead a state and Obama has not.
BUT, Sarah Palin is a WOMAN!!!
There is a reason NO WOMAN has EVER led this country. THEY ARE INCAPABLE. And men know it.
A state, sure. A country, no way!
No more argument.
Notice that men came out in droves to make sure Hillary lost.
Men will come out in droves to make sure Palin loses.
Think about it. Even the most racist White guy would rather have a Black man president than a woman vice president.
No Ferraro! No Hillary! No Palin! NO WOMEN! No way!!!!
Hey, everybody, let''s get one thing perfectly clear: Sarah Palin threw her 17 year old daughter under the bus so she could become the Vice President of the United States of America.
Sarah Palin accepted the nomination knowing full well her daughter was pregnant, and that the publicity her daughter would face would be absolutely horrible. Yet, she chose the Vice Presidency over her own daughter. She chose her own political ambitions over her own daughter. We need someone with stronger family values.
the lunanacy of this , you think if it was a guy name STAN palin he would get the offer , NOT ON YOUR LIFE.
Thank goodness if there is SANITY ISSUES will prevail.
she is NOT for equal pay for women like obama is.
no way Democrat women who are for choice and rights for women will give her the time of day .
No party have the interest of kids and women at heart like the Democrat . look at their platform of issues.. many programs to help women and children.
Pres Bush not so long VETO a child healthcare bill
Dont bother looking for any in the republican platform, remember their are for EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF.. UNLESS you are a BILLIONARE company looking for a handout or the RICH who needs tax breaks.
Not only that, but Palin put it out there that she was pregnant to dispell the other rumor about Trig. She has no one to blame but herself. I simply never would have brought it up, and had the media done it by itself, I would have ignored it in her place. But she is the one who put it out there. Now how should that make her daughter feel?
Bad news for you Dems. The gossip you dug up on her is to the Republicans'' advantage. This just makes Sarah Palin more human. She is just like the rest of us...she is not some political clone.
Posted by omded at 02:42 AM
Yeah, wouldn''t it have been better for her to supply the press with birth certificates and doctor testimony rather than expose her kid''s pregnancy to the world in this fashion? Actually, because she hasn''t supplied those things, the rumors are persisting that Bristol is the mother of Trig.
Funny how you had no problem with Rev. Wright screaming God D@mn America in church though.
I guess somebody wasn''t listening ... LOL
So if self-righteous McCain repeats his condemnation of some Democrats during the convention for simply investigating his VP pick, you know that he''s full of it.
Ummm...what about John Edwards, Bill Clinton, Ted and John Kennedy and the list goes on.
Remember...when you point your finger...three more are pointing back at you!
If Gustav hadn''t come ashore during the GOP convention, McCain probably would have sent Bush and Cheney to a mall opening in Miami to keep them from speaking at the convention. The whole thing is falling apart. From the current pres and veep, to the would be future pres and veep, there''s nothing but heartache and disappointment.
You know the Palins could always do what the Kennedys did with their daughter Rosemary when she became "inconvenient"...have her lobotomized and let her rot in an institution. Teddy, Bobby and John had a good laugh over that one.
Somehow, I think the Palins have more class than the Kennedys. They will deal with the situation rationally and consistent with their beliefs. Who knows, the kid may grow up to be President.
Of course, the also Kennedys acted in a manner consistent with their beliefs in lobotomizing poor Rosemary.
Who appeared to be circling the drain
After hiring Palin
He started to flalin''
Get ready for chocolate reign
The DUI is 20 years old, is that really a big deal also? Didn''t Obama amit to doing cocain?
I''m not seeing why this made news
Ummm...what about John Edwards, Bill Clinton, Ted and John Kennedy and the list goes on.
Remember...when you point your finger...three more are pointing back at you!
Posted by GrammaWhamma at 03:31 AM : Sep 02, 2008
So....which ones of those are presently running for the Presidency or Vice Presidency? The woman and her family is dysfunctional--one thing to have that when they are already in office, quite another to know it beforehand and deliberately put such a person into power. Let''s see...a former runnerup beauty pageant winner, who throws her daughter under a bus to dispel a rumor about who Trigs real mom is, claims to have flown 8 hours on the day her water broke so she could give birth to Trig in Alaska, LIED on her remarks about T. Stevens and a bridge to nowhere...has an ethics investigation, and last but not least has no idea what the VP job is, no foreign policy experience, hunts Polar bears from copters, is close to Ted Stevens, and puts her career above that of her family, her special needs child and her daughter--who is living proof that her "abstinence only sexxxx ed mandate is a bunch of *********."
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