So Gov. Palin has stated that her daughter Bristol is actually about 5 months pregnant. How totally convenient! That is the PERFECT excuse at the PERFECT time. Perhaps a little too perfect.
"About 5 months" is JUST long enough to physically disqualify her from mothering baby Trig, yet is NOT QUITE long enough for her to be physically showing very much with her current child.
Now let's add the common sense perspective. If Bristol is indeed "about 5 months" pregnant, she would be "about 7 months" pregnant at election time. Was Palin hoping that she could keep her pregnant daughter under wraps until after the election? Possibly, After a few weeks on the campaign trail, her children could return to Alaska to "normalize their lives," "return to school," etc. When she moved up to the national stage, Palin had to know that her family would come under scrutiny--the flip side of the benefits of being America's newest media darlings. Unless she was planning on concealing Bristol's pregnancy through the election (not a far reach, given Palin's staunch support for abstinence-only education), the time to announce the baby would have been during her introduction as McCain's V.P. pick. It could go something like this:
And, in addition, to my wonderful family of 5 children that I've just introduced to you, I'd like to let you all know that in a few short months, I will become a grandmother! (pause for applause and cheers) My daughter Bristol and her fiancee are expecting their first child, and we couldn't be more proud of her decision to bring another lovely child--another Alaskan--into this world!
It would have been breathtaking and electrifying. The crowd, especially the pro-life crowd, would have eaten it up. She would simultaneously pander to mothers (especially with her fairly useful appearance, combined with her recent delivery of Trig) AND grandmothers (the older female demographic that may include some Hillary "dead-enders."). It would have been political magic that would have made her personal story all the more compelling, and it would have taken this issue completely off the table once and for all. Her daughter's unmarried status would get scant attention, given all of the other facts to sift through and her openness about it--no real story there, after all.
This is one of the many things that makes me believe that the Bristol Palin's 5-month pregnancy is completely false (either she is NOT currently pregnant and will conveniently miscarry the baby OR she is only about 3 months pregnant, and is actually carrying her second child) is that
hiding her pregnancy is a dangerous move--and the McCain camp knows this. You put yourself at the mercy of the press and lose all momentum when the story breaks. The breaking story dominates the news cycle, knocks you off message--and it also looks like an intentional cover-up. McCain/Palin had the opportunity to break (and essentially bury) the story by making it part of Palin's biography. Choosing not to do so strongly suggests to me that McCain's staff did not know about the pregnancy at all.
Why try to cover up the Governor's pregnancy rumors with another lie? Two reasons. First, because they have constructed the "perfect" excuse (5-month pregnancy) to rebut the rumors. Second, because by admitting to a pregnancy they hope that they can place the entire topic off-limits, in respect of the daughter's privacy.
Obama was wise to loudly denounce the rumors and to call for placing family members off limits. While I'm pretty sure that his position is sincere (given his reaction to slander against his wife and the fact that he has two young daughters), this is the only position that he can publicly take. However, the central issues also involve Gov. Palin's credibility and integrity--and need to be fully investigated by the media--and not by the Obama campaign. There is no role for the Democratic Party in pushing these allegations and rumors. However, the media DOES have an affirmative responsibility to examine them thoroughly, because they have been brought up and made center stage by the McCain/Palin campaign. They don't get a free pass because they have simply acknowledged and denied rumors.
The basic facts underlying the original Sarah Palin pregnancy--especially her incredibly bizarre behavior in returning to Wasilla to give birth--are still not answered or explained by the daughter's current "pregnancy." And, more importantly, the issue of who really mothered Trig centers around the possibility that Gov. Palin repeatedly lied to the media, her staff, and her constituents--and continues to lie about it. Gov. Palin's integrity is not and should never be "off limits."
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I've been enjoying your most recent blogs because they are the most coherent ones to address the conspiracy theories out there regarding Sarah Palin's baby/grandbaby.
I agree that the timing of these pregnancies are all too perfect and more than a little suspicious. By making Bristol 5 months pregnant now they kill the rumors that Bristol is the one who gave birth to Trig 4 months ago. I wouldn't be surprised if Bristol conveniently miscarries this bun in the oven. But only after they have used this current so-called pregnancy to kill the original maternity rumor dead in its tracks.
Sarah Palin must have serious delusions of grandeur if she thinks its appropriate to subject her family to this scrutiny rather than give them the nurturing they need given all that's she's already juggling right now. I could almost see how she would be motivated to risk it all for the VP spot IF SHE WAS ACTUALLY QUALIFIED FOR THE POSITION.
McCain's "maverick" streak is coming to bite him right in the ass. No way did they know all of this before announcing her as the pick. Yesterday's announcement of Bristol's pregnancy reeks of damage control.
You have to hand it to the fundamentalist republican base for turning the argument about working women inside out. I consider myself to hold feminist principles but even I think that this particular woman should be staying at home right now.
AND IF TRIG IS HER CHILD, she doesn't get any brownie points from me for having him. She was irresponsible for getting pregnant again after she had entered a high risk age group. She had no business getting pregnant again at her age when she already has 4 kids and is already governor of Alaska. It borders on child abuse to continue to bring more kids into the world that you are not prepared to nurture wholeheartedly. But all the Christian right cares about is having babies -- not so much raising them.
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