Ohhh Baby!

This presidential election just gets better and better. Monday it was announced that vice-presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter, Bristol , is five months pregnant.

Whoa! I didn’t see that coming, but honestly I’m not interested in the actual pregnancy, but more in the reaction to it by both sides.

Liberal bloggers were on the attack early, actually suggesting that Palin’s youngest son, Trig, is really Bristol ’s baby. Not the nicest thing to suggest, actually it’s quite despicable, but democrat/liberal mainstream talking heads pretty much ignored the rumors. With the truth that the 17-year-old daughter is knocked up it’s remained pretty much the same. Most aren’t slamming Palin or her daughter but are more interested in how conservatives/Republicans are reacting to the announcement.

And boy have they reacted, not with anger but with great happiness!?!? Yes, they are ecstatic! Republican politicians, pundits and convention goers see nothing wrong with Palin being a “family values” conservative who doesn’t want anything to do with explicit sex education programs even while Bristol is next door knocking boots with an 18-year-old Alaskan “redneck.” They’ve praised Palin, her daughter and the entire family for keeping the baby and rejoiced at the news that the two teens would marry in the very near future. One convention attendee was almost in tears as she described how this humanized Palin and plenty were disgusted by the media making the story a big deal.

(I still question whether this is really happening. All the media I have heard have been more interested in how this news was hitting the conservative electorate than in why Palin’s underage daughter was pregnant, but anyway…)

What’s struck me, is the shear hypocrisy of the whole business. “Personal lives are off limits” they say but Michelle Obama is scrutinized for not being the perfect wife, Slick Willy Clinton is impeached for his sexual shenanigans in the oval office and rumors are launched by Karl Rove and the Bush campaign during the 2000 election about Cindy McCain being a drug addict and her husband fathering a “BLACK” child.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not just Republicans, Democrats are just as bad (although these things tend to hit Republicans much harder because they style themselves as the god-fearing, family values, personal responsibility, moral judges of the country).

So what is it guys, can I make personal attacks against my political rivals or not?

All the politics aside, I hope that the issue of teen pregnancy doesn’t get lost in the miasma of patriotic rhetoric. Teen pregnancy is a serious problem with massive consequences for the country. It’s one of the main causes of poverty and results in lower education levels and quality of life for both the mother and her child. With the issue currently on the main stage, the country has an excellent opportunity to expose it to the public and to actually explore the larger issue of sex education, contraceptives offered in schools and teen motherhood in general.

Clickability: http://gralienreport.com/ufos/ufo-video-sky-squid-filmed-by-discovery-channel-crew/

Sky Squid!!!