A Sarah Palin press release, confirming much speculation from the blogging community: Bristol Palin, 17, is indeed five months pregnant and engaged to be married was issued and published by CBS at 12:16 PM today.
I commend Sarah for coming forward and ending the wild speculations of this weekend. It is now time to consider the privacy of Bristol Palin and be supportive of this young mother.
(Read about the story as it unfolded: Who is Sarah Palin? and Just Rumors)
This announcement, no matter how supportive, is three days late and that says volumes about the Palin's and John McCain.Full statement from Sarah and Todd Palin:
"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. 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. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.
"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 to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."
This unfortunate episode in Sarah Palin's entry to the public scene could have easily been avoided had first issue of the family bio been inclusive of this situation. The firestorm in the blogging community would never have happened if better judgment had been used by both the Palins and John McCain as Sarah and her family were introduced to the public. When one enters public life seeking one of the highest offices in the land, the door to their private life is inevitably swung open. How much more supportive of Bristol Palin would it have been to simply state in the family bio the family's strong support of their daughter as she struggled with facing an unexpected pregnancy? Sarah Palin and her family would have been applauded from both sides of the aisle.
This lesson seems never to be learned: the cover-up is always worse than the truth. The American public is very forgiving of honest and humble people. The cover-up leaves a bad taste and creates the impression that the person 1. has lack of fortitude - the person can't handle tough situations and 2. is not worthy of our trust - What else is there to worry about? What else are they not being honest about? And also, will they be honest in the future?
And finally, let's consider how the public would have received this same scenario if Barack Obama was the father of a 17-year old unwed pregnant daughter. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is my caution to everyone on all sides of this issue.
Buzz it up
