The Road Not Taken

As far as I was concerned, the fact that Bristol Palin got pregnant was a non-story. An otherwise nice kid made a poor decision and got pregnant. It happens. It doesn't happen very often to the daughter of somebody that's running for Vice-President. But it happens.



And I was even willing to view this as a non-story despite the fact that all candidates for office put their family out front and center to show how "normal" they are even though you would have to be about 1/3 nuts to run for office in this great land of ours.



But the recent hyperthyroid response on behalf of the Palin family to certain remarks made by notorious babydaddy Levi Johnston on the "Tyra Banks Show" bothered me.



Johnston gallantly told Banks and that segment of the electorate that actually watches this kind of dreck that he and Bristol were allowed to share a room by themselves at the Palin house (ostensibly while he was visiting her), that they had safe sex "most of the time" and that Governor Palin probably knew that they were carrying on, Moms being smart people and all.



The Palin family went ballistic. They issued a statement that said " We're disappointed that Levi and his family are engaging in flat out lies, gross exaggeration and even distortion of their relationship."



Oh yeah?



We know they had sex. Young folk do that sort of thing. We know that at least on one occasion they didn't use any birth control method other than crossing their fingers because Bristol because there is a new baby crawling around in the Governor's Mansion. And since we can assume that these two star-crossed lovers didn't sneak off for romantic weekends at the Juneau Ritz-Carlton much less the Red Roof Inn of Wasilla, Levi's statements at least have the ring of truth.



I don't know what he was "flat out lyin'" about. But I do know where his testimony was absolutely credible. It was unseemly to the extreme given the forum in which he chose to dish on his former "fiancee". (Yeah right.) But it was credible. More so than that stupid statement issued by the Governor's family.



They would have been better off with something like the following:



"We are disappointed that Levi would discuss such intimate matters involving the mother of his son on a television show. As we prefer to view this as a family matter, we will not dignify his statements by any further comment."



But I guess when you are a conservative icon you can't take the high road when it is alleged that your teenage daughter was sexually active with her boyfriend. Even though it is self-evident that this was the case.



Like that's a crime. Like that makes either of them bad kids. Or you a bad Mother.



I guess it just makes Sarah Palin a bad Icon.