Mary Katharine Ham
Vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin announced today that her oldest daughter, 17, is about five months pregnant with her first child. Bristol plans to keep the baby and marry the father, Palin said, also asking the press to respect the young couple’s privacy. McCain knew about the pregnancy before he picked Palin, and decided it did not disqualify her in any way,
Palin announced the pregnancy partly to combat rumors on left-leaning blogs, which had gained steam over the weekend, and had even been mentioned by mainstream media outlets. Friday, shortly after Palin’s speech, Daily Kos floated the idea that Sarah Palin was not actually the mother of her 6-month-old son, Trig. Instead, several bloggers asserted, Palin had never appeared pregnant, and her daughter had been absent from school with a case of mono. The theory that Palin faked the pregnancy to cover for her young daughter’s preganancy spread to many liberal blogs, which gathered photos of the relatively trim looking governor in the late stages of her pregnancy, and pointing out alleged “baby bumps” in old photos of Bristol.
Here is the statement from the Palin family:
“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.”
