The problem is that the right doesn’t CARE if abstinence-only fails. They can just point their cheeto-encrusted fingers at the poor knocked-up kid and scream “HEATHEN!”

Abstinence-only education isn’t designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies. It’s designed to shame kids who have sex and keep women who DO have sex chained to the home with a baby. It’s a subtle difference, I know, but don’t for a second delude yourselves into thinking the goopers have any qualms about dooming a child to a miserable life if it suits their political aims.

Her daughter had “mono”? Uh, sure. Her water broke, but no, it didn’t really break, but yes, it did break? My daughter was NOT pregnant because my daughter IS pregnant? Uh…okay…. Pro-life, abstinence-only, teen pregnancy bad/teen pregnancy good? Sexed doubletalk? Yum!

Really, it’s all enough to give a rightwing columnist Tourette’s. Oh wait—they all have it already anyway.

Too obscure?

A draw.

You’re losing it boys!

Well, they’re certainly not all big and fat

The same scenario transplanted to a Democratic VP candidate would have James Dobson and Pat Robertson railing about the evils of liberal morality. Here, it just strengthens their candidate’s pro-family bona fides.

Are you saying Republicans are big fat lying asshat hypocrite jerkwads?

Update II: Obama shows some real class (maybe his supporters could show some?) and reminds us of where he came from:

“I have said before and I will repeat again: People’s families are off limits,” Obama said. “And people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18 and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be a topic of our politics.”

I know it wouldn’t be politically expedient, but wouldn’t you love to see Obama do one of his snarky routines with this, like when he called Clinton “Annie Oakley”? “So, it’s kinda funny, don’t ya think,” Obama might say as he struts back and forth on the stage, “here’s Miss-wholesome-family values-abstinence-only trying to quash a rumor that she is not the mother of the latest family addition but actually her 17-year-old daughter is, by saying, get this, ‘no wait, she couldn’t be the mother of that child because she was pregnant with someone else’s child at the time this child was born.’ I mean for crying out loud, Sarah, are you really vying for the VP slot or are you auditioning for the Jerry Springer Show?”

Well, Mikey, Loretta Lynn (Queen of the ‘Base’) famously said that she’d birthed two kids before she entirely understood why she kept getting pregnant. And at that point she *still* wasn’t 17. You’d think a farm girl would have a better grasp of the mechanics, but then the godless liberal scientists have established that teenagers’ brains aren’t necessarily capable of connecting what happens to the heifers with what their boyfriend might be doing “down there”….

I think it’s wonderful that Bristol Palin has chosen to have her baby, and I’m sure that she’ll make a wonderful mother.

But if it’s such a wonderful thing, let’s be out and proud about it — not try and change the subject. Let’s disclose this in the People magazine interview. Let’s not bury the news when there’s literally a hurricane bearing down on Louisiana. And let’s sure as hell not confuse the overheated rantings of the liberal blogosphere for the series of decisions made months ago by mother and by daughter that led to a 17-year-old child becoming pregnant.

The media ought to be more responsible than to take the McCain campaign’s spin at face value. If that irrelevant distraction about rumors in the blogosphere belongs in this — than certainly things like these do: What is Palin’s position on contraception? What is her position on sex education? Does she believe that sex outside of marriage is immoral? These questions are not remotely personal, but they’re certainly a part of the story. [emphasis mine]

As I said, it sucks that Bristol has to be drawn into this, but her mother is a high profile figure who believes that contraception and sex outside of marriage is bad, abstinence-only education works, and she’s willing to force this down our throats. That her daughter got knocked up and that she was hiding it shows that her belief doesn’t work, and she’s being evasive about it.

I mean…5 months pregnant? Announced just as the mom-had-her-daughter’s-baby was starting to crank up? Pretty amazing coincidence, is it not?

And so McCain knows that his perspective VP has a 5 month old baby with special needs AND a 17YO, soon-to-be mother….and he decides to go along with this selection? Are you f’ing kidding me?

I can’t imagine a more screwed up selection for VP….just think what’s in store for this country if these jokers somehow get elected…

You have to wonder if Sarah Palin will be charging the young man who impregnated her 17-year-old daughter with statutory rape.

I think marriage would be enough of a sentence for the poor sap.

We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.

And this here liberal is proud that once again, a conservative family has seen the wisdom of a liberal policy. In this case, it’s letting a young woman under the age of majority make her own decision about her body and future. Let’s hope that this pro-choice position becomes part of the Republican Party platform.

I imagine it could also be another case of a conservative family seeing the necessity of a comprehensive sex ed curriculum. Maybe this will be the death knell for the ridiculous abstinence-only programs.

You sure those are Walrus entrails buried in the back yard?

As they say Kliban said, You walrus hurt the one you love…

It’s clear independent of this that Palin’s politics are horrible and her executive experience is nil. There’s enough that’s fair game here, for examle McCain’s age in relation to the lack of preparation of Palin’s. But I really think we should leave this pregnancy out of it.