I almost can't conceive of the media onslaught that Bristol Palin faces in the coming days. She has my sympathy. No one her age coud possibly be, in any way, prepared for what lies ahead.

I am a self-described left-wing liberal. I think about what the other side woud be saying if Bristol were Biden's child. It would be unbelievably nasty and incredibly non-stop..

That's why I was so proud today when our candidate, Obama, let it be known in no uncertain terms that children should be off limits. Totally off limits in political arguments and debates. Look at what right-wingers have said about him and his family. How incredibly nasty.

I also want it to be known that I am a teacher of teen parents. They come into my class to learn parenting skills. The first day of class, I always ask the same question of them. I have been asking this question of them for years: Why do you think that so many teens become pregnant? The answer is always, sadly, the same. They always tell me that they became pregnant, that teens become pregnant, because they want someone to love them unconditionally.

I can only conclude that unconditional love is something they feel that they have never had.

Republicans would have you vilify pregnant teens as would-be welfare cheats and terminally lazy. They are nothing of the kind. They are the walking wounded - in almost all cases that I have seen over the years - children who struggle to grow up in a hurry because they want better lives for their own children; who they envision will love them forever.

Let's give Bristol Palin a break. Let's leave her alone. We, liberals, are the people who don't throw reckless and damning allegations, we don't judge harshly in extreme black and white terms (like republicans), we don't swing to hurt - only to make a point.

Those of you who say that Sarah Palin must be unfit as a mother - well, you may be right - but is this something that needs saying right now? If Palin is unfit, does it help her daughter to add to her mother's stress and possible hostility?

Republicans have given us too many legitimate issues to argue about - I think it's safe to say that we have already won the election.

Bristol didn't ask for any of this - let's give her a break and be the bigger people.

What a wonderful post!

"Therefore you have no excuses, everyone of you that passes judgment, for that in which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you that judge practice the same things."

It's not so much that we (Democrats) are beating up on Bristol....Personally, this happens so much to so many teens. It's not because they don't have no one to love them. It's just that they are being irrespoonsible. Irresponsible is what it is. Until young girls, all women for that matter get into their heads that if I'm going to be out here like that, then I need to protect myself. Some married women don't need children. Men don't think like that. As a woman, you have to protect yourself. I'm single, no children and in my mid - thirties....I know that if I have sex, I risk getting pregnant. It's not that we (Democrats) are promoting teenage sex but at least you will protect yourself. That girl will be okay but it's sad that she like many other teenage girls have to deal with this type of responsibility at such a young age.

It's not about her but about her mother's qualifications and how the GOP tries to demoralize democrats as if they have all the values....I don't care what McCain says;he did not know this woman's daughter was pregnant. He chose her thinking that women that voted for Hillary would somehow switch over and vote for him. If he could rescind his decision, trust me Palin would be out of here. According to GOP standards, Palin and her family does not represent what they try to portray.

So what do they do? They try to dress this latest issue up instead of calling it what it is. Then there are allegations that Gov. Palin's baby son is really Bristol's child. If so, now she will be the mother of two children and if so, where is that child's father? Then Palin is under investigation. Republicans can downplay this all they want but really they look as bad as they did when McCllean told the truth about their party. No, I'm not talking about Bristol. I see this everyday. I hate it for her because she does not need a baby, then to say that she's ready for marriage. She's too young and you can rest assure that her mother and father will have to take care of that baby. My advise to her from here on out, protect yourself and don't have another damn baby. Now that's how my momma would talk to me...She can still go on and do well in life....It's not her that I have a problem with. It's her mother and John McCain.

I agree that the GOP has a corner on all-time hypocrisy. As a matter of fact, I feel that there are so many legitimate issues to complain about as far as republicans go - the hijacking of an American presidential election;riged voting machines; blocking African American peoples' access to polls on election day; ignoring the victims of Katrina until quite a few of them died; the rape of the public school system (THEIR kids go to private school); the death threats, occurring on a daily basis, against Obama; the incredible racism (these are the people who were quite comfortable with the presidential candidacy of David Duke, the former head of the KKK); the dirty tricks - like the 10 black men hired by the republicans to disrupt the Dem. convention by pretending to be stoned and saying that they are Obama's best friends - I think it is time for people of conscience (i.e. NOT republicans) to loudly demand an investigation by the FBI into the underworkngs of the republican party. I can't imagine anything more corrupt. It should be torn apart once and for all by the law.

Who needs to pick on Bristol Palin?

The reason the media is focussing on the Palin pregnancy is because they have a whole bunch of expensive news media resources on the ground in Minneapolis who now have no stories because the convention was shut down for Hurricane Gustav.

That means they are going to be focussed on the Palin pregnancy for today and at least part of tomorrow's news cycle.

For Obama this is a gift that keeps giving. Because it means that McCain won't get his message out until at earliest Wed. Except Wed is when Sarah Palin accepts the nomination so the pregnancy story continues for another day. But meanwhile Obama can take the high road and let the media feeding frenzy self-perpetuate.

Is this going to be awful for Bristol? Yup. But her mom put her in this position. Unlike Chelsea Clinton and her being called a Dog by Limbaugh on national TV, Bristol and the "Family Values" bit is part and parcel of the story that sells Sarah. Admittedly this is borderline child abuse. And frankly, if I were Sarah and Bristol was my daughter, I'd resign right now. To hell with the GOP and their needs and my political career. My kids were more important to me (still are).

But Sarah I don't think sees the harm she has brought her daughter. Or Sarah is so wrapped up in her own world that she cannot conceive of the suffering she is bringing upon her daughter.

I agree with you. I thought about what I would do if I were S. Palin, too. Resigning would seem like the only thing to do to protect my child.

I wouldn't blame this on the media, exclusively. It wouldn't be such a story if the right-wingers weren't out to vilify all unwed mothers and claim holier-than-thou status.

This is a wonderful post. Also that you teach a parenting skills class is commendable. It is not heard a lot about services available to teenagers who (whatever the circumstance) became pregnant.

I cannot tell you what odious stereotypes the republicans have created over the years about these teen parents. It permeates all the help that you want to get for them. These girls have told me about doctors who didn't do the proper incisions before they delivered, causing them to rip open from one end to the other (tough love?); doctors who have walked into the examining room indignant and complaining that the teen mother-to-be had no right to be there; other teachers who don't want to be bothered with them when they hear that they are teen parents. We owe the vilification of our troubled daughters to the republicans, who now congratulate S. Palin for having a pregnant teen and making her marry the father - at age 17.

I am appalled.

But thank you for your kind post, kcperlas.