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Political Nanny: Obama Tells Reporters to 'Back Off' Palin's Pregnant Daughter

Posted by Madeline Holler

Barack Obama told reporters in Michigan on Monday to back off the story about Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin's teen daughter. Palin announced her 17-year-old, Bristol, is five months pregnant.

He said he thinks families are off limits and reminded everyone of his own story, that his mother was 18 years old when she had him. 

When asked to comment on the announcement, here's what Obama said:

I have heard some of the news on this and so let me be as clear as possible. I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off limits, and people’s children are especially off limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics, it has no relevance to governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. And 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 family deals with issues and teenage children that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that is off limits.

Related Posts

Sarah Palin's Teen Daughter is Pregnant! We've Got Pics!

 

Photo:  Time.com


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Comments

 

Casey@halfasgoodasyou.com said:

I agree with Obama, I think families should be off limits. My parents raised me with a strong sense of family but there were things I did that they didn't know about. I'm betting it's the same in Palin's case. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean I agree with the woman's politics but her kids shouldn't get dragged into this.

September 1, 2008 11:16 PM
 

Mom2Two said:

Thank goodness.  It's about time.  I've been appalled at the coverage of this.  Like Palin or not, you've got to admit that this must be very hard on her family.  Supposedly, the McCain camp told her the prying into her family would be intense.  I sincerely hope she sat down with her family before accepting the nomination and asked if they were up to it.

September 1, 2008 11:30 PM
 

Mo $ said:

I completely understand that family should not be dragged into politics. HOWEVER, when you are in the VERY public eye, running for VICE PRESIDENT of this country, your every move is scrutinized. The church going, morally driven, conservative right are all about abstinence, moral fiber and family values, however they always have the most contradicting scandals!!! It's great that she is having the baby, however it speaks volumes about her parents. How are you supposed to run this country if you can't even run your own household??? I understand that teens do what they want to do, and sex will eventually be had. But if she spent more time at home than in office, this probably wouldn't have happened.

September 1, 2008 11:35 PM
 

nobama said:

good for him.  he's finally doing something that i agree with.

September 2, 2008 10:07 AM
 

dwtintx said:

Right, Mo $- get back in the kitchen, little woman!  How dare you go off having a career and trying to have babies at the same time??  Don't you know, women are for having babies and the men are for those career things??

VERY progressive.  Disgusting.

September 2, 2008 11:28 AM
 

leahsmom said:

Um, THEY brought it up and PUT it into politics, yes? The Palin family announced it? So not so much the fault of the supporters, me thinks.

And, in this case, I think it is relevant, as an example of Palin's unconscionable risk taking with the lives of her children and others (by refusing to teach responsible sexual practices, which not only prevent pregnancy but things like HPV, AIDs, herpes, et c.).  If she is so proud of how well her practices of ignorance work, then I think it's only fair to examine her results.  Worked out real well for you, huh, lady?

September 2, 2008 12:48 PM
 

Young Grandma said:

Okay, I left this looonnng comment before and it still hasn't appeared.  So either something went wrong, or comments are being deleted or "not allowed."

I am extremely offended by the notion that a pregnant teen means her mother has failed.  

When I began to suspect that my then-16 year old daughter was getting serious with her boyfriend of a year, I took her to the doctor for an exam and talked to her about sex.  We are religious, and I waited until marriage to have sex, and I told her that I wished she would put a lot of thought into it and wait until she was older and more mature.  BUT that if she decided to have sex anyway, that she needed to protect herself against both diseases and pregnancy.

A couple of months after she turned 17, she came to me and told me that she was pregnant, their double birth control (BCP and condoms) had failed and that they wanted to get married.  I did everything I should have, and still ended up a grandma before I turned 40.

It's been 5 years, my grandson is the light of my life, and the family is thriving.  My son in law and daughter have had some hard times, but with the support of a loving family, they've made the best of things.  

I'm for Obama, because of the Iraq war, but I think it's wrong to imply that Palin is a bad mother because her daughter is pregnant, or that the pregnancy is a result of negligence on her part.  How do you know that the baby is NOT the result of failed birth control?  Condoms break, people.  Palin may be against birth control, but that doesn't mean her daughter didn't have access to it or know about it.  You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that sex makes babies and that you can get pills without parental consent through Planned Parenthood.

It's time to focus on the real issues--the war, the disaster that is healthcare, repairing our relationships with other countries.  Sarah Palin is not a bad mother because she has a teenager who is pregnant, any more than I was a bad mother.

September 2, 2008 2:13 PM
 

mcdrama said:

I believe the reason that the Palin family announced the daughter's pregnancy was to dispell the rumors floating around that the governor's most recent born was actually the daughters and that they were trying to cover up a teen birth. But since she is currently 4 or 5 months pregnant that there is no physical way she is the mother of the baby with downs. Not that I'm a big fan of hers but circumstances what they are, they were forced to put that info out there. I think they could have handled it better, but there you go. politics at work. gotta love 'em.

September 2, 2008 3:07 PM

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