Sorry Joe Scarborough and others: Bristol Palin's pregnancy was fair game

(All hail Brian B.)

I can't speak to the question of whether Sarah Palin's daughter's pregnancy -- Juneau she is pregnant, right? Did Juno that? -- was a rumor whipped up by left-wing blogs. But I can tell you this. As a journalist, as a blogger , and as someone who was ahead of the pack in my arguing that the John Edwards story had legs and needed to be covered by the MSM, there was enough there to question Sarah Palin's pregnancy, just like there was enough there to question John Edwards's fidelity.

Now that it didn't pan out, we're blaming left-wing bloggers? Are you kidding me? Go find me the blogger not in bed with the GOP who would turn down the chance to blog such a juicy rumor. And here's the other thing: How long was the Palin camp going to wait to tell us about Bristol's pregnancy? They only rushed the story to the media because of a hot rumor that emerged from a legitimate piece of confusion: the absence of immediately available photos of a pregnant governor and the reports that Bristol was pregnant. Had the whole story been out front from the start, there would be no rumor, correct?

That's why the rumor was intriguing, even to those of us who found not one thing hypocritical about it. Let's face it, if there's one thing we knew about S.P. right up front, it was that she was abundantly pro-life. And even if you don't agree with her stance on abstinence, and believe her daughter's pregnancy exposed the weakness of that position (which it probably does but that's not really of interest to me), there is nothing inconsistent about welcoming another life into the world.

But good grief! Wouldn't you tell the news media this right away? And if you weren't even aware that the daughter was pregnant, what does this say about your supposedly months-long VP review process? As a teen pregnancy story, it's Jamie Lynn Spears level. As an indicator of John McCain's leadership, it's potentially Tom Eagleton level.

That's why you pursue the rumor.

UPDATE: Shari Elliker and I discussed the story this morning on WBAL Radio in Baltimore:

Listen/download: WBAL-9-2-2008.mp3

As I write this, Jon Meacham, the editor of Newsweek, is on "Morning Joe" imploring the media not to "blow it" or "screw it up" by digging into the Bristol Palin matter. If Jon Meacham were not the editor of Newsweek, and weren't appearing on this show (where Joe Scarborough is going batty claiming the media stepped "over the line" on this story) ... I can guaran-friggin-tee you if it were any other circumstance Meacham would not be saying that.

First of all, reporting a story in the blog age means acknowledging and repeating potentially damaging rumors that anyone can find online. This was what held up the John Edwards story so long, remember? MSM outlets were working the story hard. For months. They just didn't want to tell you that in print. And so the bloggers made such a cacophony that finally it couldn't be ignored.

(And by the way, if you read down into the comments on this story, some readers think we should still be pursuing the rumor. They are not entirely satisfied with the explanations given so far by the governor and the McCain campaign. I respond below, basically conceding their point, though my whole argument is that we don't cut off discussion of any newsworthy rumor just because it may strike certain people as crass or impolite.)*

The last thing a journalist should be concerned about is propriety. Is the story newsworthy? Does it set off alarms in the nonpartisan portion of the journalist's brain? Bristol Palin -- poster child for her mom's public position on teenagers and sex, as well as indicator of John McCain's vetting process for his VP candidates -- sets off at least two alarms.

So fine, MSM, go ahead and handle the story with "dignity" (Meacham's word). But don't fear the story because the hounds at Daily Kos are howling over it, and don't apologize for chasing a rumor. Sometimes it pans out, sometimes it doesn't.

Comments

[H.L.C.]

I still don't understand how Bristol's latest pregnancy debunks the rumor? There are still questions about Palin's actions during her own so-called pregnancy.

[Ron]

"The education of Sarah Palin" Please stop trying to make the connection between Palin's daughter and Obama's mother . She was not running for Vice President whose decisions could effect our nation. My only concern is that this story is taking away from a much bigger story of TROOPERGATE. She is alleged to have exercised her influence to have someone fired. I will bet you dollars to donuts that something else shows up because McCain was irresponsible. I wish the tone of these posts would emphasize that more. He didn't do his homework and the American people are expected to shut up. FOX has a muzzle on this one.

[Aaron Barnhart]

A reader writing on the private line tells me there's more to the conspiracy theories than I give credit for:

"While I agree with keeping Palin's kids out of the press, I think you need to keep your call on for some medical evidence of Trig Palin's birth by the Governor herself. The story released yesterday never negated (much less rebutted) the part of the internet-rumors about her own pregnancy, nor her judgement in taking risks with that baby. Nor even explained the long school absence of Bristol that goes back longer then 5 months ago.

"And if it turns out the the Guv did fake one pregnancy who is to say she wouldn't try to fake this 'new' one in order to distract and provide cover from the original story. All the while its giving her an excuse to hide the daughter from prying eyes and ironically soak up even more evangelical sympathy from the true believers.

If the 6 and 7 month photos are to be believed of the Governor, but so too are the ones online at 8 months (provided by Republicans bloggers), I think there is a prosthetic device being employed here that could just as easily be worn by the daughter now to continue the story-line. (See sample here: http://www.empathybelly.org/home.html)

"The reported Bristol pregnancy from yesterday isn't due until after the elections, so all the have to do is keep things quiet until then.

"I bet McCain's Alaska-bound vetting team are checking into this now, so should the press."

OK, fair enough. And while I believe there will be probably an honest explanation for that, I don't think "respect the family's privacy" is reason enough not to construct a timeline of the last year of Bristol's life. It shouldn't be that hard if folks are telling the truth.--AB

[Chad]

One thing is for sure, Sarah Palin must be a threat. The Democrats and media seem scared to me. Yes, it seems they are attacking quickly because Sarah Palin is a great choice!

[Barbara]

I do not trust Sarah Palin. She has already lied publicly - in her speech after McCain announced her as his VP pick, she said she said "no" to funding for the Bridge to Nowhere. The truth is more complicated than that.

Second, I think her behavior with she was pregnant with her youngest child was wild: her water broke and instead of going to the hospital, she decided to give an afternoon speech, then fly a commercial flight back to Alaska? I thought it was critical to get to a hospital very soon after water breaks because infection could affect the baby.

So there are only a few explanations of all of this:

1) she wasn't really pregnant and this delay in being seen by a physician was covering one of her daughters giving birth;

2) she was lying about her water breaking, in which case: why lie about that? did you want to be seen as superhuman?

3) she was pregnant and her water did break according to media reports (this happened in the 8th month, btw) and she has very low regard for herself and her baby - much less for the crew and passengers of the commercial flights she took to return to Alaska.

I saw pictures of her on Super Tuesday when she was about 7 months along and she did not look pregnant at all. Also, I'm not sure why she announced her pregnancy after she was 7 months along.

[Kemlech]

It's true that this announcement does not debunk the rumor, and to be honest I find the the phrasing used when making leadding me down the path to more specultion.

If Palin was proud of her daughter, of her children, then this would have been annouced up front, even before the offer of VP was made. The girl would be married by now and upholding the whole family values argument as well.

I have no unrealistic expectations that the children of such a public figure could ever stay out of the limelight. It is foolish to even try in this day and age. TV media has been afraid to go after McCain, so it's up the newspapers and the net to finish telling us what we deserve to know about this whole fishy story.

[katharine]

I agree with the first post. The 'Bristol is pregnant' card was pulled out so quickly, and so obviously to dispel the first rumor, that it still leaves lots of lingering questions about the last 12 months. Why are there so many pictures of Sarah Palin at 7 months where she looks decidedly unpregnant? How was it that her staff had absolutely no clue and were amazed that she was pregnant? Why was Bristol moved from her school in the middle of the year, and why was she home with 'mono' for months, until just after the baby was born? How was it that Sarah Palin took a 12 hour flight to a govs conference at 8 mos pregnant, claimed her water had broken, then gave her speech, took another 9 hour flight and an hour's drive to give birth in her home town, hours and hours after her water had broken? How is it that flight attendants saw NO evidence that she was pregnant or in labor? How is it that she was back to work on a full schedule just three days later? None of the current information explains these oddities. Although it is rare for a woman to become pregnant again so quickly, it is not unheard of. If Trig was born on April 18, Bristol could be 4 months pregnant. (after the elections it won't matter when the baby is actually born, and everyone will have forgotten the 5 month claim.) I have no doubt that Bristol is pregnant now. What a whopper it would be if this is not her first- if the first time Mom covered and the second they said, 'Now you have to marry him'. You are right, this is why you pursue the rumor. It won't be dead until Palin releases medical records.

[MP]

The blogosphere absolutely needs to keep pursuing the story that Trig is in fact Bristol's daughter. MSM is far too cowardly, the Sarah Palin version of her pregnancy is too incredible (esp. given the pictures of her at 7-8mos), and after all the issue is a simple matter of fact--FIND THE DOCTORS AND NURSES IN ANCHORAGE WHO DELIVERED THIS BABY, and ask them!!

[v racer]

The Palin family is handling this correctly. Now switch to how it would not be handled correctly in many an Obama voter family. First, it would be a miracle if the girl knows who the father is. It would be miracle if she didn't get AIDs from the father. It would be miracle if the baby was not cocaine dependent. It would be a miracle if the father stepped up. It would be a miracle if the girl's family gave a flip. It would be a miracle if the mother and child didn't apply for welfare. It would be a miracle if the child didn't grow up to be a criminal. It would be a miracle if the child graduated from high school. It would be a miracle if their weren't a handful of future brothers and sisters who would share the same fate. The Palins did it right, don't you wish the hordes of Obama voters would too?

[Walter]

Ok, so the kids having a kid - um isn't that a parenting issue?! Shouldn't the VP-candidate who preaches "Abstenence" be brought on the carpet for being unable to executively manage her child? Oh yea, she's the past 'mayor' of a 8000 person town... that's "experience"... And how old was the boy? Are there criminal charges that should be brought here? Apparently if he was 18 or over, there could be felony charges involved. Oh yea, and the hubbys a drunk... And the Misses was a fisherman? Was she a figurehead executive of the fishing company to get SBA Small Business-Women Owned Business advantages? Alot here SMELLS.

[fear_itself]

Maybe Bristol is not Trig's mother ...but there are 3 other adult children in the Palin family ...maybe one of them? I find it hard to swallow that a woman who already had 4 grown children would elect to have a 5th at the age of 44 ! It seems logical that a 4 month old baby would belong to someone much younger ...Am I making sense ?

[Pete]

scared? you got that right. the thought of John McCain and Sarah Palin leading this country is scary. I trust that the National Enquirer will find out the truth if the MSM doesn't pursue it.

[meg]

what is it anyones business if bristol palin is pregnant? I don't think it's their responsibility to "let you know". Who cares, what does that have to do with her mom being VP..? wake up, its 2008.

[eric]

Republican righteousness somehow always leads to signs of hipocrosy. You'd think they'd be smart enough to leave that stance and work toward the real issues - not diversionary tactics like gun control, gay issues, abortion, abstinence, blah blah blah. Just because the typical American was dumb enough to swallow it with dubya doesn't mean they will again. The McCain campaign is a farce and this election will be comical.

It was your ball to drop McCain...the only resort you have now is to yell "FUMBLE" and hope your party can somehow scratch and claw under the pile to come up with it.

[thrownfree]

Is it more troubling that SP might have faked her preganancy, or that she neglected all medical good sense and potentially endagered the life of her special needs baby by traveling third trimester, completing a speech after her waters broke, and risking infection by laboring (by choice) on cross-country flight.

Either way, stuff doesn't add up; keep the heat on.

[Robert Fontaine]

I like Scarborough, at least when he starting acting partially impartial. But I agree with you about the way he handled todays segments. He refused to consider Chris Mathews perspective (to the level of argument). Mathew's point, I think, was that it's rather disinenuous to be patting Palin on the back for making the pro-life "choices", when her stance is there shouldn't be a choice. Point being, if Palin had her way, there would certainly be nothing to give her credit for in making one. For Joe to base an entire show on criticizing others for speaking about the issue of this girl's pregnancy, while his show was about that very matter, is hypocritical at best. Lets talk about it in the context of why others should not talk about it. To McCain's judgement, in not only choosing Palin, but in hiding it till the last minute, wow! To say that a VP needs to be able to step in immediately, in the context of her lack of global experience, shows that he chose her not for the country, but for himself. But to introduce her to the country on the eve of the RNC, and to think that the press and the public would not want to inquire about every aspect of here life, is naive. At best, had he done so a week or two earlier, and came forth with all her "faults" (which we all have), would have difused much of this. But McCain, in an attempt to look "maverick", chose instead to give his campaign a boost. Let's hope that if he becomes president, he is not so quick to push the big red buttons.

[John]

What was John McCain thinking? Did he know anything about Sarah Palin before he picked her to be his VP?

It seems like he doesn't know what he's doing anymore.

[John Warner]

OK, I think SP's family situation has very little to do with her qualifications to be (Vice) President and borderline off-limits besides, but "Sara Palin is a great choice"? C'mon, does anybody really think she's the best qualified Republican to lead the world's only superpower?

[T. Lizotte]

Hey H.L.C and Ron,

When Democrats have to invent conspiracy they're definitely in trouble. Fake birth - oh boy!!!

I can't wait for the debate. The democrats will try to attack her on her associations and family issues. It will be nice to draw her assoications to that of Obama. Reverend Wright and Mr. Aires should be good contrast. And the best contrast will be John Edwards. Not only did he cheat on his wife, he ran for President while she is fighting terminal cancer. She missed out on family time that she will never get back to support a husband who, oh yeah, made a mistake. Edwards was a rumor based on truth, the blog rumor about palin was fabricated - it wasn't based on any facts. The rumor about Edwards, was about the fact that he was sneaking out of a hotel at ~2:00 am.

I see the story ended with a love child without a father. Where are the blogs on finding out the truth about Edwards love child. Why was Edwards in a Hotel room at ~2:00 am? When the relatonship was supposedly over a year ago? Why is the woman refusing a DNA test? What is there to hide?

Oh that's right - no story here!!! the ole, move along method of the liberal press.

However, I am not shocked at the democrats and left leaning media. They are just demonstrating to young girls around the country that women are second rate citizens.

You are telling young girls, don't have a family if you want to serve your country, only men are allowed to have families and serve. Good grief.

There goes the equal pay argument. The Democrats are arguing that if a woman has a family they can't handle executive mangement work. What are these Democrats thinking?

[Tina]

All this BS is just that BS no one in America is squeeky fricken clean, even if they are runing for President or as the case may be Vice President. However a few things bloggers ignored. Sarah Palin was in her 40's with her last child Trig, that alone (AMA- Advanced Maternal Age) made miscarriage, mulitple birth and Downs far more likely, once it was discovered the child had Downs that increased the odds of miscarriage and pre-term still birth further, that is likely waited until 7 mos to announce the pregnancy because she was waiting for all indicated testing to be complete so she knew exactly what was going on with her unborn child.

I waited until week 28 after most testing was complete with my last child to tell even my Mother because I was over 40 and wanted to be sure there was nothing wrong after an inconclusive AFP test, (my daughter luckily was 100% normal) but I waited until all tests indicated were performed and it was my fourth child and no one noticed I was pregnant they all just thought I was getting fat! You wear clothes that don't make you "show". I have to wonder any of you out there spreading this BS ever actually been pregnant or undergon AFP testing or Amnio etc. Did you bother to try and educate yourself on AMA pregnancies or did you just jump to conclusions?

[Robert Fontaine]

Also, I wonder whom those "family value conservatives" would choose that Palin (or any other man or woman in her position) will opt to place her complete attention on, the duties of her Vice Presidency, or her husband, 5 children including her precious child with Downs Syndrom), her pregnant minor child and her new step son, her new grandchild? Will they all move to Washington? Will she remain in Alaska? Will some of her family move and the rest stay? These are reasonable and practical questions. Mothers, who are typically more nurturing than fathers, have sooooo much already on their plates. How can a mother with all these complicated (and beautiful) things happening in her immediate family, give her full time and attention to both of these awesome responsibilities? Which one will suffer?

[Lawrence Pollins]

I think the Democraps are running scared on this one, because it's seems that the media who is in the tank for Mr. Obama can't wait to trash Governor Palin and her family. Why don't the people in the media "get a life" and report the news that is important to us rather than waste their time with this trash

[Lou]

It's so ironic seeing Dems use this issue to blast a Republican. I thot you people believed in choice? Well, she made her choice. Move on. How is this a political issue? What political point can you conclude from this about Sarah Palin? None. It's just about sex and a candidate so the left wing press loves it and left wingers will be more than happy to be hypocrits when it comes to blasting a GOPer.

[Nancy]

Most will argue that her daughter's teenage pregnancy has very little importance to becoming the VP; I disagree.

Photos of her daughter with alcohol are all over the web. Is the acceptable with the Republicans? If a mother can't control her own child how is she expected to act as VP?

Mrs. Palin, please stay out of the politcal arena and pay attention to your children. A parent's job is far more important.

[SueP]

How ANY mother could expose her daughter to this kind of scrutiny blows my mind. If Governor Palin and Senator McCain both knew that Bristol was pregnant before the Governor accepted the VP nod, they should *both* be ashamed of themselves for putting Bristol in the line of fire this way. It's not about a young woman having a baby-- that happens every day, and is a blessing. The reason this story won't go away is that it's about not properly vetting a potential vice president and it's about hanging a vulnerable young mother out to dry. Horrible!! Mrs. Palin should withdraw immediately and see if she can direct some of her energies to undoing the damage to this young couple.