Press: Back Off Bristol Palin!

When an individual throws him or herself into the glare of publicity by standing for public office, does the candidate drag the members of their family along with them? And should the press feel obligated to reveal prior or current indiscretions of the family members as they do the candidate?

There are several baseline questions that need to be addressed before answering either of these very troublesome questions: Has the candidate made his/her relationship with their family an issue in the campaign? Has the family member injected himself/herself into the campaign? What is the nature of the indiscretion? How old is the family member? Does the family member's act (or omission) shed any helpful light on the character of the candidate?

Let's look at the situation of Bristol Palin, five-months-pregnant, unmarried, 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate-in-waiting, Sarah Palin, governor of Alaska. The Palin camp announced the pregnancy in an effort to debunk rumors that cropped up in the blogosphere that the candidate's five-month-old son had actually been born to her daughter, Bristol, not to her.

With respect to the first question -- has the candidate made her relationship with her family an issue in the campaign -- the answer is a qualified yes. While Palin has not really been a candidate long enough (she was anointed Friday) to have made much of anything an issue in the campaign yet, her "family values" positions are certainly among the principal reasons she was chosen by McCain. In fact in the speech announcing her selection, he called her emblematic of "the hopes and the values of working people." So, an editor could make an argument that the "family values" issue makes a daughter's teen pregnancy fair game in a presidential race.

Has the family member injected herself into the campaign? Absolutely not. Aside from a quick photo shot of Bristol, alongside her brother and sisters on the platform on Friday, I have not heard a word she's uttered in support of her mother, McCain, the Republican platform or, for that matter, any public issue.

What is the nature of the indiscretion? A teen pregnancy out-of-wedlock. I don't think this clears the bar for press exposure. In 2001, the 19-year-old Bush girls, Barbara and Jenna, received misdemeanor citations from the Austin, TX police for underage drinking. There were those at the time who felt it was unfair for the press to inquire about and probe the incident and the Bushes' reaction. When law enforcement gets involved and there is a public record, the incident is fair game. When Andrew Giuliani put his name on a lawsuit against Duke University and filed suit, that is fair game for reporting. When a 17-year-old girl gets herself pregnant, I believe the press ought to stand down unless there's an unusually good justification for publishing.

How old is the family member? 17. Would any parent out there want to be judged as fit or unfit for their job on the basis of the nutty or irresponsible stuff our kids do? Even the proudest of parents knows that we're just a hair's breadth away from potentially disastrous consequences -- particularly with teenagers. This is not Billy Carter, or some other wacky adult relative who should be held responsible for his actions -- this is a near-child, who made a stupid mistake and now will live with it. It is very different than a responsible adult relative who screws up and embarrasses the candidate (and almost always knows that they're going to).

And finally, does the family member's conduct shed any light on the fitness of the candidate to hold office or on the candidate's morals, principles or values? The answer here is no. I am sure that in the days and weeks ahead there will be many things we learn about Sarah Palin that will make us acutely perplexed as to why John McCain thought she was the best possible option to be his second-in-command, but having a pregnant teenage daughter will definitely not be on the list. There are those that argue that having a teenage daughter get pregnant may be some reflection of her mothering skills, her attentiveness, her insight into her own family. I don't buy it. And even were that so, it would not provide any window on her suitability for the office of vice president; it would only be a measure of her mothering.

The toughest ethical questions faced by journalists involve when to involuntarily strip subjects of their privacy over matters they do not want disclosed. Since privacy is one of the most cherished values in a civilized society, we in the press need to be absolutely sure that when we do it, we have some higher ethical justification. In this case, there was none.

Read more reaction from HuffPost bloggers to John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate

Comments

[geality]

Could everyone in America be missing the point(s) about Palin? Hopefully not.

Nature abhors a vacuum. Artistotle and Galileo were talking about water pumps but the idiom applies so masterfully in the political sphere - especially around convention time - and ultimately around Palin. McCain brought along the governor and the governor brought along a SuperDome sized vacuum for every political and social pundit to pour their keystrokes and sound-bites into. We're just doing what comes natural to human beings: filling up the vacuum with thermodynamic controversy. Replacing nothing with something, anything. One of two events will happen now as the vacuum is replaced and swollen with chaos: [1] the Palin bubble will expand until the walls simply cannot hold. A Republican with a pin will not be necessary. The Alaskan Experiment will explode and minute bits of Palin will twiddle down on the lapels of RNC officials like so much faded red confetti. OR [2] McCain's team will form a special Palin Brigade to lacquer the expanding bubble with the cement of redirection until the vessel simply cannot expand anymore. Then the Republican task will be to carry this Uranus-sized ball with them everywhere McCain and Palin travel. Silly really.

Nature abhors a vacuum Mr. and Mrs. Public. The immense vacuum Mrs. Palin has given us is being filled with everything we've got. Nothing is sacred because there simply is so much room and the entrance is so high and wide.

[Ellieirish]

Firstly, Sarah Palin subjected her daughter to this humiliation when she agreed to run as VP fully knowing that her daughter's plight would be drawn into the limelight. She didn't pause for a second in putting her career before the well being of her family. Secondly, her statement that she is proud that Bristol "has made the decision to have the baby" implies that Bristol had a choice; to have the baby or not to have the baby. A choice she would like to remove for the rest of us. Would she be just as proud of her if there were no choice as she proposes? Thirdly, the hypocrisy of a woman who holds as a central issue in her campaign an abstinence only form of sex education as a method of preventing unwanted pregnancy, having a daughter with an unwanted pregnancy is not only news worthy, it calls into question her judgement on all policies related to planned parenthood. She has lost all credibility on issues related to sex education, choice, abstinence only sex ed, etc. It's fair game because she made it so by putting herself out there as an expert on conservative issues. Big blunder!

[Texanna33]

Great comments. You are so right on every count. Especially when you point out that Bristol was apparently given a choice to have the baby or not, a choice she doesn't think the rest of us deserve.

[HughMorris]

How does this blow up in Obama's face. His daughters are not out having sex. He doesn't want Abstinence only programs in schools. If anyone Rusty this will Blow up in McCain's face. Showing he has bad judgement. But let ask the one question is Palin ready to run this country? No one have the experience in running the country. You learn as you go. WE Vote for the person that we think will do the best job for us.

[Ellieirish]

HuffPost's Pick

It's ridiculous that the Republicans spend all their time exposing the inner bedrooms of the rest of the world and passing judgement on others but when it comes to proof of their own failed policies, right in their own house, they cry foul and say it's private. They are screaming that the negative blogs and circulated emails were vicious and they had never seen anything like it before. Really? I saw something exactly like it when they circulated rumors that Obama is a Muslim, and those rumors were untrue! Just imagine if it were Obama's daughter that was unmarried and pregnant at 17.

[Rule Of Law]

We are talking about the righteous religious Right and how they have the answers for everyone else, but can't seem to impart to their own children the basic values they are busily trying to stuff down our throats.

If she can't teach her own daughter the value of waiting until marriage (or at least how to use a con dumb) how effective will she be at educating or leading a country? More Hypocrisy, more self justification, more do as I say not as I do.

[3in1]

Idle Minds Give obama your lead and support. He needs your help. Listen to Joe.

[inditer]

This story has little to do with the young girl. It has everything to do with the 'do as I say, not as I do' mentality of candidate Palin as reflected in the sexual behavior of a teenager raised on abstinence. There's also the question of Palin's own sexual behavior insofar as her first child was born 7 months and three weeks after she eloped. Of course, Ruth will give her a pass on that one too.

The first issue with Bristol was when she stood on the platform holding her infant brother over her stomach. Was that Bristol's idea or mom's? So, let's teach our child to deceive. Now, let's take a look at pop. An 18 year old self-described hockey jock 'hell-raiser' who said on his now handily removed web site that that he was a f***ing redneck and that, quote - "I don't want kids".. What a dream dad he's going to be.

The point is Ruth that keeping the child within a shotgun teenage marriage that is doomed from the start makes no sense. Best for Palin to either raise the child herself or put the baby up for adoption to a family that truly wants a child and is mature enough to take care of it. The buildup of Palinism continues unabated.

[SMP]

I agree with Sen Obama...but,


Where was Sarah Palins head......she SHOVED her daughter right into the public limelight..........Questions need to be asked of this woman.

[amamomofsons]

What kind of a mother sacrifices her daughters privacy like this woman did? To parade her daughter with the baby in her arms on a notional stage, knowing that she was five months pregnant was cruel and self serving to say the least. I think this was a way for Sarah to punish her daughter in public. Get out the scarlet letter and the stockade. Mrs. Palin may have given birth to five children, but she is a poor excuse of a mother who does not protect her children from ridicule and judgment of the media.

[akbob99507]

"We should all sincerely wish the very best for Bristol, Levi and their baby. They are embarking on a rough road, but if they truly love each other and work hard at the task of being a family, they can succeed and be happy. I’m happy for them that they have a loving family that will help and support them, not all young adults in this situation are so fortunate. They have done nothing wrong to deserve media attention, negative or otherwise.

They do however illustrate that even in the best of families, sometimes our young people don’t always make the choices that we wish they would. That’s why we have to give them every tool available to keep them as safe as possible. We need to provide them as many alternatives as possible when they do make a bad choice or find themselves in a difficult situation."

Sarah Palin: Rules of Engagement - http://allalaskans.com/emperor

[Shadow08]

Her daughters pregnancy certainly is a private matter. But, while it may be a sad state of affairs, people are hungry for stories involving sex, family scandals, extra maritial affais, love children, oval office fellatio, even rumors, conjecture and innuendo get press in the ravenous hunger for stories in a 24 hour media. Private matters just don't reamain private if you enter the public arena. It may not be right, but in America reading and hearing about "scandals" is as common as the weather forcast on your local evening news. I dont see any news sources advovcating keeping private matters private, and if one does, they're lying. Media is competition and scandals sell.

[DisabledRetiredVet]

I agree that this issue should remain private...however, the self-proclaimed party of "family values" has made a political issue over private matters like this for years now...as you mentioned, President Clinton's private family matter turned into an impeachment trial...John Edwards wasn't even allowed at the DNC...I'm tired of the Republicans getting a pass on their scandals while Democrats are burned at the stake for theirs...It's time we fight back....

[thomasonfa]

I agree that family should not be the focus but if you have been following this campaign; the media has been seeking to put the family into the spotlight. Example, we did not know much about Obama, he seemed too clean, so let us focus on his wife. The same for McCain, to a lesser extent, Cindy McCain's tax records... this list could continue on and on...

Even though, those seeking this position are opening themselves up for major scrutiny (making public your medical records and tax records).

When is it too far? I do not know but I think “openness” has become the policy for our leaders.

[suzukimom]

Obama's position is clear that family members are off limits, but the people who really injected Bristol into the public view was her mother.

Why didn't Sarah Palin release her own medical records, or a portion of them, to prove that she is the mother of Trig?

What does the fact that her daughter is pregnant prove?. We don't know for sure how far along she is and isn't it possible to get pregnant very soon after a birth? I would imagine that would be a greater risk for young people who don't feel they have the option of using birth control.

So she pushes her own daughter into the limelight to prove what exactly?

This is one tragic story.

[jingles01]

I am both amused and dismayed by the majority of the comments I read here. The whole idea that there is some vast right-wing conspiracy involving covering up who the mother of the four month old son is amuses me. The dismissive tone used by most to describe those with differing ideas (e.g., pro-life vs. pro-choice) dismays me.

Once upon a time, I was a devoted Democrat. As I grew older, I became increasing aware that the party was veering farther and farther away from my core beliefs. I found myself to be in a party that brooked no conversations and no disagreements within the party and used invective and downright hatred for those who disagreed with any of the talking points. I left and have never looked back. The tone of most comments herein certainly verifies I made the correct decision.

[sonnyboi]

Have you paid the slightest bit of attention to republican campaign tactics the last few years????????

[lcarliner]

This issue is not Bristal Pahlin, it is the Pahlin/McCain opposition to proper funding of reasonably funded and unhobbled pregnancy prevention and sex education programs. Bristal is is simply a victim of Republican extreme ideology and ignorance.

[missgrundy]

What bothers me is the hypocrisy of the Republican party since it pits itself as owning the corner on morality. I was 17 once myself and my family gave me a very strict talking to regarding sex before marriage. Unfortunately, it appears that this young lady didnt get the same talk and, even if her parents thought that she was sexually active, didn't take her to a gynecologist and have a conversation about birth control.

Arch conservatives like Palin equate contraception as abortion. This is a sad situation for this young girl who will now lose the last of her teenage years and have to take care of her child. I hope her parents at least help her finish high school and college so that she will be prepared to take care of her child, especially if her shot-gun marriage to the baby's father doesn't work out.

[koyak23]

Hey Ruth, I could not agree more !

So why did Gov. Palin inject her pregnant daughter into the campaign ? If the Gov. felt the need to rebut the rumor about the 3 month old child, why didn't Gov. Palin release her medical records and produce the birth certificate ?

It seems to me that this would been definitive evidence to debunk the rumor,AND her daughter's privacy and Levi's privacy would have been protected.

Shame on Gov. Palin for being so insensitive to her own daughter !

[VasuMurti]

I'd like to respect Sarah Palin's request that Bristol be given some privacy in this regard. However, Sarah Palin must know there is no right to privacy spelled out in the Constitution; the Fourth Amendment only protects us against unwarranted search and seizure.

In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court found an implied right to privacy, and this decision served as the basis for Roe v. Wade (which Palin and her party would like to see overturned!).

If Bristol is the daughter of a candidate that believes in abstinence-only sex education and doesn't believe in a Constitutional right to privacy, she and her shotgun wedding are fair game for scrutiny by the news media.

[WAstateliberal]

This should be the HuffPo pick. The party that disputes the penumbral right of privacy demanding privacy? The party that phone taps Americans demanding privacy? Classic.