Sarah Palin Confirms 17 Year-Old Daughter Pregnant

Breaking news has it that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's 17 year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant. Here's Katherine Seelye's report:

The 17-year-old daughter of Gov. Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate, is five months pregnant, Senator McCain’s campaign advisers announced today.

The daughter, Bristol, plans to marry the father, the campaign said.

In a statement, Mrs. Palin said: “Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows that she has our unconditional love and support.”

The announcement was intended to counter rumors by liberal bloggers that Mrs. Palin had claimed to have given birth to her fifth child in April when, according to the rumors, the child was her daughter’s.

Groups that oppose abortion rights had been thrilled with Mr. McCain’s selection of Mrs. Palin, the governor of Alaska, as his running mate, partly because of her opposition to abortion. It is not clear how social conservatives will respond to the latest news.

The campaign intends to cast this as the kind of situation that ordinary American families face.

The McCain campaign says it was aware of her daughter’s pregnancy before it named her as the running mate on Friday.

It's still early, but some initial reaction on the left is cautious. Here's Steve Benen, for example:

Now, there are different schools of thought on this, but I'm very much inclined to think a politician's kids are entirely off-limits for public scrutiny. Bristol Palin's pregnancy has no political relevance whatsoever.

What's interesting is that had the leftist conspiracy mongers not jumped to attack Governor Palin with the most insane rumors imaginable, the Democrats might have been able to make a case of conservative inconsistency in the promotion of family values.

Now, however, Bristol Palin's pregancy and pending marriage to the father look even more likely to endear McCain-Palin to average American household members who share similar everyday challenges in raising functional, healthy families.

My blessings go out to Governor Palin and her loved ones.

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UPDATE: This comment from Denise-Mary at Amy Proctor's is a more powerful response to the news of Bristol Palin's pregancy than anything I could say:

If these candidates, McCain-Palin, previously did not have all of my respect, they do now. Palin's straightforward statement effectively quashes any further discussion on the topic. Further, McCain apparently stated he knew of Bristol's pregnancy, and chose Palin as his running mate anyway. My hat's off to both of them. Choosing to keep her child is the most personal decision a young woman can make, and now that she's in the spotlight, will require phenomenal courage.

Of course there will be those who "trash" her and "family values." To those I would say: is not compassion a "family value?"

By the way, I'm a 56-year-old former Dem, female, who aborted a child decades ago. That child still haunts my heart, and will until the day I die. Kudos to Bristol, Palin, and McCain.

Also, unprincipled left-wing allegations of McCain's dishonesty on prior knowledge of the pregnancy are already flying, although even some of the most ruthless neocon-bashers are hestitant the smear the Palins, so caution may indeed to the norm with this, even on the left.