Last updated on July 18th, 2023 at 11:16 am
In two separate campaign appearances today both Barack Obama and Joe Biden proclaimed Sarah Palin’s pregnant 17 year old daughter Bristol, politically off limits.
Speaking to reporters in Monroe, Michigan Obama said, “Let me be as clear as possible. 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 Gov. Palin’s performance as governor or her potential performance as a vice president.”
The Democratic nominee pointed out that he was the child of an 18 year old mother, and that his supporters should back off of this story, “How a 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’s off-limits.”
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While campaigning in Florida, vice presidential nominee Joe Biden was asked about Palin, “I don’t know the governor…I know people worry about Biden-style talk, but the truth is I simply don’t know. I take her on face value. She’s a governor, that’s no mean feat and she seems to have a strong personal story.” He also added that, “children are off limits.”
I think that the family of the candidate should be off limits. Teenagers get pregnant sometimes. It happens to both good and bad parents. If anything this story demonstrates why the abstinence only sex education programs that social conservatives are always touting, don’t work. I think that Obama and Biden have got it right. There is no place in the campaign for that kind of attack on a teenage girl. If anything this is a problem for the McCain campaign, because this is another story that takes the focus off of their convention and their candidate.
Obama has been steadfast all through this election in saying that family should be off limits. Some fringe right wingers have seen fit to attack Michelle Obama, but going after a pregnant 17 year old girl is an entirely different ballgame. By jumping on this story, the Obama campaign risks being viewed as mean, and could possibly create a tidal wave of sympathy for Palin. To me, this story has nothing to do with the election and the Democrats are right to leave it alone.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
