News-Record.com

Doug: "The question is being asked: Did McCain know? I'm not sure there's been a straight answer yet."

That question was already answered in the first article I read about Bristol's pregnancy.

FoxNews: "McCain’s campaign told FOX News that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate knew about Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he chose Palin as his running mate last Friday..."

Doug: ''The media aren't going to quit this story until they at least find out who the father is."

Didn't Palin already name the father -- at least his first name? Doesn't sound like she's keeping it a big secret.

From her statement: "We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy..."

I assume that Levi is the dad/future son-in-law.

A lot of teenagers have sex. No matter who raises them or how. And sometimes they get pregnant. What this shows is a loving, supportive, pro-life family handling the situation in the best possible way and acknowledging that a baby is a blessing, no matter what the circumstances may be. Good for them.

Reveling in someone else's misfortune says more about the reveler than it does about the person
experiencing the misfortune. Obama responded with grace and compassion. Kudos to him.

The Daily Kos is not a blog, it is a community, where anyone can post anything they want.

That diary was posted by someond with a new UserID, and was immediately slammed by most all of the thousand plus commenters, including me.

THought you should know that.

The rumors were actually started by her Republican opponents in Alaska, not by the left.

Doug, I know you're a good reporter. I would not have expected such shorthand journalism.

Thanks, Mr.Clark, I made a bet yesterday, you would ignore Michael Moore and Don Fowler and you would be right on it with Palin.
Yes McCain knew, according to Fox News.
There a story about a NC congress man, who's wife left him. Happens ever day to people. The reason given does not happen ever day. Does it need press coverage, no. Is any of any one's business, no.

The campaign last night released the presumed father's full name.

Washington Post reports today: "McCain advisers said that after talking to Palin, they decided to issue the statement about Bristol's pregnancy in the wake of repeated inquiries from reporters after liberal blogs raised questions about whether Bristol Palin is Trig's mother." Also that rumors circulating in Alaska some time ago had been discredited, and any question of Trig's maternity had died out. It wasn't Republicans who revived those rumors but opponents of Republicans.

I'm satisfied now that the McCain people did know, but I'd heard a spokesman give a somewhat ambiguous answer to the question.

Pretty disappointing Doug that you are engaging in tabloid journalism. Why are children of political candidates fair game. Why don't the Plains deserve privacy? Even when Hillary Clinton had Chelsea participating in her campaign, the Clintons demanded that the media keep their hands off her.

If we are going to bring children of candidates into the fray, are Obama's girls next? Shall we investigate their sex lives?

C'mon Doug, I thought you were better than this.

Are you kidding me? Sarah Palin announced this information. Do you think no one should report and comment about it?

Doug said:

The question is being asked: Did McCain know? I'm not sure there's been a straight answer yet.

A couple of days ago, Sarah Palin seemed to represent ideal family values. Has that changed? Probably not.

With all due respect, Doug, you didn't just
comment on it. You posted it on a blog and
encouraged even more discussion about it.

Doug said:

The question is being asked: Did McCain know? I'm not sure there's been a straight answer yet.

A couple of days ago, Sarah Palin seemed to represent ideal family values. Has that changed? Probably not.

With all due respect, Doug, you didn't just
comment on it. You posted it on a blog and
encouraged even more discussion about it.

I'm not getting the point. Are we not supposed to talk about it?

Oh, you can talk about it -- the rest of the media seems to be.

But it's only newsworthy in the "Access Hollywood" sense. Gov. Palin's teenage daughter may have acted irresponsibly, but does that really reflect on Palin herself? What teenager hasn't done something stupid?

Gov. Palin did nothing wrong here -- unless having a family with real, human problems is doing something wrong. It's not like the N&R's darling John Edwards, who cheated on his dying wife, then threw around millions in hush money to cover it up.

I can't help but think that this wouldn't be an issue if Gov. Palin was a man. Society expects professional women to be both good at their jobs and perfect mothers, while its perfectly acceptable for professional men to place their careers ahead of their families. Combine that double standard with the entrenched media bias against conservatives and Gov. Palin is going to be beaten senseless by the press.

Calling John Edwards the N&R's darling is just silly. Editorially, we've been unimpressed with him for many years.

Your point about a double standard is valid. I think there is an undercurrent here that says Palin shouldn't hold such a demanding job and embark on a national campaign when she has family issues she should be attending to -- and you'd be less likely to hear the same things about a man.

Although, John Edwards never should have run for president this last time. He had family issues that should have taken priority.

Doug,

You are right that you do not get it. Palin was forced to announce her daughter's pregnancy because of the scurrilous story that was going around that her 5-month old Downs Syndrome baby was actually her daughter's. So, are we to believe that her daughter delivered a baby 5 months ago and got immediately pregnant again???

As thoughts said, you didn't just comment on it, you made a long post about it. And, you said that asking for her daughter's privacy was going to fly. Why not? Her daughter is 17 years old and is not running for political office. The policy has always been to layoff of politician's families, especially their children. As was said, the Clintons demanded that Chelsea be touched by the media. should we begin giving Obama's family the same treatment? As I recall Obama himself was given birth by a 17-year old mother. Is that something that should be delved into as well by the media?

Doug, this is a matter of decency, in case you still don't get it. Take a look at Bill Maher's monologue about Palin, making a joke of her Downs Syndrome baby being a love child of John Edwards. How disgusting you can get?

Make no mistake, Doug. What's going on now is the Borking and Thomasing of Sarah Palin, and the good people of American will not let it happen. So, are you going to be a participant in that or are you going to be human and decent?

Here's what I don't get: How you can equate outing the information about Palin's daughter with talking about it once it's out. They're not the same thing. I never heard any of the rumors you mentioned until after the Palins made their announcement yesterday. That was news to me and I suspect to most Americans. So, to me, it seems you're saying that if we react to the news by discussing it, we're somehow trashing Sarah Palin. I've done no such thing, and there hasn't been any trashing of her on this string.

Yes, I understand some people predisposed to oppose the McCain ticket may use this to argue against his judgment or hers. That happens. There's still garbage going around the Internet and in personal conversations about Obama being a Muslim, anti-American, what have you.

The news about Bristol Palin is out there. It's in the open. Sarah Palin has made her statement about it. It's fair for Americans to decide what they think about it and what they think about her. No one needs to be scolded into shutting up about it.

Doug,

And, as regards John Edwards, as I recall when the Inquirer rumors were originally floating around, the News-Record's policy was hands-off of the story. As a matter of fact, all of the media was hands-off. Edwards said the rumors were not true, and that was good enough for the media. The media and the News-Record got in on the story late after it was inevitable. But, Sarah Palin's 17-year old daughter is different, she is fair game for exposing her personal life and mistakes, huh?

Yeah, I heard the domesticity talking point over the weekend from a leftwing friend: how can she run for office with a Downs baby at home? This, from a person who frets endlessly about global warming.

Bottom line: for those inclined to vote for McCain, it's an irrelevant issue. For left wingnuts, it's proof that she's an uppity, incompetent mother. For most reasonable people, it won't matter a bit.

Calling John Edwards the N&R's darling is just silly. Editorially, we've been unimpressed with him for many years.

**************

I'll let others be the judge -- do they agree with me or you on this statement?

The N&R didn't print anything about Bristol Palin's pregnancy until it was announced by her parents and it became an issue in a presidential campaign. No comparison to the John Edwards/National Enquirer story.

"The news about Bristol Palin is out there. It's in the open. Sarah Palin has made her statement about it. It's fair for Americans to decide what they think about it and what they think about her. No one needs to be scolded into shutting up about it."

Doug, why do Americans need to decide what they think about it and what they think about her (Bristol Palin?). Why isn't this a private issue for Bristol Palin? Would you want your 17-year old daughter's pregnancy discussed and Americans deciding what they think of her?
I'm sure that you would say that is a private matter, so why is it any different for a 17-year old whose mother is Sarah Palin?

The funny thing is that if Sarah Palin believed was pro-abortion, her daughter could have had an abortion and no one would have known or cared about it. It's sad that Americans can accept an aborted baby as no-news, when a live baby to be delivered is news that people have to decide what they think about it and her. Why not put a scarlet letter on her forehead? On the Borking....

My statement should have been more clear that Americans can decide what they think about Sarah Palin.

You're right that an abortion would have kept this matter from coming up publicly unless someone with inside knowledge leaked it.

You seem to think this episode says something positive about Palin's values. I don't disagree. But if you think it's none of your business, why are you talking abou it?

Doug,

I am talking about it because the media has said that the Palins can not have privacy because she decided to run for political office. It's as though Sarah Palin gave up all of her family's privacy when she decided to run for VP.

Well, I don't recall that you or anyone else at the News-Record has had a post for discussion regarding Joe Biden's lobbyist son and brother who are being sued for defrauding someone for millions of dollars. Where is that story, Doug? Biden is a candidate for VP as well, so does he get privacy for his family? Should he have to give answers to the media about his family's alleged fraud or is he granted privacy because he is a Democrat darling? C'mon Doug, you know that there is media bias showing here. And, if this lawsuit is found to be true, then Biden's family has actually done something wrong.

As I said, I am disappointed in you participating in the borking of Sarah Palin. I thought you were better than that.

Doug,
Imagine if you had a 17-year-old daughter who became pregnant. How would this sound to you and your family?

Clark Family Values

The News and Record wanted an editor who would create buzz and sell newspapers and they got him.
Today, Doug Clark is in the headlines for an unexpected reason: He and his wife announced their 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant.

One reason for the disclosure now is truly bizarre. In the ever-popular Bobo's Backyard Blog, a blogger claimed that the Clarks' infant son is really Bristol's baby, and that Clark is covering up for his daughter.

Uh,oh, apologies to any Bobos for the slur.

Well, the truth is interesting enough. An unwed
teen mom-to-be in an editor's family must be a first. Someone didn't listen to dad.Then again, when do teenagers listen to dad?

The Clarks say Bristol is going to marry the father, they're proud of her decision to have her baby, and they're proud of becoming grandparents. Beyond that, they're not saying anything except to ask for privacy.

That's not going to fly. The media aren't going to quit this story until they at least find out who the father is. After all, Doug Clark is a well-known person in our community. The Clarks might not feel entitled to reveal his identity yet, but it's going to come out sooner or later. The sooner it does, the less the media will have to dig for it.

OK, is this an issue for Doug? If so, how does it play? Will people see him capable of being an editor if he can't handle his own daughter? Will he be able to be fair and even-handed in his handling of issues or will this color every column he pens? Will readers even trust his opinion any more?

News and Record readers who like Doug's take on the issues can spin it favorably. Doug Clark is standing by his daughter. His is a close, supportive, loving family.

Other readers can spin it negatively. Was Doug paying attention to his daughter? Was he too busy with other priorities to notice? Does he really put family first? We all know what an important role fathers play in their daughters' lives.

Doug is up for a promotion. The question is being asked: Does N&R management know? I'm not sure there's been a straight answer yet. But what if they do? Should they pass over Doug Clark on account of his daughter's condition? I think it will look worse, politically, if it ever comes out that they passed him over that reason. Some in N&R management, as we understand, are not puritans.

One outcome of this revelation should be to spark more discussion about the issue of teen pregnancy. Yeah, it seems like it's been talked to death. Maybe that's why so many teens apparently tune out the yammering. Or they pay more attention to the cultural messages that tell them sexual activity is expected.

This also ought to warn off people who like to blog on the subject, intimating there's something wrong with your family values if this sort of thing happens. A couple of days ago, Doug Clark seemed to represent ideal family values. Has that changed? Probably not.

So, what's next? I bet the buzz will continue. More on this developing situation next week!

These comments are a bit ridiculous. Every candidate for such a high office goes through this scrutiny of their families. The McCain campaign released the information about her daughter's pregnancy itself. Palin must have known her daughter's pregnancy would come out and people would talk about it. She also likes to talk about her son being deployed to Iraq, so apparently it's fine to discuss her kids' activities. Personally I don't think this story is that big a deal compared to other revelations about Palin that we've had the last few days, but politicians, no matter the party, are scrutinized in this way. The children should not be hounded by the press, and they certainly have the right to refuse to answer questions from the press, but the press has every right to investigate these stories and report on press releases from the McCain campaign.

Thoughts for your penny:

You tell me how it sounds. What specifically sounds bad or unfair about it?

By the way, let's put this in some context. This post, which some commenters think is not a fit subject for discussion, is getting lots of discussion.

But I put another post on this blog this morning about an American hero, a Navy SEAL from Lexington, who died in Afghanistan serving his country.

Comments from readers: none.

"Palin was forced to announce her daughter's pregnancy because of the scurrilous story that was going around that her 5-month old Downs Syndrome baby was actually her daughter's."

Stormy, she was forced to reveal the information because her daughter is beginning to show, and hiding it with her little brother's baby blanket ain't gonna work anymore.

And Doug, I think you shot pretty straight with this piece, without leaning either way. Which means, there's at least something in there to tick of every reader. ;/

Thanks. The basic story here isn't a partisan political one.

Of course, it has potential political implications.

Doug,

I have mixed feelings about this--especially since Palin was the one who offered the information. I am curious, though, what you would think if someone wrote a similar story about you, as a public figure, in another newspaper.

In the past, I personally have said one or two things (well...maybe three things) that sounded fairly reasonable to my ears...until someone held up a mirror and asked me how I would think/feel/react if I were
in a similar situation.

Just asking the question....

The thing is, it's just not something that could be hidden anyway, especially if McCain-Palin were elected in November. If the veep-elect becomes a grandmother (sometime around Jan. 1), it's news.

Obviously, I'd be upset about bloggers spreading lies, but truthful reporting of the facts and respectful commentary? Part of the game.

Doug, so I take it that you would not be bothered if
you were in a similar situation and these comments were written about you and your family?

We're not really connecting in this conversation because I think your question is illogical. It's like asking whether I would be bothered by an article in the paper about my house catching on fire and burning down. Well, I'd sure be bothered by the fire. I'd have to expect the article because a house burning down is news. It would be more bothersome if the fire were started by my teenager smoking in bed, but if the fire marshal reported that as the cause I could hardly blame the newspaper for including that fact in the article.

Yes, the fire would be news and it is fair game.
But, if they implied that your ability to take care of your house and/or take care of your son reflects on your ability to do your job, I think you might not find that kind of reporting appropriate.

Whaddya say we agree to disagree on this? I notice you have other fires to fight. Thanks for your column and blog. I enjoy it.

Thanks. There's is a speech to watch, and how Palin does at the podium will be the story tomorrow.

Last night I saw a hockey mom perform a speech to be the V.P. of the US. The RNC proudly displayed her family for the whole world to see because she has “Family Values”. In reflection of that speech I thought of my own mother and her values. I realized I needed to give her a very public thank you.

Thank you for using your better judgment and not leaving me alone with Dad for more then an hour when I was to young to whip my own butt. I know her would have passed me to Lori to take care of me too. I think she was four at the time.

Thank you for loving me more then your career. You could have been anything you wanted to be, but you decided to be my mom. You valued family more then your career and ambitions. You took me to wrestling tournaments all over the country instead of working overtime. You told me that we needed the money but there are things that money cannot buy. Thank you for valuing the things that money cannot buy more then what it can.

Thank you for loving me more then country. I cannot thank you enough for not allowing me to enlist in the military. You said any fool in the White House can send you off to war for anything they want to. I know sending me to college would have been easier if I had the GI bill; but you loved me to much to have me go though the horrible experience of war.

Thank you for inviting my wife and me to your parties with your true friends because you love us and enjoy our company. You never dressed us up and paraded us around people you want to be your friends. You never used me to look better to anyone; and you actually defended me when I made you look bad. You never tried to spin my mistakes into a chance to make you look like super mom! You never made my life part of your plan to get ahead in your career because you choose to make me your career.

Thank you for being a real mom. You may never be Vice President of the United States, but I THANK GOD you are my mom and Sara Palin is not.

Last night I saw a hockey mom perform a speech to be the V.P. of the US. The RNC proudly displayed her family for the whole world to see because she has “Family Values”. In reflection of that speech I thought of my own mother and her values. I realized I needed to give her a very public thank you.

Thank you for using your better judgment and not leaving me alone with Dad for more then an hour when I was to young to whip my own butt. I know her would have passed me to Lori to take care of me too. I think she was four at the time.

Thank you for loving me more then your career. You could have been anything you wanted to be, but you decided to be my mom. You valued family more then your career and ambitions. You took me to wrestling tournaments all over the country instead of working overtime. You told me that we needed the money but there are things that money cannot buy. Thank you for valuing the things that money cannot buy more then what it can.

Thank you for loving me more then country. I cannot thank you enough for not allowing me to enlist in the military. You said any fool in the White House can send you off to war for anything they want to. I know sending me to college would have been easier if I had the GI bill; but you loved me to much to have me go though the horrible experience of war.

Thank you for inviting my wife and me to your parties with your true friends because you love us and enjoy our company. You never dressed us up and paraded us around people you want to be your friends. You never used me to look better to anyone; and you actually defended me when I made you look bad. You never tried to spin my mistakes into a chance to make you look like super mom! You never made my life part of your plan to get ahead in your career because you choose to make me your career.

Thank you for being a real mom. You may never be Vice President of the United States, but I THANK GOD you are my mom and Sara Palin is not.