Sarah Palin says 17-year-old daughter is pregnant
John McCain's campaign aides said they were aware of the girl's pregnancy before the presumptive Republican presidential nominee chose Palin as his running mate.
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Republican vice presidential hopeful Sarah Palin said today that her 17-year old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant and plans to wed.
In a statement released by the campaign, Sarah and Todd Palin did not say when their daughter told them the news. But John McCain's campaign aides said that Palin had volunteered the information in an interview with McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, before he chose Palin as his running mate.
"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. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents," Sarah Palin, 44, and her husband said in the statement. "As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.
"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family," the Palins' statement continued. "We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."
The disclosure roiled the Republican National Convention, which today began its first session, abbreviated because of Hurricane Gustav. The initial political reaction was one of dismay, but it was unclear whether there would be any long-term fallout, especially from the conservative right, which favors abstinence over sex education.
In the days since Palin -- who is in her first term as governor of Alaska -- was announced as McCain's choice, bloggers and correspondents have clogged the Internet with rumors about her family. It was the increasingly nasty tone that finally prompted the campaign to issue the statement, according to GOP strategist Steve Schmidt.
Schmidt was surrounded by cameras and reporters as he walked through the media center today. Peppered with questions, Schmidt, who has traveled with Palin in recent days, told reporters that Bristol, who is five months pregnant, should remain off-limits.
"Life happens in families. I think that if people try to politicize this, the American people will be appalled by it," Schmidt said.
"The fact is that the American people, who are decent people, don't appreciate intrusions into the private space of good families -- of families who are dealing with real problems," he said.
