Palin Social Notes

As the Obamas hobnob with royalty overseas, their former rivals, the Palins, are making news in Alaska.

The matriarch of the clan, Gov. Sarah, is rebuking Levi Johnston, her former son-in-law-in-waiting, for appearing on the Tyra Banks Show to reveal that he and Bristol were "pretty sure" her mother knew what they were doing under the Palin roof.

"Bristol did not even know Levi was going on the show," the Governor's statement says. "We're disappointed that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship.

"Bristol's focus will remain on raising Tripp, completing her education, and advocating abstinence. It is unfortunate that Levi finds it more appealing to exploit his previous relationship with Bristol than to contribute to the well being of the child."

As unsettling as all this may be to Palin family values, there is more--the half sister of the Governor's husband Todd is being charged with felony burglary and misdemeanor criminal trespass and theft for two Wasilla break-ins.

Sarah Palin campaigned against Obama for being elitist and out of touch with ordinary Americans. It's looking more and more like she may have had a point.

Bristol Palin Channels Lance Loud

In an eerie echo of a classic reality show of the 1970s, Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol is going public on Fox News to tell teenagers that pregnancy is "not glamorous."

In the groundbreaking PBS series, "An American Family," young Lance Loud came out of the closet as his mother told his father on camera that she wanted a divorce. The Palins started down their road to erasing the line between public and private by announcing Bristol's condition when the governor was chosen as the Republican VP candidate and by including the father-to-be in family photos at the convention.

Now the 18-year-old mother is telling Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, "It's just, like, I'm not living for myself anymore. It's, like, for another person, so it's different. And just you're up all night. And it's not glamorous at all. Like, your whole priorities change after having a baby."

The interview was her own idea, Bristol Palin says, and she told her parent about it the day before the taping. She wanted to tell her story to help others her age: "I'd love to [be] an advocate to prevent teen pregnancy because it's not, like, a situation that you would want to strive for, I guess."

Gov. Palin makes a cameo appearance at the end of the interview. "Not the most ideal situation, certainly you make the most of it," she observes, noting that her daughter is a "strong and bold woman, and she is an amazing mom. And this little baby is very lucky to have her as a mama. He's going to be just fine."

Politics aside, the Palin family is adding a new dimension to the era of the TV reality show and making it difficult for even hardened cynics not to sympathize with the outspoken young mother and wish her more privacy for the future.

Privacy for the Palin Family

Years from now, at show-and-tell in school, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston will be able to bring in pictures of his grandmothers from the year he was born, one of them running for vice-president of the US and the other being busted for dealing dope.

Even in wide-open Wasila, Alaska, that could be unusual for the baby born this weekend to Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, a 7 pound, 4 ounce boy whose father, Levi, took a bow at the Republican convention this fall.

But young Tripp's privacy will be protected from now on. The governor's office has said it would not release information because it considers the birth "a private family matter."

Meanwhile, Grandma Palin is busy governing Alaska, Grandma Johnston is facing felony drug charges for transactions involving OxyContin, a prescription painkiller, and the happy parents are planning to marry next year.

Keep moving along, folks, nothing unusual to see here.

Pregnant Pause in the Palin Story

From CNN: "Bristol Palin, the 17 year old daughter of Sarah Palin, is pregnant and will keep the baby and marry the father, a senior McCain aide confirmed to CNN Monday.

"McCain was aware of Bristol Palin’s pregnancy before he chose her mother for his running mate, the aide said."

So now a teenager's reproductive melodrama enters the presidential campaign, and the sounds of sanctimony on both sides will reach decibel level. A statement by the Palin family, exalted by the McCain campaign for family values, reads:

“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. We ask the media respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.”

This new development will sorely test that "tradition," most recently reflected in the MSNBC suspension of correspondent David Shuster for musing on air about the Clinton campaign, "Doesn't it seem as if Chelsea is sort of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?"

The Sexual Spin Machines will be working overtime in the Twin Cities, much to the chagrin of those on both sides who believe that private behavior, particularly of minors, is no business of the public's, regardless of who profits politically from it.