Ok, so I asked this question because a lot of the pundits on the morning shows are saying that it was shameful and inappropriate for media outlets like the NYTimes and CNN to have this story on their homepages. Which I think is garbage. I am sorry that this poor girl's personal and private matters were thrown into the public spotlight. But it was her mother who put her in that situation. And perhaps the story should be focused on how effective abstinence only sex education really is.
Absolutely appropriate, if for no other reason than for revenge. I don't really care, and I don't really see a big deal about it, but after the media completely skewered Bill ten years ago for having consentual sex with another adult (adultery aside), it's nice to see that the high and mighty Ivory Tower Republican Party has it's own little scandal brewing. Roast her shit over the flames of burning copies of the Starr Report.
I've said this many times since she was announced as McCain's running mate; I can not wait until Joe Biden gets a hold of her in the VP debate. He'll have her blood dripping from his chin. She's going to walk away from that podium with a limp.
And, this whole thing provided us with a great pub quiz team name last night--I'm Nailin' Bristol Palin (We totally won, by the way)
I agree with Leslie. It's her mother who put her in this situation and since when did we start holding the media accountable? The whole thing is like a gross soap opera and I'm so happy the Obama/Biden aren't slamming her (which it's so EASY to do). Hopefully she will go gentle into that good night and we can be done with this.
I absolutely think this should be front page news and totes not inappropriate at all from the perspective of Sarah Palin.
I understand and respect that Bristol should be shielded to a degree on the pregnancy-gate and researching Levi's MySpace page is a bit if anything over the line.
But, candidate Palin's stance on premarital sex is abstinance-only and clearly it doesn't work. Her child could have been exposed to HPV or worse for her irresponsible action and the Governor is "proud". And, it really shows how selfish the Governor's ambitions are. I am all for women, specifically mothers, being entitled to work and being paid the same wage as me. But, with a 5-month-old with Down Syndrome and now with a pregnant, un-wed teenager, she should have recused herself from even being considered. She is going to either sell the country short, or worse, her family. And we, the American electorate need to know this.
AND, don't get me started on the 100% absolute hypocritcal support the Christian-right is giving to them in this time.
Absolutely. In our political system, a pregnant 17 year old child of a candidate is front page news. But I didn't see any media outlet judging Bristol or her mother. Rather, they came at the story from the angle of John McCain's judgement.
VP selection is the first major test of a party's nominee. It should strengthen the ticket and make the nominee look brilliant. McCain looks calculating, disorganized, and reckless.
He wanted Lieberman or Ridge - and I think Ridge would have been a great pick for him, but he backed down to the anti-choice conservatives. If he's going to let the state GOP chairs hold something as important as the Vice Presidency up for ransom, we can be sure he'll walk the line in office.
Absolutely not. What exactly is appropriate about it? What is news worthy about it? More importantly, why the fuck would I care?
I'm so sick of how god awful, and lazy, and inept the media outlets are during this campaign.
We need a hurricane to talk about the environment
We need a teen pregnancy to talk about abstinence and choice issues
Who needs to die so we can talk about healthcare?
What kind of tragic school fire needs to erupt to talk about education.
I guess my point is this - are all of the issues above important and worthy of discussion? absolutely. But why the hell does the media need the springboard like Bristol Palin to talk about them? Its a cheap opening to the conversation.
I'll take Obama's lead on this, stay the fuck away from the candidates' children.
The media loves this shit out of this story. They don't have to waist time interviewing economists, foreign policy experts, or other people with "fancy pants graduate degrees" to discuss the real issues like who has a better tax, health care, or Iraq policy. All those things involved big words and research, fuck that.
Matt Lauer can just read a 17 year old's MySpace page, and there's your lead story. And, in a 3 minute news story, if they just discuss the whole abstinence education issue for 5 seconds, apparently they've fulfilled any issue obligation in spades.
Here's a quick measure for any news producer out there trying to cover this election. If you can somehow justify having Dr. Phil come on to talk about the story...DON'T DO THE STORY.
Yes, in general I think it's appropriate given the conservative political platform...but there are so many other things wrong with Palin that deserve more coverage.
But really, I don't care what a politician's private/family life is like as long as they don't use "moral and/or family values" as a platform to be elected. Once they do that, they open the door to their private life for everyone to see and judge.
I think the issue is only as big as you make it out to be; in other words, if your vote is swayed / not swayed by the actions of the daughter of a potential Vice President, what does that say about you as a voter?
Issues such as "Palingate" only insult your intelligence, and the fact that this story is headline news should say something about how intelligent the "fourth estate" thinks you are.
I would normally say it's not appropriate since candidates' kids don't choose this for themselves. However, in this case, the McCain campaign and Palin put her family out there as one of her qualifications for VP (and potentially president) so they put these issues on the table. I would prefer, however, that the media would focus more aggressively on her record as mayor (bringing loads of earmarks to Wasilla) and the various other ways she doesn't deserve the label "reformer" or "maverick"
totes appropriate, and it won't end here. children of major figures always make the news because we associate them as an extension of their parents' politics and persona. Don't forget the same media attention was cast on the bush twins for drinking underage and the details of chelsea's personal life.
Can't wait to hear about Joe Biden's kid having to kill someone in the line of duty. Imagine the scandal! The vice presidential candidate is the father of a murderer!!! (rolling eyes)
12 comments:
Ok, so I asked this question because a lot of the pundits on the morning shows are saying that it was shameful and inappropriate for media outlets like the NYTimes and CNN to have this story on their homepages. Which I think is garbage. I am sorry that this poor girl's personal and private matters were thrown into the public spotlight. But it was her mother who put her in that situation. And perhaps the story should be focused on how effective abstinence only sex education really is.
Absolutely appropriate, if for no other reason than for revenge. I don't really care, and I don't really see a big deal about it, but after the media completely skewered Bill ten years ago for having consentual sex with another adult (adultery aside), it's nice to see that the high and mighty Ivory Tower Republican Party has it's own little scandal brewing. Roast her shit over the flames of burning copies of the Starr Report.
I've said this many times since she was announced as McCain's running mate; I can not wait until Joe Biden gets a hold of her in the VP debate. He'll have her blood dripping from his chin. She's going to walk away from that podium with a limp.
And, this whole thing provided us with a great pub quiz team name last night--I'm Nailin' Bristol Palin (We totally won, by the way)
I agree with Leslie. It's her mother who put her in this situation and since when did we start holding the media accountable? The whole thing is like a gross soap opera and I'm so happy the Obama/Biden aren't slamming her (which it's so EASY to do). Hopefully she will go gentle into that good night and we can be done with this.
dear god please.
I absolutely think this should be front page news and totes not inappropriate at all from the perspective of Sarah Palin.
I understand and respect that Bristol should be shielded to a degree on the pregnancy-gate and researching Levi's MySpace page is a bit if anything over the line.
But, candidate Palin's stance on premarital sex is abstinance-only and clearly it doesn't work. Her child could have been exposed to HPV or worse for her irresponsible action and the Governor is "proud". And, it really shows how selfish the Governor's ambitions are. I am all for women, specifically mothers, being entitled to work and being paid the same wage as me. But, with a 5-month-old with Down Syndrome and now with a pregnant, un-wed teenager, she should have recused herself from even being considered. She is going to either sell the country short, or worse, her family. And we, the American electorate need to know this.
AND, don't get me started on the 100% absolute hypocritcal support the Christian-right is giving to them in this time.
Absolutely. In our political system, a pregnant 17 year old child of a candidate is front page news. But I didn't see any media outlet judging Bristol or her mother. Rather, they came at the story from the angle of John McCain's judgement.
VP selection is the first major test of a party's nominee. It should strengthen the ticket and make the nominee look brilliant. McCain looks calculating, disorganized, and reckless.
He wanted Lieberman or Ridge - and I think Ridge would have been a great pick for him, but he backed down to the anti-choice conservatives. If he's going to let the state GOP chairs hold something as important as the Vice Presidency up for ransom, we can be sure he'll walk the line in office.
Um... in conclusion, yes.
Absolutely not. What exactly is appropriate about it? What is news worthy about it? More importantly, why the fuck would I care?
I'm so sick of how god awful, and lazy, and inept the media outlets are during this campaign.
We need a hurricane to talk about the environment
We need a teen pregnancy to talk about abstinence and choice issues
Who needs to die so we can talk about healthcare?
What kind of tragic school fire needs to erupt to talk about education.
I guess my point is this - are all of the issues above important and worthy of discussion? absolutely. But why the hell does the media need the springboard like Bristol Palin to talk about them? Its a cheap opening to the conversation.
I'll take Obama's lead on this, stay the fuck away from the candidates' children.
The media loves this shit out of this story. They don't have to waist time interviewing economists, foreign policy experts, or other people with "fancy pants graduate degrees" to discuss the real issues like who has a better tax, health care, or Iraq policy. All those things involved big words and research, fuck that.
Matt Lauer can just read a 17 year old's MySpace page, and there's your lead story. And, in a 3 minute news story, if they just discuss the whole abstinence education issue for 5 seconds, apparently they've fulfilled any issue obligation in spades.
Here's a quick measure for any news producer out there trying to cover this election. If you can somehow justify having Dr. Phil come on to talk about the story...DON'T DO THE STORY.
Yes, in general I think it's appropriate given the conservative political platform...but there are so many other things wrong with Palin that deserve more coverage.
But really, I don't care what a politician's private/family life is like as long as they don't use "moral and/or family values" as a platform to be elected. Once they do that, they open the door to their private life for everyone to see and judge.
I think the issue is only as big as you make it out to be; in other words, if your vote is swayed / not swayed by the actions of the daughter of a potential Vice President, what does that say about you as a voter?
Issues such as "Palingate" only insult your intelligence, and the fact that this story is headline news should say something about how intelligent the "fourth estate" thinks you are.
I would normally say it's not appropriate since candidates' kids don't choose this for themselves. However, in this case, the McCain campaign and Palin put her family out there as one of her qualifications for VP (and potentially president) so they put these issues on the table. I would prefer, however, that the media would focus more aggressively on her record as mayor (bringing loads of earmarks to Wasilla) and the various other ways she doesn't deserve the label "reformer" or "maverick"
totes appropriate, and it won't end here. children of major figures always make the news because we associate them as an extension of their parents' politics and persona. Don't forget the same media attention was cast on the bush twins for drinking underage and the details of chelsea's personal life.
Can't wait to hear about Joe Biden's kid having to kill someone in the line of duty. Imagine the scandal! The vice presidential candidate is the father of a murderer!!! (rolling eyes)
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