The unwed, 17-year-old daughter of Republican vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin is pregnant – a revelation the Alaska governor made public yesterday to refute rumors spread by liberal bloggers that she’d faked her own pregnancy to cover up for her daughter’s earlier one.
Statement on Palin’s Pregnancy
“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,” the Palin family said in a written statement.
“As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.”
Palin and her husband, Todd, said that their daughter plans to marry the baby’s father – whom sources identified as high-school jock Levi Johnston – and that both “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.”
Johnston, 17, who is entering his senior year at Wasilla HS, plays on the school hockey team and was once teammates on a youth squad with Palin’s older brother, Track, 19, now in the Army.
Despite suffering a cracked bone in his shin last season, Johnston scored 24 goals in 24 games.
“We don’t want to talk about this,” said a woman who answered the phone at the Johnston home.
On a MySpace page subsequently taken down, Johnston boasts, “I’m a f – – -in’ redneck” who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes.
“But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- – – and just f – – -in’ chillin’ I guess.”
“Ya f – – – with me I’ll kick [your] ass,” he added.
He also claims to be “in a relationship,” but states, “I don’t want kids.”
Campaign officials said McCain knew of the pregnancy when he chose Palin last week as his running mate.
Bloggers had infuriated the McCain campaign over the weekend after airing rumors that Palin’s 4-month- old son was actually her daughter’s baby.
McCain campaign officials said Bristol’s pregnancy was made public in order to counter what one aide called “mudslinging” that has circulated on blogs like Daily Kos.
According to postings on Daily Kos, Sarah Palin allegedly faked a pregnancy and pretended to give birth in April to Trig, who has Down syndrome.
The McCain campaign said that Bristol Palin is five months pregnant and that Trig was born April 18, disproving the rumors.
Bristol is due just a few weeks before Inauguration Day in January.
In a posting Sunday, Daily Kos said, “Sarah needs to honestly answer for her lies – promptly.”
Palin’s governor-office spokesman Bill McAllister denied rumors of a pregnancy ruse, while McCain adviser Mark Salter said the campaign announced the daughter’s pregnancy to rebut them.
“Life happens,” said McCain campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt.
“Sen. McCain’s view is this is a private family matter. As parents, [Sarah and Todd Palin] love their daughter unconditionally and are going to support their daughter.”
Democrat Barack Obama said his campaign would not make the teen’s pregnancy an issue.
During her 2006 gubernatorial race in Alaska, Palin opposed “explicit sex” education in schools. Asked on a questionnaire about her support for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of explicit sex-education, school-based clinics and distribution of contraceptives in schools, she wrote: “The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.”
Also yesterday, it was revealed an attorney had been hired to represent Palin in a state ethics probe, and that her husband, Todd, had been busted for drunken driving two decades ago.
Asked if all other possible red flags that had come up during the veep background check had now been made public, McCain’s search-team head, Arthur Culvahouse Jr., said: “I think so. Yes. I think so. Correct.”
Additional reporting by Geoff Earle in Monroe, Mich., and Carl Campanile in Philadelphia