Saint McCain

When it was reported that her 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant, Sarah Palin, the presumptive Repub Vice-Presidential nominee, said in a statement released by the McCain campaign:

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 to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy, as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.

In June, 1998, however, the man whom she hopes to serve, John McCain, quipped about Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, and Attorney General Janet Reno:

Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno.

Sarah Palin believes the media should respect the privacy of children of candidates. Yet, the head of her ticket thought it funny to ridicule the 18-year-old daughter not of someone then standing for election, but of the President of the United States and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Will the media ask Mrs. Palin her opinion of jokes made at the expense of children of Presidents? Not likely- even then, as David Corn reported at the time, "in several major newspapers, the joke itself was kept a secret." It's still being kept largely a secret, even as Governor Palin self-righteously scolds the media. But then, this is John McCain, the "maverick" who dared to pander to his base and his party in the choice of the person he would have be second in line to assume the Presidency of the world's superpower.