NBC News now reporting that Palin kids were flown into Ohio under false pretenses

[grantcart]

Mark Whitaker on MSNBC just disclosed that according to McCain's own timeline that the Palin children were flown into Ohio under the pretense that they would be joining their parents for an anniversary celebration and were not told about the VP announcement.

The result is that the Palin children, especially Bristol, never had a chance to express an opinion on their roll and in Bristol's case what she felt about being personally involved in such a high profile national event that would make her personal situation come under mass scrutiny.

This puts a new spin on being against pro-choice.

They also admitted that McCain's lawyers arrived in Alaska on Thursday for vetting and the announcement was Friday.

One day vetting, better than my dry cleaner.

[TheDonkey]

1. FAMILY VALUES at work here folks

No wonder the myspace pages were all exposed. SHEESH

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. One day...geesh, I took my dog to the vet today and was in and out in one hour! NT

[berni_mccoy]

3. Palin doesn't give a damn about her kids.

[truthisfreedom]

4. They lied to a pregnant 17-year-old?

[Arugula Latte]

45. And now she is the topic of conversation nationwide.

My god, what a thing to do to your child.

Bristol must be MORTIFIED!

[truthisfreedom]

63. Sarah Palin: Mommy of the Year 2008!

[MadrasT]

5. Holy crap, that is COLD.

How could you do that to your kids? :shrug:

[Occam Bandage]

6. Christ, they only spent one day vetting her? No wonder this has been such a disaster.

Hopefully he'd do more research before making decisions as a President.

[grantcart]

12. well that doesn't cover the google searches on Wednesday lol

[Occam Bandage]

23. Jan. 23: Google "Iran military installations."

Jan. 24: Ask the guy at the Turkish restaurant down the street if he thinks invading Iran would have repercussions. Enjoy delicious doner kebab.
Jan 25: Order the invasion.

[endthewar]

42. Deserves a thread of its own!

:patriot:

[beac]

66. DUzy-in-absentia!!

Oh man, the DUzys better get back from vacation quick. This is a target-rich environment!

[Epiphany4z]

7. I really feel this woman is not qualified for the job

but I am getting dizzy...when does this stop...

[deadparrot]

8. How low can you go, Gov. Palin?

:thumbsdown:

[Drunken Irishman]

9. I don't like that at all.

If I were to ever put myself in this type of position, I'd make sure to ask my family if they were comfortable with this. If even one said "no", it would never happen. Family is too important to put through the ringer for my own aspirations.

[SoCalDem]

10. Surprise.. Mommy's outing you in front of the whole world..now smile

and watch this drive :puke:

[SeaLyons]

11. Wow....

just wow.

[crim son]

13. It sounds like they wanted to surprise the kids.

A stupid move, but not heartless.

[grantcart]

22. normally not heartless except when you have a child in a sensitive situation

that is best handled with modesty and discretion.

Putting your daughter in a situation that is likely to put her on the cover of national tabloid magazines is heartless.


If you believe McCain he knew about it and he is equally as heartless.

[Ichingcarpenter]

29. Are you fricking crazy?..... You obviously are not a parent of teenagers

Its called "Kitchen table politics with your family"


awful behavior and yes it is heartless.

[crim son]

93. I am indeed the proud parent of two honors-student

teenagers, both "gifted and talented," both taking accelerated and in some cases, college credit courses. They are also both mature and sophisticated in their thinking, which may affect my perception of Palin's actions. I would imagine that Ms. Palin was not thinking very clearly about the kids' feelings. But for all we know, there were dinnertime discussions for weeks about the possibility of her getting the nod. We don't know. She's a repug, so I don't care for her, but I'm not about to judge her ability to parent. I don't know enough yet and either do you.

[Ichingcarpenter]

100. I've got two kids going through the University and yes I do know enough

about her family now to make an informed characterization.........
The tazer incident, the pregnancy incident, the face book incident
and her general life history that has now unfolded..... 'Not thinking clearly'

Look who's talking.




Even Obama discussed his presidential run with his kids.

They get a pony.

[crim son]

102. Your opinion notwithstanding, I reserve judgement.

You need not.

[Ichingcarpenter]

108. Reserve your judgement .......and ignore the evidence

Sometimes a judge needs to make a ruling.

[crim son]

112. Ah.

You're the judge. Cool.

[Pale Blue Dot]

50. I think it's pretty heartless when your 17-year-old is pregnant.

But then again, I doubt that young women have much of a say in anything that happens in the Palin household.

[kath]

59. Exactly - they're all about "headship" - the father RULES the family

females are basically lower than whaleshit among this brand of scary-ass Domininionist fundies.

[crim son]

94. Maybe, maybe not.

I cannot see it as heartless unless there was no discussion of her possible nomination beforehand, around the kitchen table. I am guessing the family had an inkling, and were somewhere prepared. I could be wrong about that but even so, we have no idea about the daughter's state of mind. MHO, of course.

[seabeyond]

117. why would you guess family discussed it. seems they dont discuss things

hence look at the two oldest children behavior

you are going on assumption that they are parenting cause what.... you parent. the evidence is quickly growing that they do not parent

\i thought well, it isnt outing girl if mom and her discussed it, but if not.... bad parenting. i think evidence leans more to self interest overrode protecting child. that is not being a parent

[Virginia Dare]

58. It's like punking them..

totally inappropriate.

[beac]

71. And they didn't even get to meet Ashton Kucher. :( n/t

[CatsDogsBabies]

65. It's heartless ...

this is too big of a decision to make without discussing it with their kids. This decision had and will have a tremendous impact on their lives- their parents should have discussed it with them.

[progressivebydesign]

73. You surprise a kid with a puppy.. not a life-altering event!

I mean.. not only does this put Bristol into the public spotlight, it forces her to marry a teen bf, moves them away from their home in Alaska (if god-forbid they win), and changes their life forever.

NO parent would EVER do that to a kid. No way.

[crim son]

96. You're making a lot of suppositions about how the kids have been raised

and what is forced or not. I strongly suspect that since Palin has been involved in politics for at least a few years, her kids are aware that her position impacts them. How could they not?

[Danger Mouse]

74. It's beyond heartless, it's cruel and callous.

Calling it stupid is being too kind to the Palin slime.

[last1standing]

110. We're not talking about a trip to Disneyland.

This is the vice presidency of the United States of America. Sarah Palin knew those kids would be put under a microscope the moment it was announced and she didn't even give them a chance to say "what?".

That is heartless AND stupid.

[seabeyond]

116. well, part of parenting is to understand a huge decison like this is where you sit down alone with

children and discuss. you already have a pretty good idea if you are connected with child. but you certainly feel your children out (especially older ones) with something so very huge the will hugely effect THEIR lives.....

then to have a daughter preg outing her to the nation.... i would not even need to sit down and talk to kids. would eb an automatic no

these people dont know how to be parents. and they have had a lot of years to practice.

[populistdriven]

14. I love the story about how Obama asked the girls what it would take.

[Ichingcarpenter]

89. I think the answer was a Puppy and he did discuss it with his kids n//t

[populistdriven]

92. yes that was it, they are so cute :) I think the girls already picked a name.

[John Q. Citizen]

15. 24 hour service. In today, out tomorrow. How amateur can you get?

Loony McCain;

Who cares who I put a heartbeat away from the button, really?

[Ichingcarpenter]

16. OBama and Biden say "lay off the kids' You hear that Palin and McCain?

Awful family values not even discussing shit this important.

[WeDidIt]

17. The more shit that comes out

the less likely a tear filled decline of the nomination will fly.

[phrigndumass]

18. I think the reaction time for their VP selection was less than one hour, lol

Maybe they tossed the names of women candidates into a hat and picked one?

K/R, glad you were watching ...

[Barack_America]

19. Okay, I now proclaim the Palins shitty parents.

I can no longer hold back.

Who does such a thing, accepting such a position and putting your family under such media scrutiny WITHOUT CONSULTING THEM?!?!

Let us not forget that she also leaked her son's deployment information, not once, but TWICE to national audiences.

Sarah and Todd Palin officially suck, as far as I'm concerned.

:grr: :nuke: :grr:

I seriously wish I could take those children in myself.

[tnlefty]

97. And to think that we had family discussions before I took

a position in my local party and then ran for that position later, which isn't anywhere near the life-altering experience that running for VP is. It meant that I would be attending meetings, voting on local party matters, and working on campaigns, in other words not home nearly as much. :crazy:

And I agree that they officially suck. :mad:

[Stop Cornyn]

20. I bet the Palin children have been misled about the tooth fairy as well; speaking of whom, am I the

only one who thinks Palin is a dead ringer for

[pot luck]

21. I feel sorry for Bristol.

It's bad enough that she had to deal with the speculation locally, but to be forced into the national spotlight without a warning is truly despicable. She's already getting bashed on celebrity gossip blogs. That poor girl. I’m sorry to go there, but what kind of parents are Sarah and Todd to do this to their daughter?

[bunkerbuster1]

28. I even feel sorry for Levi

the self-proclaimed "redneck" who knocked her up.

Irresponsible? Sure. But he doesn't deserve this, any more than does Bristol.

[Enrique]

41. Levi should have done some research on his conquest's parents

very sloppy work, Levi.

[whopis01]

123. Well that's what you get for not properly vetting your girlfriend's parents... n/t

[TexasLady]

33. overly ambitious heartless ones?

They do officially suck.

[vanderBeth]

I'm sorry but

She sounds like a sh*tty mom.

[mzmolly]

24. NF way!

:wow:

[old guy]

25. Your dry cleaner makes the dirt disappear,

repub vetting team, not so much.

[seabeyond]

26. can we say YUK to their parenting. geeeeezus.

[sammytko]

27. who goes to Ohio to celebrate???

[grantcart]

32. people from rural Alaska?

[RollWithIt]

106. The football gods....

That's who.

[SoxFan]

30. There's no place like Dayton for a romantic getaway!

[Kukesa]

55. This resident tries to getaway from Dayton. n/t

[Blue Diadem]

31. I'm feeling more and more sorry for those kids.

:(

[City Lights]

34. Wow.

Nice move, Mommy Dearest. Gawd that sucks.

[LibDemAlways]

35. If I was a pregnant 17 year old and this character was

my boyfriend, I'd sure want a heads-up that my mom was about to run for VP and that my life and that of my boyfriend would soon be under scrutiny. She apparently didn't even have time to tell him to scrub his My Space - or perhaps worse, she didn't have the good sense to do so.

http://www.2snaps.tv/9816328

[AlCzervik]

36. I really feel bad for those kids.

[LibDemAlways]

37. Dupe

[MaryEllen9399]

38. Here's a toast to Caroline Kennedy

and the rest of the Obama VP selection committee for doing their job.:toast:

[Cha]

40. Excellent sentiment at this juncture!

:toast: :bounce: :kick: :party: :patriot:

[leftynyc]

61. What a great time for this reminder

Not even checking with her kids to see how they felt about this was the epitome of shitty parenting. I feel sorry for all her children.

[beac]

76. Indeed!

:toast:

And welcome to DU!! :hi:

[depakid]

39. In fundamentalist households, children are seen, not heard

Kind of like Democrats in the corporate media, come to think of it.

[bushisanidiot]

43. All of the stress from this campaign will cause Bristol to miscarry

and the "mean democrats" will be blamed. It could happen..

[valerief]

44. Unreal.

:thumbsdown:

[nichomachus]

46. I applied for a job with the city

It took me almost a month to collect all the documentation they needed, including my transcript of grades from my now non-existent high school. The required the transcript even though I have two master's degrees.

The application itself was 27 pages long.

[Bluenorthwest]

47. Utterly disgusting

Vile to do that to a child to serve our own ambitions, just vile. They are props and window dressing, they are acessories to her outfit, not worthy of any consideration. She threw them to the wolves, and did not even give them fair warning. The kids pay the price, the parents get the pize. Vulgar people.

[Major Hogwash]

48. McCain's new, improved "24 hour vetting process" just cost him the election!!!

His first executive decision as the party's nominee, and after 6 months in that role, he blows the opportunity of a lifetime to get into the White House!!!

[JenniferJuniper]

49. Bristol looked miserable at the announcement

And as for her parents accepting her news with "unconditional love", methinks not. Sarah Palin's got a screechy kind of voice as it is. I can almost hear her shrieks now. Poor girl.

[grantcart]

52. "you will get out there and you will like it"

[Virginia Dare]

60. They all did, every single one except for Sarah. Cindy and Meghan..

looked like they had just seen a ghost.

[DangerousRhythm]

67. Could this be why McCain's daughter was refusing to hold her mother's hand?

Maybe she was pissed off at them for this? If so, I say right on! This is just vile. You have a surprise birthday party, you DON'T have a surprise VP rally in front of the ENTIRE NATION. Especially if you know your kid is pregnant. Or if she tells you AT the rally you just leave her backstage and don't put her out there. Morons!

[KathieG]

85. I agree...Bristol did look miserable, this certainly explains why

[Marie26]

51. Oh man

And then they were dragged out to smile for the cameras... eek. What a way to treat your children.

[BadGimp]

53. Here is my new blood in the water line...

"That's Not Family Values We Can Believe In!"

[Chloroplast]

54. Of course they didn't tell the kids...they have big mouths!

I'm not picking on these kids but think about where the pregnancy rumors allegedly started: Willow's boyfriend. Can you imagine the backlash if Wasilla (or Lyda Green) heard about the VP offer? The bank transfers from tabloids to Alaskans would have been done before the Palins landed in Ohio.

If Sarah really cared about the feeling of her pregnant daughter, one more lie couldn't have hurt. Saying Bristol was starting her senior year and couldn't spend as much time on the road would have been understandable. The GOP was begging for people to ask questions when you have a teenage girl sitting on a tour bus, playing wet nurse to her special needs 'brother'.

[progressivebydesign]

75. What the Palin's should have done is DECLINE the offer.

That would be good parenting.

[Chloroplast]

87. Very true, though. Parenting is a sacrifice.

Since we were little, my mother has owned and operated a title service. I remember her being offered a lucrative contract with a local dealership and turning it down because she was asked to be our Girl Scout Troop leader. The extra money pales in comparison to the time I spent with friends and my mother. I send Bristol good thoughts and hope she does better by her kids than her mother did by her.

[terrya]

56. Shameful that you wouldn't consult your family about something life changing like this.

Just absolutely shameful.

[Virginia Dare]

57. So much for the mommy of the year crap she was going to pull over on us..

if she knew her daughter was pregnant (which it was quite apparent by looking at her) then it's even more shameful for putting her through that.

[Danger Mouse]

62. What an 'FU' to Bristol. Way to respect your children, you fucking pigs.

:puke:

[BurgherHoldtheLies]

64. Self-centered, egotistical, cold-hearted parents. Incredibly selfish.

:wow:

My sympathies to that poor teenage girl.

[faithfulcitizen]

68. In some of those pics, she appears to be crying. (or at least very nervous)

[grantcart]

69. its very sad

[LisaL]

101. She is 17, unmarried and preggo.

And baby brother couldn't cover up the baby bump very well.

[progressivebydesign]

70. WTF?? This brings new light to the "choice" Bristol is making to marry that bf.

I mean, seriously, there is something VERY wrong in that family!!! That is NOT something you spring on the kids like a surprise birthday party! Considering the position Bristol is in, it's almost criminal NOT to find out how she'd feel about it. Judging from the pics of her boyfriend, his friends, and sister, I have a hard time believing that the kid wanted to get married.

Family values at work. What awful parents they are!

[RagAss]

72. The Aristocrats !

[beac]

77. .

:rofl: Best reply of the day!

[RagAss]

82. Thanks...maybe 2% of DUers recognize it !!!

}( }( }(

[progressivebydesign]

78. I just realized the horror of this - it was done to the kids for PURELY politics!

I was reading the other posts, and someone had mentioned that they HAD to trick them this way, "because the kids have big mouths" (and i suspect the poster is a Wasilla local based upon the detailed comment.)

So if the kids HAD to be misled this way and NOT consulted about this beforehand, what does that say about McCain's judgment? He knew that Bristol was pregnant beforehand (as it's been reported), and yet he and his henchmen insisted on total secrecy, KNOWING that they were about to implode that girl's life (and the life of her bf) on national tv, and they chose POLITICS over the family!!! They tried to hide her pregnancy for the first days on the trail, and it became a joke. The poor girl had to stay in buses and trailers with the little baby because no one could see that she was pregnant, because it reflected badly on Mommy and Daddy. Only when they had to put down rumors about Sarah Palin herself, did they out the poor girl. All in the name of politics.

What horrible people they all are. The McCain staff should be ashamed of themselves for being a party to this! "Look kids! WE're going on a trip for our annivesary! Psych!! Instead we're going to change all of your lives forever, and Bristol, you'll have to hide like a pregnant debutante in the 50s -- unless it becomes clear that we have to out you to save Mommy & McCranky's ass"

Despicable.

[grantcart]

90. yes it is

and so similar to the Iraqi War too

[AzDar]

79. Ack.

:puke:

[moriah]

80. Have any linkage? Because Repuke blogs are saying....

Again, I never watch network TV.

The reason I ask is this:

http://beldar.blogs.com/beldarblog/2008/09/a-timely-palin.html

Supposedly this is from the biography of Palin by Kaylene Johnson:

"In 2004, friends and supporters urged Sarah to challenge Lisa Murkowski. Sarah had made a name for herself as a reformer, and supporters thought she had a good chance of winning. So, Sarah approached her family to discuss the possibility. Like all of her decisions, the decision had to be unanimous.

"People don't believe me, but it's true. It had to be a family decision," she said. Todd was up for a move to Washington, D.C. and the girls were on board as well. But son Track, in his early teens, was becoming aware of the contentiousness of a political battle. He valued his privacy, and felt uncomfortable in the limelight. "Track did not want me to run, and he was adamant about it. He had to bless me," Sarah said. "If he had said at the time 'This is great,' I would have done it."

To say that Palin must have discussed it with her daughter and her daughter had to have agreed.

[mnhtnbb]

83. Track has since been dispatched to war in a way that can benefit Mom.

She probably figured he was the only one against a national office previously, and now he'd be gone.

[grantcart]

88. They were reading from McCain's own timeline of what happened when

in the Sarah Palin appointment.

I think they thought that it somehow helps them say people weren't aware of the vetting because we didn't tell anyone even the children didn't know.

[mnhtnbb]

81. That is low. No wonder Bristol looked the way she did. Talk about

using your family for props. I said it before and I'll say it again--watch what people do, not what they
say. Sarah Palin puts Sarah Palin first and her family be damned.

[progressivebydesign]

84. K&R for this example of Worst Parent Ever. n/t

[catgirl]

86. This is not a nice surprise

they were tricked.

[Minimus]

91. Look at this picture:

The expression on Bristol's face speaks volumes to me and makes my heart hurt.

[LisaL]

99. Did they really think no one would notice her stomach

if she held baby Trig?

[seabeyond]

121. i was sad when i saw this look on her face. it looks like she has gone within self.

vacant

[shellgame26]

124. She is completely oblivious

to the strained look on both their faces. She on the other hand is beaming.."woo-hoo I hit the big time now"!

[ErinBerin84]

95. I saw that on tv today!

I couldn't believe it, especially coming from Mark Whitaker. I tend to believe it.

[AuntPatsy]

98. Proof that she is ohhh so family oriented...and now she is forcing

her daughter to marry a very immature young man who has NO desire to be a father? the lady is sick beyond belief and does't deserve to be a mother

[IndianaGreen]

103. Sarah Palin is that dragon-lady Eleanor Iselin, of the Manchurian Candidate

who would stop at nothing to achieve her political goals.

[kwenu]

111. Exactly right. We have absolutely no confirmation that those kids really want to be married.

[medicswife]

104. Oy. Poor Bristol. :( nt

[RollWithIt]

105. Ummmm. that's just wrong....

In so many ways....

[D23MIURG23]

107. What a scumbag.

I feel so bad for her daughter.

[eshfemme]

109. What a stone cold bitch. I'd hate my mother forever if she did something like that to me.

[Jennicut]

113. That is terrible on both Sarah and Todd Palin's part, I feel for Bristol

I really hope she is okay...she didn't ask for these wacko fundie parents. She is just a 17 year old girl who made a mistake. That is not what people are upset about. They are upset that Sarah Palin could be such a terrible mother in the face of pure ambition. Say what you want about the Clinton's, they ALWAYS protected Chelsea.

[The Backlash Cometh]

114. Jesus Christ. And I thought living in a Republican County was bad.

I can't even imagine how screwed up I would be if I were raised in a Republican family. Poor Bristol. Can we adopt her and her baby? Someone contact Sally Struthers. I feel a good cause coming on.

[kay1864]

115. Can we have a DUzy for this post please?

"One day vetting, better than my dry cleaner"

:rofl:

[grantcart]

120. well I just got back from a trip and every time I took my shirts in they would say

one day and every day it was two.


but I kept going back and every time the same thing happened.


Kind of like the way that a lot of Americans keep voting for Republicans and are surprised at the results.

[President Decider]

118. This woman will be full blown exposed by the end of September ........ BET IT!

[PBS Poll-435]

119. They thought they were going to the Creation Museum

http://www.creationmuseum.org/contact

Sarah Lied. The Children Cried.

[shellgame26]

122. I dunno if anyone notices but

Bristol was holding the baby much more than a doting big sister would. That girl looks like she's just had a baby.

[Seen the light]

125. If true, that's pathetic. May Sarah and Todd Palin rot in hell.