Bristol, Tripp, and Todd Palin on The Today Show this morning w/link

[supportivemom]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 8:52am

Okay- this interview just made my skin crawl! Why did her daddy even have to be there? I really hated how they danced around the questions and the spun answers given by Todd. I also hated Bristol's attitude during the interview. If you put yourself out there then you have to be prepared for the questions. I also DO NOT understand why Bristol has become this spokesperson- PAHLEEZE! Matt brought up some excellent points!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/30597400#30597400

[kelzama]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 10:07am

I thought for an 18/19 year old girl, Bristol handled herself gracefully. I found Lauer's latter questions to be sensationalist and leading, almost as if he expected her to state she'd be better off without the kid (totally moot and pointless line of questioning, given the rest of the interview).

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 10:20am

I always get their names confused!

But this is what I don't get...teenage girls who have kids will try to speak out against teen pregnancy, like Bristol is doing. But then they say that having the baby was the best thing that ever happened to them, they love being a mom and they wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

You ALWAYS hear people in that position say stuff like that and it always sounds like it contradicts what they are trying to speak out against.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 10:29am

"I also DO NOT understand why Bristol has become this spokesperson"

I guess pregnant single mothers should just slink off into the darkness and never attempt to help anyone, huh?

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 10:38am

I can say that I do feel sorry for her because she did get pregnant at the WORST possible time for her.

She cost her mom, McCain and the Republican Party some serious points in the election. She may not have cost them the entire election, but she did to damage to their reputation.

I will say that this serves John McCain right for picking a VP that he barely knew. Bristol was pregnant months before he picked her mom, and if he was more connected with Palin he would have known. But because he barely knew her they were able to easily hide from him, and it hit the media like the day after he officially named her! I don't think he and his advisors would have chosen her if they would have known, because it DID hurt them.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 10:38am

You are absolutely correct. And completely mirrors the mixed messages teens get ALL the time. Given how insane the raging hormones of an adolescent are, the LAST thing they need is another teen saying do as I say, not as I do.

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 10:56am

I would like to hear what Bristol actually thinks, away from the influence of her parents. We got a little whiff of that when she did an early interview, but it looks like the parental units are now in complete control.

She does not seem like a bad kid, and hopefully she will be a good parent.

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 11:00am

I did not see the interview, but I heard my wife yelling from the kitchen about Todd: "He's an idiot!"

[YouWantitWhen????]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 11:05am

Well, Todd is a whole different story.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 11:10am

Anyone who happily refers to himself as "The First Dude" clearly is!

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 11:22am

Question:

I just read the MSN article about her and they said the she is the oldest of the 5 Palin children at 18.

But don't they have a son in the military in Iraq or somewhere? How can he be there so young?

[StageManager2]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 11:35am

MSN is wrong. Track is the eldest. He just turned 20.

[MTVMANN]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 11:38am

Thanks!
I thought so.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 12:12pm

Free Bristol from the evil puppetmaster that is her mother!!

[Roscoe]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 12:32pm

Bristol can always cut the strings herself if she has a mind to.

[JustAGuy]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 12:38pm

I'm sure that eventually Bristol will write her own book about all of this, shortly after her Mother's political career is in ashes. It's a pity that the titles "Mother Goddamn" and "Mommie Dearest" have already been used.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 12:44pm

the LAST thing they need is another teen saying do as I say, not as I do.

Ha! Those are the exact words I used in the office yesterday when I saw the headline.

Bristol can always cut the strings herself if she has a mind to.

And chew through the cord, apparently.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 12:50pm

This guy is a MUCH better advocate for abstinence...and your tax dollars pay for him!

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 12:57pm

But this is what I don't get...teenage girls who have kids will try to speak out against teen pregnancy, like Bristol is doing. But then they say that having the baby was the best thing that ever happened to them, they love being a mom and they wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

What are they suppposed to say? "Having this baby was the biggest mistake of my life"? It probably was, but the child doesn't need to grow up and see the video of his mother announcing on national TV that she wishes he were never born. I have no sympathy for the Palins, but in general there has to be some tact in how it's presented.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:06pm

She could have put the little bastard up for adoption and had done with it. It would have been perfectly safe up there in Alaska, no gays would have been able to raise it.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:12pm

I don't get what she's doing as an advocate, except sending out muddled messages. At this point, I DO hold her responsible for her actions, and watching her sitting on the Today show with her daddy at her side, preaching about how it's "so hard" for her doesn't reflect the reality of 95% of the teenage mothers in this country.

I also watched, waiting for the sensationalist questions, but failed to figure out what they were? Was it Matt trying to nail both the Palins down in saying that if you aren't going to abstain, that you should use protection?

I just don't get this reality they've created for themselves. The girl is shining example of the failure of abstinence only education, and we're supposed to listen to her empty message? Who is buying this?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:14pm

Very well said, Phyllis.

Goth, whom exactly is she trying to help, apart from her mother (and her mother's career)?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:16pm

I like when she said she said she's not going to talk about her personal life. Um, isn't your personal life the reason you're now an "advocate" for teenage mothers?

Does she even know what advocate means?

[tazber]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:20pm

Her "message" is baseless and hypocritical. And most teens today are savvy enough to know she's full of sh*t.

[tazber]

Posted: 5/6/09 at 1:20pm

Her "message" is baseless and hypocritical. And most teens today are savvy enough to know she's full of sh*t.