When Sarah Palin's baby had a baby named Tripp, the reactions were diverse, if not controversial.
How could a gung-ho family-based conservative raise a daughter who would end up giving birth out of wedlock? The whole thing reeked of hypocrisy.
Although ultimately we cannot blame the Mamma Grizzly for the immature decisions of her cub, Sarah Palin's seeming inability to impress abstinence on her daughter raises some concern.
When Palin allowed he daugher to compete in "Dancing with the Stars", she gave the impression that Mother Palin was treating the crisis of unwed-motherhood more lightly than was called for.
Bristol's explicit dancing turned heads. They also undermined Palin's qualifications to represent conservative interests, since Mammy Grizzly took no offense at her daughter's shameless performance.
Now, Bristol Palin has received a considerable sum as a US Government advocate warning against teen pregnancy.
In the final analysis, the country has to ask: Did Bristol Palin do anything wrong in having a fling with another man, not her husband, and by no means able to support a family?
With all the stardom, endorsements, and celebrity that have rained down on Palin's wayward daughter, it would appear that Ms. Bristol Palin has found her way in life.
In the midst of all her stardom and salaries, her advocacy on behalf of teen awarenesss is rather contradictory. Bristol's life reeks of success because of her unexpected, unconjugal pregnancy. Why, then, would teens throughout the United States take her message of abstinency, responsibility, and family planning seriously?
Sarah Palin has failed as a dutiful mother. She has compromised core conservative values, especially regarding the integrity of the family. Worst of all, the inadvertent focus on Bristol has glamorized the terrible consequences of unforseen, unprepared, unwed pregnant minors.
Would that the media highlighted the trials that await young couples, or rather young mother, who bring a child into this world before they have stopped being children themselves.