Palin, Schmalin

Since John McCain announced that Sarah Palin would be his running mate, I've been locked onto CNN, watching the interviews, the debating between reporters and interviewees (god, I love Campbell Brown and watch the clip above to see why).

One of the reasons I'm glued to the TV is over Bristol Palin, Sarah's 17-year-old daughter. Bristol, who is five months along, is engaged to her baby daddy, Levi. The happy couple will have a shot gun wedding and bring the baby up in a Republican love nest and make an honest woman out of Bristol.

Thing is, I wonder if Bristol even had a choice in the matter of remaining pregnant or not. Her mother is a staunchly loud voice for anti-choice and would just love to see Roe v. Wade overturned. Barack Obama has publicly said that the media should stick to focusing on just Sarah. But here's the thing, dear Barack: Your family, whether you like it or not (and especially your children) are a huge reflection on who you are. If you are a anti-choice, pro-abstinence talking, Republican mother of five, having your 17-year-old daughter get knocked up is going to reflect on you. Clearly, her abstinence-only chat I'm assuming she had with Bristol did fall on deaf ears.

Bottom line: I feel sorry for Bristol. Her life will be very different from the one she could have had. Maybe it was her full decision, maybe she was pressured, who knows. She'll be 35 when (or if) her kid graduates from high school. And maybe through this, she'll realize the full power of choice.