New York, Sept.2 (ANI): The disclosure that Alaska Governor and Republican vice-president hopeful Sarah Palin's unmarried teenage daughter is pregnant, is likely to be seen as a test case of what the American voter deems will remain in the private domain, and what will be public.
According to the New York Times, though Republican delegates are rallying around Palin on the issue, they are also citing it as a challenge for the party.
"It's a challenge, and I just think we have to deal with it. But it's just not going to hurt her (Sarah palin). This is a family problem that people have," the paper quoted Katon Dawson, the Republican chairman of South Carolina, as saying.
The disclosure, at the very least, is an unwanted distraction for the McCain campaign as he prepares for his nomination.
Orchestrated attempts are being made to minimize attention to the pregnancy issue, but it still is dominating discussion among delegates in the run-up to the November 4 polls.
In many ways, how the country will react to the pregnancy of 17-year-old Bristol Palin is more a sociological question than a political one.
It could, however, provide fodder for provocative conservations around kitchen tables or sly references in the late-night television comic-sphere.
As Pastor Rick Scarborough says: "From what I see this family is dealing with it honorably. They are going to carry this baby to a full term as a further testimony of their commitment to life."
In the short-term, though, this disclosure served to illustrate - though presumably not in the way the McCain campaign would have preferred - just how much McCain's selection of Palin has helped among conservatives. They not only rallied around Palin, but praised her daughter for deciding to marry and have the baby.
Bristol Palin's pregnancy was an open secret back in Alaskan hometown
New York, Sept.2 (ANI): In Wasilla, Alaska, the fact that 17-year-old Bristol Palin is pregnant with her ice hockey boyfriend's baby, is not a surprise, but a well known fact.
Doe-eyed Bristol Palin and ruggedly handsome Levi Johnston, 18, have been dating for about a year, locals in their hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, told the Daily News.
The pregnancy is an open secret in this close-knit town of 9,780, the New York Daily News reports.
Bristol Palin, now a senior, was frequently seen cheering her young beau from the stands. He graduated high school in June.
Jennie Johnston, whose son Jade played hockey with Levi, saw the young couple in January at a game.
"She was in a cute little outfit like young girls wear," said Jennie Johnston, who is not related to Levi Johnston. "She was with Levi."
She said her son told her the two were already engaged.
"They've been together quite a while, more than a year," she said. "I hope everything comes out well. These are local kids."
Johnston, broad chested and wearing a No. 15 jersey, can be seen in photographs hitting the boards as a Warrior in action.
"Levi has got huge potential," Jennie Johnston said. "He's a smart kid."
Alaska Governor and Republican running mate Sarah Palin admitted Monday her "beautiful daughter" Bristol was five months pregnant and would marry Levi. The baby is due in late December.
Bristol's pregnancy was no secret in the town that lies wedged between two mountain ranges.
The mother of one of Levi's friends, who asked not to be named, told The News that locals knew about Bristol's pregnancy for weeks.
Besides his hard play on the ice, Levi Johnston was also a bit of hell-raiser off it - another reason Bristol may have been smitten.
State troopers popped Johnston last year for snagging some King salmon out of season in Moose Lake, records from Alaska wildlife enforcement show. He had to pay 370 dollars to get bail. (ANI)
