I don't mind if Palin's kids get made fun of.

[Smith_3]

I think there are many people in this country who would still trade with them: Being made fun of by a few internet people but have healthcare, enough to eat and lots of money in return.

So, here is my advice: If you don't want to be a celebrity stay away from cameras. Many of us don't have that option.

[IntravenousDemilo]

1. Me neither. It builds character. n/m

[cali]

2. good for you! and you won't mind when the Obama girls

get "made fun of" either. No matter what nasty things they're called, many people in this country would trade places with them. After all, if you don't want to be a celebrity, stay away from cameras!!

wow. teh stupid really does burn.

[ProfessorGAC]

4. I Will Mind

And yet i see a significant distinction between the two. Somehow i think you can see it too, but admitting would be too inconvenient and would require you to stop railing at people.
GAC

[cali]

5. no, sorry. I don't believe that attacking the children of politicians

no matter how you much you think their parents deserve it, is OK. I've never thought so. Beyond that, I find the Palin obsession odd. I think the subject is inane and boring.

[Obamanaut]

7. According to various articles in papers, both Bristle and Levi (the

baby daddy) are 18. They are old enough to vote, to decide whether or not to stay in school, to join the military to help protect us from the angry red tide of communism (or more recently 'terra') so they should be old enough to fend for themselves in the "being made fun of arena." I think those two are fair game.

Oh, and old enough to procreate, even though they probably should not have done so. Probably won't vote. Probably won't defend us from terra. Finishing school (any level) is doubtful.

[ProfessorGAC]

9. No Argument From Me, cali

I think she has a pipe dream of running in 2012. I believe she's going to be yesterday's news soon, and it's best she is ignored.

But, i can't accept the "kids didn't ask for it" point in the case of the Palin's. That young woman is a teenager who makes her own decisions. (I'm pretty sure the pregnancy at her age wasn't her parents' idea.) So, although Ms. Palin used her children as props, quite inappropriately, that teenager didn't do anything but by her own choice. She didn't have to fly to Minneapolis. She did it of her own volition.

The Obama kids are still little girls. There are NOT voluntary participants. I think Bristol Palin was. That makes the rules of the game different for me.
GAC

[cali]

11. there are folks here who have attacked the little Palin girl

and the young teenager. I think it's better just to lay off the kids. And really, what's the fascination anyway?

[Sebastian Doyle]

24. The only thing I ever heard said about the youngest Palin girl

was comments about her wiping spit on poor baby Twig's head on the floor of the Repuke convention. Which was admittedly disgusting. As was the idea of a 7 year old child seemingly being the primary caretaker of a baby with Downs Syndrome. Aside from that, I don't remember anything else being said about her.

[ogneopasno]

12. I think her parents probably had quite a bit to do with whether she carried that baby to term

as well as everything else you listed.

[gratuitous]

13. "Inane and boring"

And here's your 100th post (or so) telling us all about it, and how above it all you still are. You know, the "hide thread" button can really be your friend. But far be it from me to spoil your self-righteous fun. Carry on.

[cali]

16. oooh it's the wittle booard nanny. Sorry gratuitous

(what an appropriate name you chose, dear) but I've posted nothing like 100 posts about it. But do continue your duties.

[Mudoria]

21. I don't see any distinction.

Palin pulled her kids along for photo ops whether they wanted to go or not. I noticed Obama did the same thing on election night and other occasions. The kids aren't running for anything. Neither do they make campaign speeches for their parents or say what they really want in regards to being thrust in the public eye. Talking smack about the campaigners is one thing... talking smack about the kids says more about the poster than the children.

[ProfessorGAC]

26. Then You Don't Remember Being A Kid

Bristol Palin is a teenager. Did you really do everything your parents wanted when you were 16? I didn't.

You probably did at 10. I did.

The distinction is so obvious, all i can ask it "How can you not see the difference?"
GAC

[marshall]

14. I'm sure the Obama girls will be had for good and bad by the media

It really is a new generation, and Obama was elected with the aid of the internet and the Myspace generation. The Obama coins being shilled on tv are just the beginning. Malia and Sasha will be the US version of Princess Diana, giving rise to dolls, commemorative dishes and ash trays, scarves, kites, cushions, etc.

[Hanse]

17. Is Barack Obama a giant flaming hypocrite on family values issues?

Then you'd be comparing apples and oranges.

Talk about teh stupid.

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

20. the obamas never used their kids for political purposes- that's the difference

[Loudmxr]

3. I agree/disagree. Gee am I torn at my funny bone or what??

First off it was their mother who USED these minors as props. Shameful.

Secondly someone earlier on said we here denounced Bristol for having her baby. No way. We made fun of her mom, her bf, her bf-mom, her drinking, her bf mom's drug thingy, her brother's drug thingy, her dad's maybe being a child abuser and other stuff.

We asked why Bristol WASN'T denounced in that "christian" sort of way. But not denounced here.

We asked where Willow learned how to give the finger and where she learned that it was appropriate to do it in public.

But when it comes right down to it, we make fun of an illusion of a family that adults have created.

Adults and the props they created are fair game, individual children are not.

Now that Bristol is an adult with a new baby and a reported $300K and a warehouse of gifts I say "Take the money and RUN!!!!":smoke:

[MADem]

6. I think it makes progressives look petty and unprogressive.

Progressives don't make fun of people who aren't in public life, and they certainly don't make fun of children.

You can take issue with the mother's family values stance, and the state of her family, without specifically naming the children, mocking them, and dragging them through the mud.

Those kids didn't ask to become "Palins." They were born, and had no choice in the matter.

Anyone who thinks it is "OK" that Palin children be made fun of had better be prepared to accept that it is "OK" for Obama children to be mocked, too, because, after all, they have "healthcare, enough to eat, and lots of money in return." Oh, and they'd better stay away from CAMERAS, too, if they know what's good for 'em! No cute puppy pictures for YOU....

It all sucks. It was wrong to do to Amy Carter, Chelsea Clinton, even the wild Bush girls, and it's wrong to do to the Palin children ..... or the Obama kids.

Leave the kids alone. You have to pretty petty to get kicks or try to score political points by beating up on children.

[abq e streeter]

22. 100% agreement here---

I am always terribly disappointed when I see anyone, left or right or whatever, ridicule children and young people who had no choice whether to be public figures or not.

[dems_rightnow]

31. Even Limbaugh stopped

heaping abuse on the kids of Democrats once those people were no longer candidates. The fascination with the Palin kids here... fascinates me.

[Obamanaut]

8. Agree. nt

[Vinca]

10. Agreed as long as it pertains to the older kids.

The poor Downs kid and the new baby aren't asking for attention. They're victims (and props) in this mess.

[LeftHander]

15. Oh gosh you betcha' it is ok.

What is a harmless internet funny. It is good because it is all about job creation and keeping our air space from Putin's head when it rears.

[Naturyl]

18. I'm with you.

Considering that Americans far less deserving of abuse are ridiculed and marginalized every day, I'm not going to lose any sleep over the plight of the comfy Palin family.

Let them eat cake.

[TEmperorHasNoClothes]

19. Palin pimped her kids for political purposes--- what did she expect

Having people talk about them is a consequence of Palin's actions.
I wouldn't wish life in the Palin cult on any child- health care or not. That's what ChP is for, lol.

[TahitiNut]

25. The Palin kids look like hostages to me.

I wouldn't wish that exploitative and self-aggrandizing parenting on any kid.

[ProfessorGAC]

28. I Still See A Difference Between Bristol And The Other Kids

Hey Nut! Happy New Year!

I see a big difference between 16 y/o Bristol Palin and the other smaller children.

I know when i was 16 i sure wasn't at my parents' beck and call. I went with them WHEN i wanted. And i was a good kid, not some "rebel". (Beyond the normal teenage rebelliousness.)

Bristol wasn't at the RNC Convention because she HAD to be there. She was there, IMO, of her own volition. That sets all new rules that don't apply to little kids like the other Palin children or the Obama girls.
GAC

[MiniMe]

30. 16 year olds don't have a choice. They are still underage

But I blame Palin for the whole thing. She put Bristol in the spotlight when she accepted the nomination, and she said that she knew that Bristol was pregnant.

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Come On! You Were 16 Once Too

Just like me. I didn't do everything my parents said to do. You probably didn't either. How many 16 year olds do? A small fraction is what i'd guess. She already got pregnant even though both her parents believe in abstinence. So, she already has shown that she doesn't listen to them on everything and doesn't do everything they want!

The evidence that she doesn't already exists!

I honestly understand the point you and others are making. I just don't agree that a 16 year old who acquiesced to become a national prop is beyond criticism. As much as i loathe her mom, she's still culpable.

That's NOT the case with the Obama girls.
GAC

[MiniMe]

33. Of course I didn't, and I didn't say that she would

But when your parents travel and tell you that you have to go with them, that was not something that I had a choice in. Bristol has been a politicians daughter for a long time, and you show up when you are expected to. Sarah could have chosen not to take Bristol and leave her home with the grandparents, but she chose not to do that. I don't think that Bristol had a choice. Besides, Sarah needed a babysitter to hand Trig off to.

[Ocracoker16]

29. Palin didn't do anything to protect her kids

Obama and Michelle didn't parade their kids around on stages at rallies. Palin took Trig all over the country with her to rallies. There is no reason why a babysitter couldn't be hired. However, Sarah decided to use him to show her strong pro-life values. She also exploited him in an attempt to appeal to parents of special needs children despite the fact that her understanding of the challenges faced by these kids and their families was limited considerably by Trig's age and the fact that Down's Syndrome is just one of many disabilities. Piper went to a lot of the rallies too and she missed a lot of school. She sat in on interviews with Greta and answered a few questions. I remember her talking about her Halloween costume which she wore on-stage. Trig also wore one. During this interview, Sarah just sort of giggled while Piper acted like the 7 year old she was. Sarah acted upset when Greta asked what a VP did and Piper said something about going to lots of rallies. Not that Sarah could have provided the right answer either. John McCain got upset at a rally when Piper was making signs with her arms above his head while she stood behind. None of the McCain children were consistently on the campaign trail either. Cindy and John had better sense.

[AngryAmish]

23. They would not get made fun or if they were not so ugly

It is their fault, really.

[lonestarnot]

27. Muggles! and Grifters!

[Xenotime]

34. I'm all for it! Blame their mom for dragging them out into the open.