Gov. Sarah Palin - Grandmother at 44!

BLOG UPDATE (12/30/2008): Bristol Palin gives birth to son. Read more...

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There is never a good time to drag the family members (especially the children) of a candidate through the mud, except when said candidate makes it a point to make their children part of the equation. Such is the case with Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. By aspiring for the second highest position in the land - a heartbeat from the presidency - this woman has dragged her politics and family out of the backwoods of the Alaskan high country into the living room of every American.

As plezWorld mentioned in a previous post, the question of the maternity of the Palin baby is not the issue, the issue is the public trust and judgement of Sarah Palin to be the Vice President of the United States.

*** THE BOMBSHELL ***

Almost as if the McCain/Palin campaign has been perusing the blogosphere over the last 2 days, they have come up with a plausible reason WHY the 17-year old daughter is not the mother of the 4-month old Palin baby... because she is currently 5 months pregnant!

plezWorld has to admit, I never saw this coming... but it also raises more than a few eyebrows about the Palins and their extremely fertile womenfolk!

By extension, she has begged the following questions:

• Who is the mother of the 4-month old Palin boy? Sarah Palin? Or 17-year old Bristol Palin?
  
  
• Is it true that Sarah Palin went into labor a month early in Texas while carrying a special needs baby and still decided to take an 8 hour commercial flght all the back to Alaska to give birth in a small regional medical facility that doesn't have a neo-natal ICU? Or did the Palins fly back from Texas to meet their pregnant daughter who had gone into labor at a small regional medical facility?
  
  
• Take a look at these pictures of the newborn Palin baby on the day he was born (here), does this look like a preemie? Would you have a premature baby out and about in the hospital on the day he was born?
  
  
• Based on news that broke on Monday afternoon (read articles here and here and here and here), is 17-year old Bristol Palin really 5 months pregnant? Or is this a ruse to "throw us off the scent" of the true maternity of the 4-month old baby?
  
  
• And if young Bristol is pregnant, did she get pregnant while layed up with mononucleosis? Or was the bout with mono a ruse to "throw us off the scent" of something more salacious and newsworthy?!?
  
  
• If the McCain campaign was so comfortable with the knowledge that Palin's 17-year old pregnant unwed daughter (who missed a significant portion of the last school year with a mysterious disease), why did they wait until the Internet blew up with the story about Sarah Palin being a grandmother to release that information? Or was that story made up over the weekend as the grandmother story started bubbling up?
  
  
• How willing is this young man (Levi Johnston) to get married and become a father? (Read these stories about Bristol's young beau who claims that he doesn't want kids here and here to gain some insight - notice how she mysteriously left school mid-year to attend another school in Anchorage)
  
  
• Will the fact that her 17-year old daughter got knocked up make Sarah Palin re-think her stance on abstinence-only sex education in public schools?
  
  
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• What was the extent of the McCain vetting process for Palin? Why weren't key legislators, business leaders, and community leaders consulted in the vetting process for Palin? Has the family of Bristol's boyfriend been vetted?
  
  
• John McCain wrapped up his nomination a whole 2 months before Barack Obama, why was he so lax and cursory in his vetting of possible running mates? Why was Gov. Palin picked at "the last minute"? (Read about McCain's vetting of Palin here)
  
  
• Lastly, does this whole mess with Gov. Palin sound like a person who is serious candidate to be the Vice President of the United States? Does this whole mess sound like John McCain is a serious candidate to be President of the United States?
  

Full statement from Sarah and Todd Palin:
"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.

"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

plez sez: ain't this some *ish*!!! instead of clearing up the mystery surrounding the 4-month old palin baby, the palin family and the mccain campaign have ratcheted up the scrutiny around this whole sordid affair. to plezWorld it seems that the palins have come up with one lie to coverup another lie. i have no idea where this will lead, but i do know that this was a BAD IDEA to subject the citizens of the united states to the possibility of having someone with such poor judgement to the presidency. george w. bush may be an idiot, but sarah palin is even worse!

this is a sad state of us politics... we can only hope that gov. palin will drop out of the race to attend to the needs of her growing family.

Gov. Sarah Palin - Grandmother at 44?

BLOG UPDATE (12/30/2008): Bristol Palin gives birth to son. Read more...

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Yup, it's come to this. plezWorld has dipped a toe into the muckity-muck of yellow journalism. The story is delicious (politics, sex, Republicans), the storyline is wrought with family scandal, sexual misdeeds, and lies... and the supposed coverup begs an investigation!

This is what you get when the nominee for President of the United States does not adequately vet his running mate: the blogosphere is left to speculate and fill in the blanks...

Gov. Sarah Palin showed up at her coming out party in Dayton, OH on Friday with her family in tow. She blathered on about being a suitable surrogate for the job left unfinished by Sen. Hillary Clinton. She talked about bold initiatives and moving things forward and joining John McCain's administration as his second-in-command. She even brought along her sizeable family to the event: a rugged looking husband (high school sweetheart), and a gaggle of kids ranging from early twenties to a cuddly infant.

Question: Is the infant Palin's son or grandson?

The American public was told that this baby was born prematurely to Palin with a genetic disorder known as Down Syndrome.

From the time that she announced the pregnancy in March 2008, until the baby was born prematurely in April 2008, there has been a cloud of mystery over a lady who never appeared to be pregnant to a teenage daughter who suddenly disappears from high school during the latter stages of her mother's pregnancy.

After being told of the pregnancy back in March (one month before the baby was born), Alaska Senate President Lyda Green, a mother of three, is quoted as saying, "It's wonderful. She's very well-disguised. When I was five months pregnant, there was absolutely no question that I was with child."

Seeming to lay the groundwork for a speedy return to the office, Palin said that she was not aiming to take any time off from her job as governor, assuming all goes well with the pregnancy. When 7 year old Piper was born -- Palin was mayor of Wasilla at the time -- the baby was born on a Monday and she returned to the office on Tuesday.

The Anchorage Daily News reported that Palin said she decided to reveal the pregnancy after she felt the signs were giving her away, like doing less running this winter and being "ravenously hungry." She's also known as a fashion plate, but said she hasn't been dressing differently to cover her barely perceptible bulge.

On the day of Baby Palin's birth, April 18, the local NBC affiliate published the following story on their website:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin gave birth to her fifth child at about 6:30 a.m. Friday morning.

Trig Paxson Van Palin was born at Mat-Su Regional Hospital about one month before he was scheduled to arrive.

Trig Palin weighs six pounds, two ounces.

A press release from the governor's office says Palin and her new son are both "doing well and resting comfortably."

The Palins released the following statement:

"Trig is beautiful and already adored by us. We knew through early testing he would face special challenges, and we feel privileged that God would entrust us with this gift and allow us unspeakable joy as he entered our lives. We have faith that every baby is created for good purpose and has potential to make this world a better place. We are truly blessed."

Just yesterday, Palin was in Texas at a forum on energy with Texas Gov. Rick Perry and executives from four other states.

Palin was asked at the forum whether or not she would accept an offer by Republican presidential candidate John McCain to share the national ticket as vice presidential nominee.

She said she would accept, according to reports from a Texas newspaper.

The governor's water broke during the energy conference but she stayed and gave a 30-minute speech before boarding an Alaska Airlines plane home to deliver the baby.

Gov. Palin's parents, Sally and Chuck Heath, visited with their new grandson Friday afternoon.

The grandfather says Trig is named after his great uncle, a Bristol Bay fisherman, while the name Paxson comes from the well-known snowmachining area.

Both baby and mom are doing well, said Chuck Heath, and will be going home Saturday.

"She's tired, yeah. She traveled, well, she was at that convention, traveled all night, gave birth this morning, what have you, and hasn't slept today. She's tired," he said.

In April 22, 2008, a few days after the baby was born, the Daily News Miner in Fairbanks, Alaska published an article that called the story about Gov. Palin's pregnancy into question:

Daily News Miner, by Rebecca George, April 22, 2008

Gov. Sarah Palin’s decision to make the eight-hour flight from Dallas to Anchorage has some people wondering about the possible safety hazards of flying while in the late stages of pregnancy.

The governor, eight months into her pregnancy, noticed amniotic fluid Thursday morning prior to giving a keynote luncheon address at the Republican Governor’s Energy Conference in Texas. After wrapping up the speech, Palin and her husband consulted with her physician about possibly flying home on an earlier flight. After being granted permission from her doctor, she and her husband proceeded with the trek home.

At that point, Palin was only having minor contractions and was not showing signs of active labor, Sharon Leighow, the governor’s spokeswoman, said on Monday.

After the baby was born, Palin told her staff members that her experiences from four previous pregnancies made her comfortable with the signs of active labor. She felt that neither she nor her baby were in any danger, and so she flew home as scheduled.

Most airlines have specific policies concerning air travel during pregnancy, especially during the final months. For women traveling in the final month of pregnancy, a “permission-to-travel” letter is required by her primary physician. However, most restrictions rely on an honor policy that leaves the decision to notify the airline in the hands of the passenger.

The governor did not feel the need to inform the airline of her condition, Leighow said.

Alaska Airlines is one of the few airlines that does not have a policy regarding flight during pregnancy.

“We leave the decision to fly up to our customers and their medical advisers,” according to Alaska Airlines representative Caroline Boren.

Palin told her staff that she would not have boarded the plane had she thought she or her baby were in danger.

Had Palin needed medical assistance during the flight, ground agents and flight attendants for the airline are highly trained to look for signs of distress or other concerns with a passenger’s condition, Boren said.

“Governor Palin was extremely pleasant to flight attendants and her stage of pregnancy was not apparent by observation as she didn’t show any signs of distress,” Boren said.

Flight crew members are not specifically trained to assist in labor during a flight. But had Palin gone into active labor while en route to Anchorage, the crew would have been prepared to offer medical assistance through a system known as Med Link, a medical advisory service that allows crew members to radio for medical help during the flight.

The flight would not have needed to land, barring any emergency with the delivery.

No medical assistance was necessary for Palin during the flight.

Palin’s flight landed at 10:30 p.m. Thursday. She and her husband drove to the Mat-Su Valley Regional Medical Center, and she checked in with her doctor an hour later.

Trig Paxson Van Palin was born seven hours later.

The governor confirmed Monday that early testing showed that Trig was born with Down syndrome. The syndrome is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome.

Trig is the governor’s fifth child. She told her staff members that Trig was the easiest delivery of all her children.

BLOG UPDATE (09/02/2008 12:30 AM EST): CLICK HERE FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN plezWorld CONCERNING THE GOV. PALIN STORY

Read the Anchorage Daily News article about the shock surround Palin's pregnancy announcement here.

Read the Alaska NBC affiliate WTUU.com article about Baby Palin's birth on his birthday here.

Read the Fairbanks, Alaska Daily News Miner article about scrutiny surrounding Palin's pregnancy here.

Read the Bent Corner blog article about a rumor of Palin's grandson here.

Read the Daily Kos blog diary about the rumor of Palin's grandson here.

Read CNN.com articles about Palin nomination as VP here and here.


plez sez: this whole story hinges on a lot of conjecture, circumstantial evidence, and rumor. no major media outlet - other than the National Enquirer - would touch this story without more concrete evidence. but remember, it was the Enquirer that broke the john edwards story over 6 months before the mainstream media caught on! but this is the freakin' blogosphere where just the hint of inpropriety can blossom into a full-blown story. just remember where you read it first!

this is what you get when 72-year old man (who obviously isn't very bright) pops one of those little blue pills before sitting down to a face-to-face interview with a svelte, attractive, former beauty queen! and if she had the where with all to flash some coochie (a la Sharon Stone in "Basic Instinct"), he probably offered her the vp job after a few cursory questions!

this whole affair (from picking a running mate after one meeting to that running mate raising a grandbaby as her own to hide the fact of a teenage daughter's sexual frolick) is so fantastic, so unbelievable, that plezWorld wonders how it cannot be true!

• teenage daughter is pulled out of school for over 5 months due to a bout with mono (unless she was near death, most cases clear up in 4 to 6 weeks)
  
  
• the governor's staff was shocked when they found out that she was 7 months pregnant... she never "showed"!
  
  
• click here to see palin when she was 6 months pregnant (in case you're wondering, palin is the lady on the right)
  
  
• governor palin was in texas at an event when her "water broke" that morning: she went ahead with plans to gave a speech, she called her doctor and got clearance to fly back to alaska on a commercial flight (a direct flight of no less than 8 hours)
  
  
• the flight crew wasn't notified and they couldn't tell that she was pregnant or if she was in labor
  
  
• the governor delivers the baby at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer, Alaska (near the town where she grew up), a small regional hospital without a neonatal icu that is almost an hour drive from Anchorage, even though she knew she was delivering a premature special needs baby
  
  
• the governor returns to the office (hosting a meeting on the natural gas pipeline ) THREE DAYS after the delivery
  
  
• all pictures of the governor and her family (during the time of her "pregnancy") have been removed from the Alaska government site

remember that palin is extremely anti-choice and extremely conservative. while she was running for governor, palin stated in a debate that even if her daughter became pregnant in the result of a rape, she would “choose life”. even the most ardent pro-lifers out there would offer an abortion in cases of rape or incest. palin comes off as a right-wing extremist!

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is it a bad thing if the governor and her husband have decided to raise their grandson as their own to spare the embarassment of their 17-year old daughter? nope.

it's not even particularly bad if their daughter was out having unprotected sex, running the risk of getting pregnant or any number of STD's (yeah, they have those in Alaska, too)! it isn't even particularly bad if the governor forbade her teenage daughter from having an abortion, even though they claimed to know that the child had Down Syndrome.

BUT, once again, one must ask that if john mccain had known that this "family values" governor was lying to the public about an unwanted pregnancy by her daughter, do you think she would still be his running mate? (on a completely different matter, if sarah palin looked like janet reno, do you think john mccain would've picked her to be his running mate?)

the utter hypocrisy of the right wing is so appalling, and it would be less-so if they didn't come off as so freakin' self-righteous when they are subject to the same human frailties as everyone else!

now plezWorld normally adheres to the maxim "live and let live," but this woman is running for the second highest position in the land... and she has not been properly vetted... AND it appears that she is hiding a pretty big secret pretty poorly! if the headlines were to read "alaskan governor lied about pregnancy to protect daughter," i could not care less, but if the headlines were to read "vice president lied about pregnancy to protect daughter," i'm afraid that i would have to begin questioning what other salacious family secrets she's hiding (is that baby a product of incest - her husband or son?).

and since we're speculating, here is what happened in Alaska (according to plezWorld):

the teenage daughter has been sexually active for quite some time and realized 3 or 4 months in that she was pregnant. the palins pull her out of school and concoct the mono story. early amnio tests show that the baby has Down Syndrome. the palins wait a few months to see if their daughter will carry the baby to term before Palin has to deliver the "late breaking" pregnancy announcement to her stunned staff and the press... she couldn't just run out and buy one of those fake pregnancy bellies to make herself look 7 months pregnant. no one knew that the teenage daughter would go into labor a month early, which is why Palin was in texas at the time her daughter went into labor. it was the teenager's first pregnancy, so the governor knew she had at least half of a day to get back to alaska before the baby would be delivered.

there is no way that a doctor would permit a woman carrying a special needs baby whose water broke in the eighth month of pregnancy fly for 8 hours back to Alaska, especially a 44-year old woman who already had 4 children! my mother had five of us, and she told me that labor grew significantly shorter with each subsequent child.

the palins landed in anchorage and met their daughter at that backwater hospital - just outside the small town where she grew up and was mayor - the palins know all the doctors and the staff there. their daughter delivered the baby and sarah claimed the baby was hers!

plezWorld must know... is gov. sarah palin a grandmother at 44?!?