Sarah Palin and her husband Todd gave a lengthy interview on October 15, to appear in the upcoming issue of People Magazine. The interview covers everything from what Sarah reads to how their kids keep up with school while on the campaign trail with her. Todd and Sarah talk about when he’s the boss and when she’s the boss and Todd talks about how it’s hard not to feel protective of his wife, but he knows she’s tough, too.
Another thing that the parents of five seem to agree on is the hope that now that eldest daughter Bristol has turned 18 she won’t wait until next summer to get married. Bristol, due in December with her first child with fiancé Levi Johnston, has had a summer wedding in mind for some time, but the Governor and First Dude are hoping she’ll move the date up a bit.
Now that Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter has celebrated her 18th birthday, the GOP vice-presidential candidate says she’s hoping Bristol and fiancé Levi Johnston – who are expecting a baby in December – will tie the knot well before the date next summer the young couple had been eyeing.
“Hopefully before that,” Sarah Palin tells PEOPLE in an Oct. 15 interview for the issue on newsstands this Friday. “Bristol turns 18 in a few days [Oct. 18]. That’s what we wanted her to wait for: 18, and a decision on her own about how she’s going to go forward, her and Levi, at this point.”
[From People]
It sounds to me like Bristol and Levi have already decided on a summer wedding. Even though Bristol is 18 now, she hardly has time to marry before the baby is born, and at that point, what difference does it really make whether they marry in January or June? Isn’t having a baby at 18 enough to deal with right away without adding in a new, young husband and a household of your own to learn how to manage? I just think it’s setting the kids up to fail. The first year of marriage is hard, but the first months after your first baby would make it even harder.
I do actually understand the Palin’s feelings as conservative, Christian parents. I grew up around a lot of those same kind of parents and they were loving, wonderful parents. Wanting their daughter to marry and provide what would be seen as a stable, family home for their grandchild is important to them, and that’s great. But I think it’s important to think about Bristol just as much right now and let her settle into motherhood for a little while before she has to settle into being a wife, too. Summer isn’t that far away, and an Alaska wedding would be much more comfortable in the warmer months.
Sarah and Todd Palin are shown at a rally in Scranton, PA on 10/15/08, Credit: Bauergriffinonline
@ Ceilidh: I may be wrong, but I don’t think Todd and Sarah CARE what happens in or to the marriage; as long as Bristol goes through with it, she is conforming to their ideals. Later, when the marriage fails, it can be used as a lesson to other teens that they should have abstained.
Someone should sit them down and explain the whole ‘barn door and horse’ thing.
Bristol is such an unfortunate name 🙁
I think it’s stupid to make them get married. Just because you have sex without protection with some dude at school, doesn’t mean he’s the right person for you to marry. If Bristol hadn’t got pregnant she’d have moved on from him in a few months and started dating other guys, like normal 18 year-olds do. Why force them together. It will only end in divorce and resentment.
So, according to the Palins, a girl is never too young to have a baby, but she must be 18 to decide on marriage?
Sarah, just wait about two weeks. You’ll have plenty of time on your hands to help plan that wedding.
Turning 18 makes you able to make all your own life-changing decisions? Just like that? You blow out the candles on your cake and are suddenly wise?
I don’t guess I had a birthday cake for my 18th because I’ve been trying for half a century to get wise and haven’t made it yet.
This family makes me want to puke.
Reporters interviewed Levi. He said that he and Bristol had been in love for quite a while. It’s not what he said, it’s what he didnt say. What he didn’t say, was that they were engaged before Bristol became pregnant. Palin has insisted that they were engaged before Bristol became pregnant.
Here’s the rumor part: Word is that Sarah pushed Bristol into this marriage. Apparently, this young lady liked to party — as many other teenagers do — and marriage was the last thing on her agenda. Not unusual for a 17-year old.
By the way, given that Palin filed a lawsuit against the US Federal Government protesting the fed’s listing of the polar bear as an endangered species, that pin Plain is wearing is a little hypocritical. Why did she file the suit? You can’t drill for gas and oil on land that is inhabited by an endangered species.
SolitaryAngel – I find it hard to believe that they don’t *care.* I think they’re likely very locked into their own beliefs about How Life Should Go, and on a very public stage with very high stakes, but I just can’t believe any parent — even Sarah Palin — could not care if her young daughter’s marriage fails as long as it lets her prove a point.
That being said, I really hope Bristol stands up for herself about the summer wedding, because that will give her and Levi a few months of trial by newborn-raising fire to think this whole thing over. Because that’s a MUCH better indicator than blowing out your birthday candles, omg.
I don’t think it sounds like they have their daughter’s best interests – or even her casual wants and needs – in mind. I think they’re just concerned with how it “looks” and they figure a shotgun marriage “looks” better than waiting.
When Sarah Palin says she hopes Bristol gets married “sooner rather than later,” what she means is that she hopes Bristol gets married a few days before the election.
Abstinence only.
Abstinence only.
“By the way, given that Palin filed a lawsuit against the US Federal Government protesting the fed’s listing of the polar bear as an endangered species, that pin Plain is wearing is a little hypocritical. Why did she file the suit? You can’t drill for gas and oil on land that is inhabited by an endangered species. ”
Oh, Kits, please learn to think for yourself. If you did just a tiny bit of research you would know that the polar bear population has more than QUADRUPLED since the early 1970’s. Perhaps the fact that their population is growing and thriving so beautifully has something to do with getting them off the e.s. list.
I don’t know about you, but I have been to Alaska, I’ve been to the Arctic circle and I’ve seen hundreds of miles of the current pipeline. I’ve also seen that the animals of Alaska have no fear of the pipeline; in fact, they hang out underneath it (I saw this quite a lot). The Arctic circle, where the drilling should most certainly occur, is barren land that is for the most part uninhabited by man, beast or even plant. It is an inhospitable environment that has a low population of any kind of life. Drilling will disturb very, very little of the life that is there, and at that, it won’t kill any creatures. It will possibly cause a few to move a little further away from the drilling site, but that’s about it.
Think of a typical dining room table. That’s ANWR. Now put a dime on the table. That’s an approximation of the area that would be affected by drilling.
Today’s lesson is now over. Please stop being sheep and educate yourselves!
Please stop being sheep and education yourselves!
That’s EDUCATE yourselves. Maybe you need some EDUCATION.
@ kits: thank you for pointing out the polar bear pin! it’s not the first time she’s worn it, and everytime it makes me want to rip it off her gucci jacket and stab her with it. if palin has her way the only polar bears left will be jewelry. as far as bristol’s wedding, of course palin’s forcing the marriage, and she probably forced bristol’s “choice” to keep the baby, too.
Like my mom always said, “Why make 2 mistakes when you already made one?”
Sort of reflects this whole election thing, too…
That poor young girl….
lauri,
how about you keep your nose out of Alaska’s business? people who were not born or raised there and ‘visited’ the pipeline dont know what the hell they are talking about. the fact that animals are around the pipeline has nothing to do with whether or not it affects their habitat. of course they aren’t ‘afraid’ of a stationary pipeline in their territory. furthermore, the polar bear issue has nothing to do with the pipeline. what building more pipelines do and what drilling does is damage the tundra, areas of permafrost, and delicate ecosystems and biodiversity of the area as trucks and heavy machinery and equipment role in, heat and tear up the land.
polar bear habitat is being destroyed by global warming and the melting of ice nearer to shore where they do most of their hunting. because the ice is breaking up,they have to swim farther and farther to get to the seals, which is exhausting and impossible the less ice they have. they could be extinct by 2050 if current warming trends continue.
so thank you for spewing forth your uneducated carpetbagging opinion as to what should be done with alaska’s land and wildlife.
If 18 were the measure by which we become adults, then WTF is 21? We’re more “adultier”?
A choice to be stupid at 18 is no more dumb than a choice to be stupid at 17 and 354 days. If Sarah cared about her child, she’d wait until she was old enough to make a commitment to someone she wasn’t related to.
Unless she is.
And then, well…
Thanks, Bros. And by the way, Lauri, my father is an environmental scientist; you, obviously, are not. I have access to a lot more information than you. If you did a nanosecond of research, you’d know that my comments are factual. So, let’s stop the ignorant hype, shall we.
people who were not born or raised there and ‘visited’ the pipeline don’t know what the hell they are talking about.
I don’t have to stick my head in blast furnace to understand what it would do to me if I did.
Kits: Whoa – you go girl! Rick Steiner, (University of Alaska Marine Advisory professor and scientist) through a public records request, has acquired an email that the Palin administration didn’t want the feds to see. Basically, it says that yes, the Alaska state biologists DID agree with the Federal assessment leading to their listing (begrudgingly) of the polar bear as ‘threatened’ under the Endangered Species Act. They agreed with this despite the Palin administration’s vehement opposition to the listing, and in direct conflict with Palin’s statement that the state biologists found nothing to support the ‘threatened’ listing. Talk about shades of the Troopergate scandal.
By the way, big oil and The National Trophy Assocaton has joined Palin in her lawsuit. Tell you anything? Palin has also filed suit aginst the feds challenging Alaska natives hunting and fishing substinences so that they develop these lands for commercial hunting and fishing. This woman is bad news.
It’s not surprising. Of course it has now been edited, but her profile on Wikipedia claimed that she and Todd eloped because she was pregnant with their first child. The wedding date and birthdates of all her children have now just been changed to the year. Not so scandalous, really, but makes sense that she would want her daughter to get married now, I guess.
Because, you must be married to have a baby. 😆
I’d go nuts being around people like that.
I mean, dante, that growing up there and being constantly exposed to coverage on local news and media and hearing about the debates over it every night at dinner and living and working next to the people that are both for and against drilling for various reasons, means that you have a much longer, richer, and intimate familiarity with the debate, have a wider picture of the long-term effects for the environment, than someone who came to alaska once and ‘saw the pipeline’ and the animals playing under it, which is a completely specious argument for why pipelines and other gas/oil development are ok for the wildlife. more exposure to better information over a longer period of time.
“Palin has also filed suit aginst the feds challenging Alaska natives hunting and fishing substinences so that they develop these lands for commercial hunting and fishing.”
THANK YOU, BillMark! Thank you so much for bothering to say this. It doesn’t matter to a large set of people, but it’s so, so important to some of us. Again, thank you!
Btw, in completely superfluous commentary, I really like the name Bristol.
Oh, pleeeeze. The fact that Palin recently had to finally admit under political pressure that human activity “might” have a “little” to do with global warming is proof that she’s not exactly, shall we way, well informed. Palin’s agenda is pretty obvious. Exploit the land, take away native soveriegnty, threaten endangered species, all so she can get more drilling. She’s also vetoed stand-alone legislation for renewal energy sources. No wonder she wants the VP slot to have more power and influence over the US Senate. Someone should give her a copy of the US Constitution, send her back to Alaska, and to then to school.
Here are just a few out of dozens of reputable links that address this issue. I would provide links that show specific scientic data and analysis, but this isn’t the appropriate forum:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/10/opinion/main4513213.shtml
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/377955_palinenvir07.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1036208120080910
To Diva;
I agree, but it should matter. Palin’s “Manifest Destiny” against native Alaskans and their rights is unconscionable. It shows a person who’s character is highly suspect.
yeah, bad idea. Getting married just because you got preg as a teenager.
The good old POLAR BEAR PIN Trick! Just like the good old American Flag Trick!
If polar bears could talk, they’d want Palin to be gutted and hung from a tree! You can fool a red neck, but not a polar bear!
She is the anti-christ of a POLAR BEAR!
Not a pro life person when it comes to animals! May she reap what she sows!
The Levi Johnston kid’s profile on MySpace stated he didn’t want children. I am guessing you can hear the shotguns being loaded for this lovely little marriage.
They should not be forced into a marriage due to an unexpected pregnancy. That abstinance only education sure works wonders.
i actually just saw something on the news that said “sarah and tood got married, and EIGHT months later, their first child was born” so…ya, she was preg. not that it matters to me at all if she was or not.
but i def dont think they should be pressuring (like it sounds they are) these 2 KIDS to get married right away. i think they are gunna have enough on their plates as it is…
Bristol- after the alcoholic beverage under which influence the girl was conceived by her parents after a long night of bible-reading and fasting no doubt.
Poor, poor kids.
They engagement may be a farce. They may never get married to each other.