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Bristol Palin, daughter of Alaska governor Sarah Palin did two morning show interviews today, all to promote the cause of premarital abstinence. Bristol was rather famously unmarried and pregnant during the general election, and she gave birth to son Tripp in December. Since Tripp’s birth, Bristol and Tripp’s father Levi Johnston have broken off their engagement and Levi has been engaged in a publicity campaign that seems to be geared towards making the Palin family look horrible. Levi has claimed that Gov. Palin and Bristol won’t let him spend time with Tripp, and there’s a rumor that Levi wants to sell a million-dollar book about the Palins.
So there’s several questions that any half-decent interviewer would ask Bristol Palin. Stuff like “Should an unwed single mother promote premarital abstinence?” and “So what in the world is going on with Levi?” Both Today’s Matt Lauer and Good Morning America’s Christopher Cuomo took their shots at Bristol. It was enough to make me feel badly for her, but then I remembered that she’s actually got a job promoting this stuff publicly. Bristol was named the teen ambassador for the national campaign to raise awareness about the consequences of teen pregnancy” for the Candie’s Foundation. In her interviews, she only wanted to talk about abstinence, not her own stuff:
Bristol Palin promoted sexual abstinence for her fellow teens in dual appearances Wednesday on ABC’s Good Morning America and NBC’s Today – prompting her interviewers on both shows to question how she can preach something she obviously didn’t practice.
While declining to discuss what methods of birth control she might have used, Palin, 18, told GMA’s Christopher Cuomo, “Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only … 100 percent foolproof way to prevent pregnancy.” She also acknowledged that abstinence is “difficult.”
To Today’s Matt Lauer who asked what message she was sending teens by talking about not having babies while she was holding her sleeping son, Tripp, in her arms, Palin said, “I’m just here trying to tell teens this is a really hard job.”
The TV appearances were keyed to Palin’s new role as the Candie’s Foundation’s teen ambassador for a national campaign to raise awareness about the consequences of teen pregnancy.
On Levi Johnston
Cuomo and Lauer both asked Palin about her former fiancé – and the father of her child– Levi Johnston, who appeared on Tyra Banks’ syndicated talk show as well as CBS’s The Early Show, on which he spoke about premarital sex and made claims that the Palin family has not allowed him be alone with his son.“I’m not here to talk about my personal life,” Palin told Lauer, though she did say, with no further explanation, even when asked for it, “I’d love Levi to be part of [Tripp's] life.”
She had the nearly exact same words for Cuomo, too, saying, “I’d love Levi to be a part of [Tripp's] life, and I know he will be. Every child needs a father.”
[From People Magazine]
I actually think Bristol might have a point with her appearances – she just might be a powerful cautionary tale for young girls, but maybe not in the way she intended. Instead of harping on about how abstinence is the only way, perhaps she could just hold up baby Tripp and start talking about how screwed up her life is now that she is a mother. It’s really obvious she hasn’t practiced what she is now preaching, but if she took a more honest and conciliatory voice, she really could be an effective ambassador for not just abstinence, but telling young girls to respect themselves, wait to have sex until they’re ready, and stay in school. And for the love of God, “condom” is not a dirty word.
Written by Kaiser
Posted in Bristol Palin
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42 Responses to “Bristol Palin does morning show interviews as abstinence ambassador”
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Um, didn’t she JUST give an interview not long ago saying “abstinence is not realistic”? What a flip.
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marketing your own child as the biggest mistake one can make? twisted.
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dont do it is her message?
but she DID IT
and she just said that absintence doesnt work
she is a True politician !
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pathetic really. anything to appease mommy dearest.
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Can’t the Palin’s just Go.Away.
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I heard part of the interview on GMA and I thought she missed the opportunity to talk about why teenage pregnancy is hard. She tried so hard to avoid saying anything which would suggest she did not love being a teenage mom – it seemed she was thinking ahead to what he might one day read.
As a teenage ambassador, I think she should have talked about dreams deferred, opportunities delayed, and other realities you have to face with a newborn.
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@ May.
she says it was taken out of context, lol. What isn’t these days. As a teenage ambassador, she should drop abstinence education which didn’t work for her and focus on safe sex awareness. Its not just about not getting pregnant, its also about not transmitting diseases.
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First that interview is giving very little informations, she is repeating the same stuff over and over, with the same words. Second she is basically saying her life is great right now, but don’t YOU have underage sex and risk having babies. She doesn’t want to look miserable, so I don’t get what’s her deal. It make it seems more of an issue to have sex than a baby !
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she can’t explain why its ok for her to have sex but then tell others not to
what a dope. she looks so coached. her mother has to be putting her up to this.
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She’s a good egg, this kid. She calls it as she sees it.
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“she can’t explain why its ok for her to have sex but then tell others not to”
She’s trying to inform others so that they might not go down the same path she did, and end up with a baby to care for at a very early age. If she’s still having sex, that’s one thing. But if she’s simply trying to rectify her past and maybe help someone else, I don’t see the problem.
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Kaiser, I heart you.
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Teenagers have sex. I did it, Bristol did it, most of us on this website did it. People are designed to have sex, end of story. I gained so much respect for this girl when she came out before and finally stated the obvious: expecting teenagers to be abstinent is not realistic. In my personal opinion I don’t believe demanding abstinence is even necessary, because I think we can all agree that sex is an amazing part of being human if you’re careful.
I find it so disappointing that she’s backtracking now. Instead of promoting an outdated ideal that she herself obviously could not even adhere to, she could do so much good by promoting sex education and the importance of birth control availability. But apparently she finds it adequate to sit up there with her baby and say, “I did it, but don’t you do it.”
She didn’t say anything new or useful for today’s teen, and that’s too bad.
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Joe said: “As a teenage ambassador, she should drop abstinence education which didn’t work for her and focus on safe sex awareness. Its not just about not getting pregnant, its also about not transmitting diseases.”
Thank you Joe! There are so many kids that engage in oral, anal etc. sex instead of vaginal sex so that they can still consider themselves ‘abstinant’ but are engaging in very risky behavior. While total abstinence (including oral, anal, etc.) is the only way to prevent pregs and VDs, that isn’t realistic, so safe sex education is terribly important to stop the spread of disease. We teach children to wash their hands, sneeze into their sleves, not share forks, and so on for safety, why not impress upon them to follow safe sex rules (condoms, dental dams, etc) as well? It isn’t going to ‘encourage’ sexual activity, but hopefully if they do engage in it they have the tools to do so in a responsible safe manner.
I don’t mean to be preachy, the very idea of my neices having sex of any kind makes me ill, but I would rather that if they do, they do so in a way that they are less likely to get at pregnant or the worst case scenario infected with HIV/AIDS.
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Matt, all I am here to say is that my Mother beat me into submission in the basement and that I am here to say that abstinence is the right message, it’s the right thing to do (her eyes start to uncontrollably twitch)and that no one will touch my dirty donut until there is a ring on this finger, I mean that finger, I mean I’m married. Please Mommie Dearest I tried! Please!
and scene.
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!: you’re right, she did just say that! She’s the LAST person who should be preaching abstinence. What she should be promoting is birth control!
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maybe she should just stay in alaska and concentrate on her education and raising her kid.
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And what infuriates me the most is that we have fought so hard for the right to contraception because sex DOES happen. It’s foolish to think otherwise, but you can promote safety and awareness instead of this abstinence crap.
In fact, this whole business has just caused KIDS to have sex. I have little cousins that were in 8th grade when they lost it. And to me, that was just insane, but they only ever received the very Catholic, DON’T DO IT, speech.
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And Republicans wonder why they’re losing seats in Washington like its a game of musical chairs. lol. What a joke these people are. Go Back to Alaska.
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I agree completely with Dingles commentary!! If you had to walk into a store and decide to purchase a pregnancy and STD prevention method, and on the counter it has “Abstinence” and “Condoms” with Abstinence having a 70% FAILURE RATE and Condoms having a 5% FAILURE RATE (a almost zero Failure Rate if used properly from beginning to end)–which would you chose!! Come on!! Tell the truth Bristol!! You FAILED at Abstinence and now you want to promote a 70% Failure Method for everyone else!!!! Go back to school and learn something useful, and not home schooling either!!!
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Perhaps its because I have a mother capable of this, but I believe that her whole reason for her 180 degree flip in abstinence is because if she doesn’t fall in line with her mother’s politics, she’ll be out on her @ss quicker than you can shoot a wolf from a helicopter with an assault rifle.
I’d take Bristol far more seriously if…wait. I’d never take her seriously. She’s an extension of her mother, and I despise her mother.
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I had some respect for her when she said that abstinence isn’t realistic. But now…oh, now this is just sick.
She should be using her time to show teens why birth control and realistic sex education are so important.
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It depends. Does she mean it, or is she doing damage control for her mother’s campaign. I think she is doing this for her mother’s political aspirations.
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oh and as cherryblossom said she should be promoting birth control and condoms as well. Most teenagers will not really be swayed by abstinence talks since it really is not realistic.
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Teaching about safe sex is important since so many people want to engage in sex, but abstinence is not impossible. Some speak of it as if no one has ever waited until they got married to have sex.
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You can not stop teens from having sex so you have to educate them and make contraception available to each and every one.There is no such thing as miraculous contraception, condoms need to be used, if you can get pregnant then you can catch a disease.
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Do as I say, not as I do.
She’ll make a fine politician, in that case.
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Sarcra, we’re not saying we’re all heathens running rampant with our bits out.
We are saying that it’s so very rarely practiced nowadays that people look at you in shock if you’re a virgin.
So not impossible, you are correct, but unlikely for 90% of the post-puberty population? Yes.
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She talks out of both sides of her mouth.
How typical.
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Perhaps in the Palin world abstinence means go for it!
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“She’s a good egg, this kid. She calls it as she sees it. ”
UH? I’m sure she’s a good person, she hasn’t had the time to become Sarah Palin Redux yet.
And better make that she calls it as her mommy see it!
I think it’s pathetic and disgusting how Palin used her children to further a career she was never entitled to nor fit for.
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i’d be pretty embarrassed if i just gave birth and immediately after, went on an abstinence crusade… but then, i’m a normal human and not a retard :/
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HYPOCRITE
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I predict a marked increase among purity ring wearers, and the same increase in abstainers who have sex in secret, and a subsequent increase in teen pregnancies. It’s like those anti-drug speakers who come to school and say, “Even though it makes you feel delicious, don’t smoke marijuana.”
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Wtf…this is even more embarrassing than when Britney Spears claimed to be a virgin.
And of course she’ll be abstinent now. She has a kid. Haha. Other than that, it’s a lot like closing the barn door after the horse is out.
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At least she didn’t go through with that shotgun wedding with Levi. They are way to young and immature for marriage they would have had to name the next kid Trapp(ed).
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She should stay home and take care of her baby, not drag him all over creation speaking about a topic she obviously knows so little of.
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Cinderella: funny, that’s exactly what Bristol’s mother did with the presidential election.
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Being taught how to properly protect yourself if you do decide to have sex is a very good thing. Unfortunely many young people don’t take the lessons to heart and go about doing the business without any protection whatsoever.
Both ways should be taught, that way they can CHOOSE for themselves which way they want to go.
And everyone can be happy.
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I suspect she was pressured into it by her mom and her mom’s PAC. What teenager says things like “I’m relatable”? And her earlier comment about abstinence being unrealistic wasn’t ever “out of context,” that’s just a pat thing to say when you wish you could take something back. She just seems so very, very coached here.
If she really believed what she says, she could say, “I was wrong, I thought it was unrealistic, but now that I see what it is like being a mom at my age, THAT is much more unrealistic! It would have been so much easier to have abstained.” (Or used birth control…but that isn’t part of her story.)
I feel sorry for little Tripp, who years later is going to wonder why his mom’s experience having him was held up as an example of “what not to do.”
I knew this would happen to this poor girl and her baby and that was the #1 reason I didn’t like Palin; that she would put her daughter into the spotlight at such a vulnerable time in her life.
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
And again. HA!
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What’s next? Is Mama Sarah gonna do a video about no hunting?
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