Capitol Hill Blue Forums Capitol Hill Blue Opinions CHB Columnists Banging Sarah Palin's daughters

Hal, you could well be right. I've backed away from American "celebrity" about as far as I can and not fall off the earth. To me, this is just a young woman who made a big mistake and is related to a famous person - the only reason she could be considered remotely famous herself.

And I'll also be the first to admit that I have trouble seeing her as anything other than that - in large part because I faced some of the same issues at her age, that she's facing now, and it's not an easy position to be in. But I am - thankfully - out of sync with the whole "celebrity" thing.

I am tired to death of the Palins. Letterman apologized and I'd really like to drop the subject.

It's pure lack of self-control that keeps me coming back here. You look at her and see a celebrity, I look at her and see an 18 year old with minimal skills and a kid she'll be raising for as long as she's been on earth. There's just way too much of the "there but for the grace of God" about her for me to see it any other way.

Doesn't mean I think you're right and I'm wrong - it means living on your own at 18, estranged from your family, is one thing when you're on your own, and another when you have a kid, and given that situation, I'm not sure my decisions would have been any better than Bristol's.

I'm not defending Letterman. I am suggesting not to sell Bristol short just because her mother is Sarah barracuda.

To me it isn't whether she ever is fair game for the kind of sexualized humor comedians lavish on the likes of Britney Spears (who by the way was raised in Kentwood, LA pop 2,200).

Flash your private parts to paparazzi like she did and all demands for privacy and respect are off.

Ironically, here's a turnaround, Lynne Spears, Britney's mother, has now become a (very) minor celebrity in her own right: Pregnancy puts spotlight on Spears mom. She was goingto write a book about parenting until Britney's younger sister got pregnant.

Hmmm... expert on parenting.... sound familiar?

Well, if Bristol could sing or dance I suspect we would have seen that during the campaign. (Cynical, aren't I?) I would say that her only current "bankable talent" is for doing what she is doing: Getting paid to act as a spokesperson for some political or public service group. That's pretty much what she did for her mother during the campaign. Better for her growth as an individual if her employer is not also her mother.

With only a GED (or did she go back and finish?), her employment options are fairly limited. Not impossible by any means, just limited. More opportunites would open up for her if she can get some day care for the baby and go to college. Unless she does that, I think her best options will be leveraged off her fame.

I wish the best for Bristol, and her other siblings, even if I dislike some of her mother's ideas and actions.

But that's the point, Hal. I'm not selling Bristol short. I'm seeing her as a small-town, relatively unsophisticated girl who made a mistake. Selling her short would be to say that she's doing everything she can to become a major celebrity. If anything, I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt.

You say "to me it isn't whether she ever is fair game..." - okay, but what IS the point, then? I'm sorry; I think maybe you meant to add something there.

Spears I'm not interested in. At all. A

Mellow you're getting ahead of me so our comments are crossing...

I didn't pay any attention to Bristol during the campaign, don't even remember if she ever talked... was she on television? I caught a bit of Levi Johnston on Larry King and I can say even if he had a claim to fame beyond getting Bristol pregnant he has slim chance of a career in show business.

But if Bristol has an engaging personality, with her looks, she could be made into a celebrity. If she has potential as a singer with training she could go that route.

I don't want to dismiss he having the intellect to go to college and I was her therapist I would explore with her the benefits of going to college in the lower 48, even if she had to leave the baby with Levi.

For all we know she doesn't even want to be an 18 year old full-time mother and Levi would be a great father.

She's not fair game now... I hope at least that got across.

If she stays a private person she never will be.

If she becomes a public person she'd be fair game only if she (like Britney or Larry Craig, Elliot Spitzer or that other former governor) brings it on herself

Hal, I'll go along with you in everything but the singing idea. How many people with ANY singing ability ever support themselves with it?

I hope she does go to college, but doing so will probably require the support of her parents, even if only logistically. I really do wish her the best.

She's cute, yes, but she has a definite small-town-girl appeal, and that's not going to get her very far in "show biz" in a Paris Hilton world.

I'd bet that whether she wants to be a full-time mom fluctuates at least once a day .

But didn't those people actively seek fame? Bristol and the other Palin children didn't. It was thrust upon them(to quote another poster) by their parents.

Is not traveling the TV circuit advocating abstinence making her a 'public figure'?

Britney is an entertainer, she fought hard to get to the top and then screwed it all up, possibly because she never had a chance to grow up normally. Craig, Spitzer, and Governor Blaggovich are all elected officials who's entire careers have been in the limelight in one way shape or form, again they have chosen public careers.
This young lady has been invited to appear on television shows and has accepted and answered questions. It it appears to be the same to you then go ahead and make tasteless jokes about her.