Albert Mohler: An Unexpected New Motherhood Debate

September 02, 2008

Labor Day 2008 came with a bang as Hurricane Gustav plowed into the Gulf Coast and as the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain revealed that the daughter of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is five months pregnant, and yet unmarried. The word spread quickly, even as Americans celebrated their end-of-summer holiday with an unusual attentiveness to the news.

A statement released by the McCain campaign got right to the point, quoting Gov. Palin and her husband, Todd:

"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."

The release added little to that statement, other than that the husband is an 18-year-old named Levi and that the young couple plans to get married.

McCain advisor Steve Schmidt said, "Life happens." McCain speechwriter Mark Salter commented, "An American family." Millions of Americans wondered, "What's going on here?" the rest

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