The October surprise: Bristol Palin's wedding?!?

[Faygo Kid]

McCain camp prays for Palin wedding; The marriage of the vice-presidential candidate’s pregnant teenage daughter could lift a flagging campaign

September 28, 2008 - IN an election campaign notable for its surprises, Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential candidate, may be about to spring a new one — the wedding of her pregnant teenage daughter to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé before the November 4 election.

Inside John McCain’s campaign the expectation is growing that there will be a popularity boosting pre-election wedding in Alaska between Bristol Palin, 17, and Levi Johnston, 18, her schoolmate and father of her baby. “It would be fantastic,” said a McCain insider. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching. It would shut down the race for a week.”

There is already some urgency to the wedding as Bristol, who is six months pregnant, may not want to walk down the aisle too close to her date of delivery. She turns 18 on October 18, a respectable age for a bride — and the same age as Barack Obama’s pregnant mother when she married his Kenyan father. The Democrat has already declared Bristol’s private life off-limits as far as his campaign is concerned.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article4837644.ece#cid=OTC-RSS&attr=797093
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Better than attacking Iran or declaring martial law, I suppose. As Levi might say, what the fuck.

[Motown_Johnny]

1. Odds are the wedding will be before the election and after she turns 18.

No way to anticipate the reaction to this. It may not be a plus for them. It may look like another stunt and most people are catching on to this already.

[chatnoir]

2. "Free Levi!" as Bill Maher said

That boy needs to escape far far away before it's too late.

[FVZA_Colonel]

22. I truly feel sorry for him and Bristol.

I can't imagine what it would be like for two young people, who are still essentially children, to be forced to get married because of the political machinations of one of their mothers.

[NMDemDist2]

3. it wouldn't help them a bit. n/t

[Grateful for Hope]

33. I agree AZDem

This will be viewed as just another "photo op" by the majority.

[LiberadorHugo]

4. People stupid enough to base their decisions on this don't fucking deserve to vote.

Harsh but absolutely true. If this makes me elitist, than fuck it, I'm the world's biggest snob.

[Sannum]

5. oy.

Nothing more lovely and romantic than a teenage shotgun wedding.

What the fuck is wrong with these people?

[renie408]

6. Where did McCain get these people? "Campaigns R' Us"???

Jesus. Talk about out of touch. Yeah boy, there is nothing like a shotgun wedding between redneck teenagers to rally the country to your cause. What the fuck?


I just realized that in every post I write about the McCain campaign tactics, I end up putting "What the fuck?" in there somewhere. Primarily because they are constantly doing the most absolutely bizarre shit that just makes you say....WHAT THE FUCK??

[LiberadorHugo]

13. Contrary to popular belief...

Tom Green and Super Dave Osbourne did not write the book on running a successful election campaign, you Republican JACKASSes.

[Pirate Smile]

16. That is why it comes with its own smilie.

:wtf:

[Pirate Smile]

7. That's not politicizing her family or anything. Naahhh.

[Guava Jelly]

8. ..

[Rosa Luxemburg]

9. the walking soap opera

[renie408]

12. Are you kidding me? Soap operas are less dramatic and classier. n/t

[central scrutinizer]

28. and the actors are less like cardboard cutouts

I really feel sorry for neglected and lonely Bristol. I have a 17 year old daughter but as soon as she entered puberty, we went to Planned Parenthood and got the complete kit on birth control and STDs and talked with her - we never dodged a question or made up bullshit answers.

[Lifetimedem]

10. I think they are holding out for....

a White House wedding... and you can bet if
Palin/McCain lose the little girl loses a husband... My guess is the nuptials will be "postponed" indefinitely

[Tallison]

11. THAT is low-brow

to hustle your daughter's milestone in a desperate bid for favorable publicity while sequestering your own sorry self from legit media coverage?

:spitting smiley:

[Tutonic]

24. Hey great name for the baby "Lobrow" You heard it here first.

N/T

[Tallison]

32. ..

:spank:

[countingbluecars]

14. If the Palins let their daughter become

a media spectacle then shame on them.

[high density]

15. umm, why is that going to help?

Nothing will ever change the fact that she was knocked up before she was married.

[Sannum]

19. so was mommy.

I guess it runs in the family.

[Canuckistanian]

17. Er... how would that be a "surprise"?

Let alone an "October Surprise" which usually means some MAJOR political event.

And besides, Bristol is only the daughter of an increasingly unpopular VP candidate.

Why would this change anything?

[no_hypocrisy]

18. Well, I'd prefer THAT to */Cheney/McCain bombing Iran for the Surprise.

[Bunny]

20. Are they thinking that this will be like Charles and Diana's wedding or something?

Or Tricia's Rose Garden nuptials?

:shrug:

[TheCowsCameHome]

21. Maybe they're having trouble choosing a shotgun.

[mitchum]

23. More poof of their utter contempt for the American people...

"The rubes will be enthralled by it!"

I also have contempt for the American people, but then again, I'm not running for office

[salguine]

25. Nothing lifts my spirits like seeing a 17-year-old forced into a doomed, loveless marriage.

[gemlake]

26. If that's the October surprise, we'll win in a landslide

[BrklynLiberal]

27. THAT should be a long and happy union...

:sarcasm:

[Faygo Kid]

39. I give it six months, once McCain-Palin go down in flames on Nov. 4

The baby will be born, and he will split.

The guy is a classic narcissistic jerk. His kind is always predictable.

[Erin Elizabeth]

29. I don't know many people of any political affiliation who will

care about this, one way or the other.

[vaberella]

30. The lives of three children---more like four counting Trig is now Campaign fodder.

Fuck the freepers.

[gatorboy]

31. “You would have every TV camera there. The entire country would be watching."

I'm sorry, but that's too fucking funny for words. :rofl:

[Warren DeMontague]

34. Good, let's have a week long discussion about the "good old days" of shotgun weddings.

And how wonderful it will be when the GOP outlaws not only abortion, but birth control as well.

[ShadowLiberal]

35. ... That just sounds stupid, no way a story like that would last a week either

I mean seriously, didn't the news of Bush's daughter getting married die out after two days, three days tops?

Leave the poor girl alone McCain Campaign, it can't feel good for her to be shoved into the spotlight so much knowing that millions of people will think she's irresponsible and a bunch of other negative things for getting pregnant that early in her life.

[WindRiverMan]

36. If they do that to those kids

I think there will be hell to pay. The Republicans don't get it. People have finally woken up. NO MORE BULLSHIT! Get to the issues!

[Arkana]

37. Um, how exactly is a shotgun wedding going to boost numbers

among anyone but the base?

Also, I don't think it would stop Barack Obama's campaign. He'd continue to hold rallies and barnstorm--he may not attack McCain as much, but it would give him a good week to plug himself while McCain is focused elsewhere.

[Hokie]

38. I really hope McCain's people are this batshit crazy to think this would be a good idea

Sure let's spend a week focusing on hypocrite Palin and her dysfunctional family. That would be fantastic for Obama.

[amborin]

40. nah, they'll choreograph some international

terrorism crisis

of some sort

[HughMoran]

41. Bringing the focus to Palins family and failed "abstinence only" stance is GOOD? HUH?

The McCain campaign must be seriously desperate at this point.

I guarantee that bringing the focus back to her and her family will backfire in a big way!

Troopergate?

Affairs?

Teenage pregnancy?

All of the other lies (trade missions with Russia, bridge to nowhere etc)?

These people are desperate fools.