More Privacy

As my quote in the article makes clear, I really don't think the "truth" of Trig Palin's birth is any of our business. Or, to put it completely bluntly, if the often unstated theory that Palin was covering up her daughter's pregnancy was true, it really wouldn't be any of our business. There aren't ever entirely clear lines with this stuff, and I'm not claiming I am the final authority on where they should be, but this violation of privacy of her then-young daughter over something which allegedly happened before she was running for president would tell us... what?

The Trig Truther rumors were swirling right about the time that...the news of Bristol's actual pregnancy was released. In fact I got a couple of emails from people in Alaska saying, in effect, "ignore this Trig crap, but Bristol is actually pregnant." So if the point is Palin is a big "family values" hypocrite, or something, because of the actions of her daughter, well, we got that story anyway.

In the post-Lewinsky period I thought that basically any sex-related scandal was fair game for any members of the GOP. They'd opened the door. I still think a giant gulf between what you preach and what you practice makes certain things fair game. Gay anti-gay politicians should be outed, and those who cast stones shouldn't be surprised if they get hit with a few, too. Sex scandals we will always have with us, and in the age of the internet there's no way for the supposedly responsible press to suppress them. But ultimately I'm all for leaning more in the direction that... it's just none of our business.