Please Remember: Bristol Palin is Just a Scared Kid

Posted by DJK, Brave New Films at 10:00 AM on September 2, 2008.

Before anyone writes or says anything about Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin's pregnant 17-year-old daughter, I hope they (including myself) think at least of this one thing:

She's just a scared kid.

I can't imagine what could be going through her head right now. As if being an unplanned teen mom isn't hard enough when maybe your whole school and whole town knows about it, this girl now has to deal with the fact that practically the whole world knows about it. And you thought that dream when you're naked in class was embarrassing. The thought of accidentally getting someone pregnant has always terrified me, and having to endure that crisis in front of billions of people, and while I was in high school, sounds like one of the most awful things I can imagine.

So before anyone, including myself, decides to make a joke about this girl, please remember that she's just a scared kid in a terrible, terrible situation. As rosy as Sarah Palin's statement was announcing the pregnancy, this is not what anyone had planned. (Barack Obama's statement on Bristol Palin comes at 1:47 of the above video)

And I'm not saying this because of the ridiculous notion that the left is somehow meaner or more vicious than the right. Making fun of those in the public eye is one of the very few truly bipartisan activities in America, whether it be Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, the Osbournes, Amy Winehouse, Charlie Sheen, Barry Bonds, etc. Both red and blue America love a car wreck or a scandal, and we love to make fun of people. There wouldn't be a multi-billion dollar industry surrounding that pastime if we didn't. We all do it. And it's hard not to do it when the jokes are easy. To be American is to make fun of Paris Hilton.

Now I want to say this.

I am absolutely, completely infuriated at John McCain for putting Bristol Palin through this. Really, what the hell is wrong with him? For god's sake.

In terms of errors in judgment, dragging a pregnant teenager into one the most hotly contested presidential races in American history is the Iraq invasion of emotional thoughtlessness. 

I am simply furious about this. What kind of person does this to a kid? What on earth could be worth holding up a pregnant teenager in front of the entire world for scrutiny and possible scorn and derision? Every gram of sympathy I have for Bristol is outweighed a hundred fold for the outrage I feel towards John McCain.

The McCain campaign has stated that John McCain knew about Bristol's pregnancy before Palin was announced as his candidate for VP. Apparently, John McCain felt the pregnancy was simple a "personal matter" and it would be fine to drag Bristol out for the scrutiny of billions. Think about that. Really think about that.

To me, that says that John McCain does not just lack judgment as a leader, but that he also lacks judgment as a human being with the capacity for feelings, emotions, sympathy, empathy, and safely using sharp objects. Who would knowingly — that's key — knowingly subject a poor kid like Bristol to this? Did McCain somehow not realize that all this attention might be, you know, unbelievably scarring to a kid in Bristol's situation? That it would create an unstoppable media frenzy that would emotionally wreak havoc on a young, vulnerable girl? McCain likes to talk about Barack Obama being the world's biggest celebrity, but he is now officially responsible for launching an unwed pregnant teenage Alaskan into the top 10.

It's true that thousands of people open their lives to reality shows for the promise of fame and prizes, but this isn't a reality show. This is the struggle for the future of our country and the world, with billions of lives in the balance. And the thought that a presidential candidate would pull a pregnant teenager into the world's brightest spotlight absolutely incenses me.

McCain's campaign has stated: “The children of candidates do not choose to run for office and be thrust into the spotlight.” That is absolutely true. It was John McCain who decided that Bristol Palin would be "thrust into the spotlight" when he picked her mom to be his VP. To think that this would not happen shows an inconceivable lack of judgment so vast that it dwarfs the known universe. If McCain actually believed that picking Sarah Palin would not cause enormous emotional distress on Bristol Palin in her condition, he not only deserves to be kept far away from The Button, but away from any decision that requires the well-being of any person. McCain is not just out of touch with Americans, he's out of touch with humanity.

John McCain has been wrong on issue after issue, but for some reason, this takes the cake. And I don't mean the one he was spoonfeeding to George W. Bush while Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans three years ago. Only a monster would do this to a pregnant 17 year old. It's incomprehensible. It's unconscionable. It's unforgivable.

Tagged as: barack obama, john mccain, sarah palin, bristol palin

Jonathan Kim blogs under the name DJK. He is a Co-Producer at Brave New Films. He co-produces the Fox Attacks series and blogs for the bravenewfilms.org and foxattacks.com websites.