海角大神

Palin daughter鈥檚 pregnancy stirs GOP convention

But delegates say pregnancy humanizes the nominee for vice president.

If there鈥檚 one thing everyone can agree on about Sarah Palin, John McCain鈥檚 choice of running mate, it鈥檚 that she is one busy woman.

She is governor of Alaska, now running for vice president, and is raising five children, including a special-needs baby. On the first day of the convention, Ms. Palin and her husband disclosed that their 17-year-old daughter is five months pregnant, and will have the baby, and marry the father.

In the past, the typical view of social conservatives would have been that Palin should be at home with her family. But social scientists have found that this attitude has shifted in the last 15 years or so, says Jim Guth, an expert on the politics of 海角大神 conservatives at Furman University in Greenville, S.C.

鈥淎mong religious conservatives, there may be some kind of notion that a mother鈥檚 place is in the home, but that鈥檚 pretty well disappeared [from] reality,鈥� Professor Guth says. 鈥淢ost 海角大神 conservatives are in the workforce. They understand that they have to be in the workforce and others like them have to be in the workforce. It鈥檚 a modern reality.鈥�

Guth notes that the view of acceptable roles for fathers has also expanded and that in the Palins鈥� case, as her political career has soared, her husband has taken on more of the family duties.

Survey data bear out the shift in attitudes. In 1987, a Pew Research Center survey found that only 25 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of white evangelical Protestants completely disagreed with this statement: 鈥淲omen should return to their traditional roles in society.鈥�

In 2007, the numbers had shifted to 41 percent and 42 percent. Among Americans overall, the number rose from 29 percent to 51 percent.
James Dobson, head of Focus on the Family, an influential 海角大神 conservative organization, has long asserted that mothers should be at home, but even he has embraced the selection of Palin and now says he鈥檒l vote for the GOP ticket.

Gary Bauer, head of the group American 海角大神, is also enthusiastic about Palin. 鈥淪he will do more to promote the values of conservative pro-family people by making the sacrifices that come with this kind of government service鈥� than by staying at home, says Mr. Bauer, who ran for president in 2000.

Monday鈥檚 revelation that Palin鈥檚 daughter Bristol is pregnant stunned conventiongoers and took McCain鈥檚 campaign even farther away from its message 鈥� that Democrat Barack Obama is not ready to lead 鈥� than did hurricane Gustav.

鈥淥bviously, it鈥檚 not what these energized delegates want to hear,鈥� says Susan MacManus, a political scientist from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Reaction among delegates has been twofold, she says: First, they wish they had been told up front about the pregnancy so they would not be blindsided. Second, they surmise that the situation humanizes Palin even more, as she and her family deal with an issue many American families face.

Bristol Palin鈥檚 decision to have the baby comports with the antiabortion views of many delegates here, so given the alternative, there is a good-news element to the story. But the pregnancy also puts the spotlight on Sarah Palin鈥檚 support for abstinence-only sex education, which opposes discussion of birth control for teens.

The news also reopened the question of how closely John McCain had vetted Palin before selecting her as his running mate, a move that surprised the political world last Friday. Now word that the McCain campaign dispatched a dozen staffers to Alaska last week, allegedly to continue investigating Palin鈥檚 background, has raised more questions.

The McCain campaign maintains that Palin was vetted as fully as the other potential running mates. 鈥淭he team sent to Anchorage last week was the communications jump team, set up for whoever the pick was, to integrate their world into ours,鈥� a top McCain official told Politico.com.

McCain officials also say Palin told them about her daughter鈥檚 pregnancy before her selection as running mate. 鈥淢any American families have experiences like this,鈥� Mark Salter, a top McCain aide, said to reporters Monday. 鈥淯nfortunately, it has to play out in the public spotlight.鈥�

The real challenge for Palin will come with press interviews about policy, says Dante Scala, a political scientist at the University of New Hampshire, Durham.

鈥淗ow ready is she for that?鈥� he asks. 鈥淪he can pass vetting but still foul up on foreign policy. That will play a lot more than [Monday鈥檚] news.鈥�

For now, GOP delegates continue to applaud the choice of Palin despite, even because of, her pregnant daughter. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just another reason that I think she鈥檚 great, because that pregnancy could be terminated very easily without anybody knowing, but again, they chose life,鈥� says Valerie Citrano of Crawford, Texas, alluding to the fact that Palin chose to give birth to her son, Trig, knowing he was diagnosed in utero with Down syndrome.

Mary Knox Merrill contributed to this report.