Sarah Palin's family roadshow

Early September, 2008

“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."

The Palins said that Bristol would marry a man they identified only as Levi, a Wasilla resident. “Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child."

The Palins’ statement arrived after a flurry of rumours had made their way through the Internet over that weekend, growing and blooming, it seemed, by the minute.

Some claimed that Sarah Palin had not actually given birth to Trig, but that Bristol had, and that the family had covered it up.

The McCain campaign said Ms. Palin announced Bristol’s pregnancy to stop the swirl of rumours.

These were the reactions of some Sarah Palin's supporters at the time:

“She’s real, and she’s been there. She has got five kids, and some of them are bound to have problems. That is just normal life.”

Another said she now felt more connected to Sarah Palin. “Now she’s a typical American family. On an individual level, every single person is thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, that has happened to me or someone I know or I’m afraid it will.’ ”

11 March, 2009

Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin, the teenage daughter of Gov. Sarah Palin, have broken off their engagement, Levi said Wednesday, about 2 1/2 months after the couple had a baby.

Now Levi's sister, Mercede, is telling all exclusively to Star and the picture she paints of life in Wasilla, Alaska is not a pretty one. Bristol, 18, has virtually cut Levi out of the life of their two-month-old son Tripp.

"Levi tries to visit Tripp every single day, but Bristol makes it nearly impossible. She tells him he can't take the baby to our house because she doesn't want him around 'white trash'!"

Supporters' reactions:

"God bless the Palin family. Everyone in the MSM and some elitists in our side, like to look down upon the family."

"Because the Palin family is so strong, Bristol will never fall through the cracks. This why strong families are SO important to the future of America".

"Should Bristol have been more cautious, sure, but it's very hard in a culture suffused with sex, 24/7; if the schools are set on providing a values free environment, even in a small town like Wasilla."

"The Palins are a good family and deserves kudos for doing the right thing and keeping the baby. They should not be held responsible for the father of Bristol's baby."

"Sarah did not use her daughter. Her daughter got pregnant outside of wedlock. It happens all the time these days."

14 March, 2009

Alaska governor Sarah Palin strode through the produce section of Juneau's Fred Meyer supermarket Saturday morning, smiling and waving with an entourage of youngsters in tow.

"These are my children, Willow, Piper and Trig," Palin told an excited group of Girl Scouts. Then Palin, 45, motioned to a baby bundled in a hoodie, held and bottle-fed by Piper. "And this is my grandbaby Tripp," she said of the infant son of her daughter Bristol, 18.

"He's only 2-months-old. It's kind of surreal!," she added.

Palin was taking a break from governing the nation's largest state to help Juneau's Girl Scout Troop 32 sell cookies after the group lost all for their previous proceeds in a robbery the week before. "I read about it in the newspaper and I said, 'Well, me and the kids have an hour on Saturday, let's go down and help,'" she explained. "This age is so precious."

Missing from the Palin family group was Bristol, in the news after her split with Tripp's father Levi Johnston, 19. There's no mystery, though. "Oh, Bristol is over at the state capitol building golfing in a miniature golf tournament," Palin told PEOPLE. "It's a fundraiser and she's up there taking my place while I'm here."

"Bristol is doing great, just great!," Palin said.


Sarah Palin makes such a great effort to present her family as normal, yet there's this strange feeling that they belong in the Jerry Springer show...

UPDATE: Levi speaks out about the break-up.
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