It had to happen. A bidding war erupted for the first pictures of Bristol Palin’s baby. The latest Internet reports indicate that she made an agreement with a magazine to put out the first pictures of the newborn. The deal is said to have been finalized at $300,000, after bidding started at $100,000.

Little Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston became the center of attention when his grandmother, Alaska governor Sarah Palin announced that her teenage daughter, 18-year old Bristol was pregnant. This was just three days after John McCain named her as his running mate.

Sarah Palin herself has become something of a fixture in pop culture, thanks in part to being repeatedly spoofed on Saturday Night Live. I suppose media interest in the newborn will continue for some time, especially since his grandmother’s future political aspirations are still unknown. Tripp’s father, apprentice electrician Levi Johnston may have to prepare himself for celebrity style media scrutiny.

At any rate, Bristol Palin has joined a pretty elite group which includes Brad and Angelina, although their offer would be nowhere near those of mainstream celebrities. So what’s next for Sarah Palin’s daughter, and indeed the governor herself? Can they shine the spotlight on the issue of teenage pregnancy in a way that has never been done before?

Or is it, as the family claimed during the campaign, a private issue that they have to deal with on their own? There are so many sides to this argument. Some may say that as long as the baby is being born into a supportive home then it’s not big a deal. An unwed teenage mother who is jobless and finds herself pregnant might be looked at a bit differently. Undoubtedly she would place a burden on taxpayers, and that is just one aspect of this often debated issue.

Anyway this represents a good head start for little Tripp’s future, financially I mean. Hopefully at some point the interest will die down and he will be allowed to have a normal life. After all, his mom is not the celebrity in the family. That honor belongs to grandma, who will no doubt be able to share interesting campaign stories in the future.

If there is one thing you can count on in Hollywood, it’s that you can never tell when you’re getting the real story. Have all the celebrity magazines reached their cap when it comes to shelling out the big bucks for baby photos? Or has the slow economy put a temporary halt to making deals with celebrities for baby pics?

Well I guess that depends on who you believe, and of course if you’re a fan or not. Reports online suggest that Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz have so far been unable to get any magazines interested in buying pictures of oddly monikered, Bronx Mowgli. A source, yes ’sources’ seem to be everywhere, has revealed that “Pete and Ashlee have approached every single celebrity magazine with offers to sell their first photos, but nobody wants them.” Then the source added for good measure “Covers of them tend not to sell well.”

However the Fall Out Boy member has denied all of this on his Website. He wrote “Truth is, like every celeb couple, we were offered mounds and mounds of money by mags from here to Guam to pimp out the baby. We just don’t want to go down that road with him.” It must have occurred to him that some people might take that as a slight to Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. He added “We are not placing judgment on those that do as they often use the money in a very charitable way. However, we have made the decision not to sell Bronx’s baby pictures right now.”

To sell or not to sell, I guess that’s a question many new celeb parents struggle with. The intense curiosity of fans and the actions of paparazzi could put the baby at risk as they scramble to get that first shot. That’s probably part of the reason why some celebs decide to sell the photos to certain magazines. If in fact the couple has decided it’s not in their best interests right now, I can certainly respect that.

New mom Ashlee Simpson meanwhile could be heard recently gushing about motherhood and her new baby on her blog. “Motherhood is the most fantastic experience I have ever been thru,” the proud new mom wrote. “Bronx makes me laugh and smile everyday!” Well said.