Bristol Palin, the nation’s most famous teen mom, introduced her son Tripp to the nation on Fox News on Monday night.

This is the  first interview with Bristol, and baby Tripp’s first appearance on TV. Bristol looks well for a new mom and aside from her nerves on camera, clearly adores two-month-old Tripp. He’s a gorgeous chubby baby who seemed to fall asleep on his mom during the interview. Aww.

Sarah Palin, Alaska’s governor (just in case you forgot) and Bristol’s mom, did her best to steal the show, but the message of the interview was Bristol’s unplanned pregnancy and teen motherhood.

She wanted to talk to other teenagers and hoped that they would learn from her.  While Bristol says that Tripp is “awesome” she also, in the words of a 18-year-old, “wished it could have happened in like, 10 years so I could have a job and an education and be, like, prepared and have my own house and stuff”.

On practical matters, she talks about how hard it is. She says that she’s “up all night” and that “it’s not glamorous at all”.  As for help, she says how blessed she is to have such a large family to help, and in particular how much Tripp’s paternal grandmother helps out with the baby. Levi Johnston is Tripp’s father, and apparently sees the baby every day.

And how much does Tripp’s other grandma help out? Bristol is a little cagey on that, but since she’s the governor of Alaska, I guess she’s somewhat busy with other things!

Conservative columnist and author Anne Coulter has a new book to promote, so she’s been on all the talk shows lately. Never one to shy away from controversial topics, and certainly never one to take the middle ground on an issue, this round of self-publicity has drawn the most fire over her opinions on single mothers. Single mothers, according to Anne,  raise rapists, strippers, runaways, and murderers, and are responsible for all of societies’ problems. Ironic then that she’s dressed as a call girl on the cover of the latest epic rant, Guilty: Liberal “Victims” and their attack on America.

I appreciate that Anne Coulter has worked out that the more controversy she generates, the more books she sells. But stirring up anger and resentment against a group of women who are by and large hardworking, nurturing, loving mothers, is doing society more harm than the very small minority of single moms who fit the stereotype that Coulter is peddling.  She keeps ranting, and encouraging people to vote for politicians who won’t fund programs to assist single moms with childcare, employment and healthcare, and single moms will continue to struggle and fall of the bottom of the ladder, and their children will suffer.

And what about the fathers who abandon their responsibilities, who number far in excess than neglectful single mothers?

It’s wrong to label every single one of the approximate one-third of American mothers who are raising kids without the children’s father in the home.

Many serial killers – Ted Bundy being the most notorious – have been raised by single mothers with absent fathers, but others like Jeffrey Dahmer, the Hillside Stranglers, and David Berkowitz, the “Son of Sam” were all raised by married couples.

And conversely, Barack Obama was raised by a single mom. John McCain divorced his first wife, leaving her with full custody of their one child and two adopted children. And Sarah Palin’s unwed daughter is now an mom to baby Tripp.

And there’s me too. Is my son is going to grow up to be a murderer, rapist or stripper? He just learned to take his pants off and as toddlers do, has great enthusiasm for demonstrating his new skill, so he seems to have the qualifications for the last one. He’s also very good at building block towers and can recognize letters and numbers so I think it’s more likely he’ll be in construction or some kind of regular job that defies Anne Coulter’s expectations.

Coulter was on The View on Monday, getting into it with Whoopi Goldberg in particular, herself a single mom. If you’d like to fling something heavy at the computer or worship her outspokeness, you can catch it again on YouTube.

What do you think?

I’m so jealous of the French. Their politicians are just so much more exciting than ours. I adore president-elect Barak Obama but I can’t imagine he’s going to be embroiled in any kind of scandal that seems to be a requirement of any French cabinet minister – or President. First there was President Nicolas Sarkozy and his new wife, glamorous model Carla Bruni, for whom he dumped his wife and the mother of his children. Pregnancy rumors have been buzzing around the couple since they were first seen together, but so far, France’s First Lady does not seem to be having France’s First Baby.

And now, France’s justice minister, Rachida Dati, gave birth on Friday to a baby girl, Zohra. Brushing aside regular mom concerns like resting while pregnant, and maternity leave, 43-year-old Rachida worked throughout her pregnancy and plans to take only a week of maternity leave. Incidentally, France has one of the world’s most generous maternity leave programs, giving moms up to three years of paid maternity leave, tax breaks and subsidized child care.  If I get pregnant, I’m booking tickets to Paris!!

Miss Dati is at the center of France’s second high government soap opera because she refuses to name her baby’s father. Possible candidates include a French millionaire casino owner, the former president of another European country, and the younger brother of president Sarkozy.

There’s also fuss and bother over an upcoming cabinet reshuffle this month, with rumors that Rashida will be loosing her position, and the obvious question: would it be because she had a baby?  She’s reportedly working from her hospital bed, and taking less than a week of maternity leave signals obvious devotion to her job.

Her position is much more influential and significant than mine, so even though I quit work for a year after my son was born, I respect her decision to get back to her desk as soon as possible.

In 2009, more women than ever hold positions of power in governments around the world. We almost had a mom-of-5 and grandmother of one for our vice president. But what do you think about women with such important jobs having babies? Should they not have children so they can concentrate on their work, or should they be entitled to a break and maternity leave, with no penalty, as most of us are legally entitled? Or is the right thing to do somewhere in the middle?

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.

On Sunday, the Palin and Johnston families welcomed baby Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston. Bristol Palin, 18, is the oldest daughter of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, the former running mate of Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The baby was born in Palmer, Alaska, and weighed 7 lb., 4 oz. Both mother and son are healthy and recovering well.

Bristol has not yet completed high school but is working on her diploma through correspondence courses. Her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, recently left school and is apprenticing to become an electrician. According to an interview in October with Levi, and recent reports from his mother, the young parents plan to wed this coming year and raise Tripp together.

Baby Tripp’s birth was at first confirmed by Bristol’s grandaunt, Colleen Jones, and was soon reported by People magazine. The families are all very excited about the new arrival, though the governor’s office considers the birth a private family matter and will not release information.

Bristol Palin’s pregnancy made headlines in a year full of news for many reasons, not the least of which was her age. In an era when it is sometimes easier to speak your convictions than it is to practice them, Sarah Palin reaffirmed her opposition to abortion in two ways when she not only knowingly bore a child with Down’s Syndrome (a decision lauded by some and criticized by others), but also gave her unconditional support to her unwed, pregnant teenage daughter.

At the time of the announcement, the governor and then-vice presidential candidate did not disclose the identity of the baby’s father. But his mother, Sherry L. Johnston, told the press it was her son that fathered the child. (Ms. Johnston recently made news of her own when she was arrested on drug charges related to prescription painkiller, OxyContin.)

I write this article hesitantly, knowing that Tripp’s birth is news, yet wondering why. It has been a tiring and emotional year for the Palin family, I’m sure. Few of us have to live under the scrutinizing eye of the American people. Of course, anyone who willingly enters public service knows this will happen. Still, it can’t be easy to have all of your decisions be a matter of dinner conversation. Conservatives wondered if a woman whose daughter was pregnant could be as conservative as she claimed. Liberals worried that if she became vice-president she would restrict American access to abortion. No matter how you feel about her politics or personality, I don’t see how anyone can disagree that Sarah Palin kept her composure well under tremendous pressures at work, unexpected difficulties at home, and unrelenting attacks and mockery from her critics. I’m glad that her first grandchild was born after the circus we called an election is over. Considering the silence echoing from her office, I hope that means she is taking the opportunity to just sit and enjoy her family. At a time of year when we all try to remember to be at peace and forget our differences, perhaps you can take a moment to wish her well and say a prayer for Bristol, Sarah, and all of the family.

I’m not voting today. I wish I could, but although I live in America, I’m not a US citizen so I’m not eligible to vote here. And I live in a swing state so I’d dearly love to go and vote, I’m going out and knocking on doors and helping in my local campaign office.

You might think it’s nothing to do with me, but I live here and even if I didn’t, the whole world is watching the elections. The headline on almost every major world newspaper’s website is about the US elections. What America does affects the rest of the world so everyone cares who wins tonight, because America’s foreign policy makes an enormous difference to people all around the globe. The US economy is the largest in the world and as the old adage goes, when America sneezes, the whole world catches a cold.

Parenting is in large part setting a good example. Voting is so important and I’ll be taking my son to vote in my home country, next election, or at least have him help me mail in my postal ballot. Maybe next election I’ll have made citizenship and I will be able to vote: now that’s exciting!

If you are eligible to vote, and if this is your first election with a baby, our blogger VAMomma has an excellent guide to voting with children in tow.

And many businesses are offering sweet rewards to those who vote. Starbucks is giving a free coffee to voters, and Ben and Jerry’s are giving free ice cream to everyone on Tuesday evening. Krispy Kreme are giving free star-shaped donut to voters. So don’t forget to pick up your “I Voted” sticker at the polls!

So will you be up watching the results come in tonight? Did you vote already? And perhaps the most important question: what flavor of Ben and Jerry’s are you going to get?

Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Transportation in the UK, announced that she would be stepping down from her position to spend more time with her family.

She has four children, all aged under 10. She’s been a Member of Parliament, the British equivalent of a member of the House of Representatives, since before her children were born. She said that “it had not been an easy decision” to leave the her position but she said it was time to put her family first. “It is time just to take a step back and repay [my family] for the support that they have given me over the years,” she said.

Which naturally makes me think of the most famous female politician at the moment: Sarah Palin. The mom of five, and soon-to-be Grandmother, will be our next Vice President if the Republican party wins the election in November.

Aside from my opinion on her political views (let’s say we disagree on many things) I don’t doubt that she has the capability to do the job as well as any man, and I have a lot of respect for her ability to be a Governor and a mom.

But how would she cope with an incredibly demanding job, and still spend any kind of time with her family? Something has got to give.

Maybe me, and everyone else who have commented on this, are all being sexist? No-one would think twice about the ability of a man with five children to do the same job.

I believe that women can do just about anything men can do, and I hope we have a female President or Vice President. But is Sarah Palin the right one? Her youngest son, Trig, has Down Syndrome, and if anyone is going to suffer, that five month-old baby is. He needs his mother.

What do you think? If Sarah Palin does become Vice President, do you think her family will suffer? How do you think she will be able to spend time on her job and with her family? And does it affect your decision of who to vote for?

For those readers who are relatively new to my posts at Babies Online (and probably think I have a severe spelling problem for my excessive usage of the letter “u” in words such as labour or humour), I am a Canadian. And while our country does not tend to receive as much international attention as our neighbours (see, there’s that “u” again) to the south, we are also looking at an election this fall.

This past week, the Conservative Party (the one currently in power, although with a minority government), began running television commercials in an attempt to portray their leader (and current Canadian Prime Minister), Stephen Harper as a doting family man, a wonderful father who loves his kids and is an attentive parent.

Sarah Palin’s selection as a candidate for vice president created a flurry of activity in the media, mostly centered around her family and especially her skills as a mother in light of the unplanned teenage pregnancy of her daughter.

Perhaps I’m naive, or foolish, or just plain ignorant, but I fail to see the relevance of a person’s parenting skills when it comes to politics. My skills as an engineer are not predicated on my ability to play with my daughter, or give her a bath, or feed her. I would never mention that braiding the tails on a My Little Pony, or making a paper mache mask as skills I have developed on my resume. Yet, for some reason, when it comes to selecting a leader for our government, people feel that a person’s parenting skills, or their representation of the definition-elusive “family values”, somehow makes them a better candidate than their competitor.

Tell me what your policy is on funding for health care and education. Tell me where you stand on foreign policy issues such as the conflict in Iraq. Tell me what you will do about the environmental problems facing our world.

I really don’t care if you put lipstick on your pitbull (or whatever your point was).

Sources:
Nice before the nastiness via The National Post
Palin’s Family Has Always Held a Place in Her Politics via The Washington Post

Yesterday, Republican Vice-President candidate Sarah Palin announced that her unwed 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant.

Palin says that her daughter is planning to marry the baby’s father, and says “we’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents.”

Political analysts speculate that the choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate for John McCain in this November elections is for her strong pro-life, anti-abortion views.

Sarah has five children. Her youngest, Trig, born in April, has Down Syndrome. The family knew about Trig’s condition while she was pregnant.

The news was released partly because of internet rumors that baby Trig is actually Bristol’s son, and Sarah is raising him as her own to avoid a scandal. If Bristol is five months pregnant, and Trig was born in April, that’s all but impossible.

Conservatives are divided on whether the news is good or bad for the Republicans. Those against sex before marriage are criticizing Sarah and her family, while other praising Bristol’s decision to keep her baby and marry her partner.

Whatever you believe about abortion, Sarah and her family clearly stand behind their pro-life views.

Do you think that the news that Sarah Palin’s daughter is pregnant is bad news for the Republicans? Do you think that her daughter having sex before marriage sets a bad example, or is it no big deal in 2008?

I just read and update this morning about Alaska governor Sarah Palin and her newborn infant son Trig. Governor Palin, 42, gave birth to her 5th child April 18th. I was impressed with the fact that she was still on the job the day she gave birth! According to press, the Governor went into labor while attending a conference in Texas, and flew back to Alaska for the birth.

Shortly after the birth, a press release stated that the child had “special needs.” Governor Palin has now said that Trig has Down’s Syndrome, and that the doctor’s revealed the diagnosis during her fourth month of pregnancy. Down Syndrome is a birth defect cause by an extra chromosome and occurs in 1 out of every 100 births in women who conceive after the age of 40.

This story was very personal for me as I have 5 children myself. Two of my children have numerous handicaps and so I am aware of how a special needs child can incredibly change one’s life. Last week, my sister-in-law discovered that the child she miscarried had Down’s Syndrome as well. Parenting a special needs child is certainly a demanding job, although parenting in general is a demanding job as well. Despite her new job as a parent to a speical needs child, Governor Palin vows that she will still continue on in her role as Governor and that her new duties will not affect her work. I am impressed with her strength and tenacity! Although my personal decision was very different than hers(I chose to freelance from home instead of continuing on with my career), I wish her and her family the very best as they begin this new life journey.