Absolutely right that Obama should be hands off. The rest of us free thinking individuals may dig deeper. Here is my question for Mrs. Palin:

Mrs. Palin, if you believe in abstinence-only sex education, and you believe it is an effective method that is worth the taxpayers money to fund, why is your 17 year-old unmarried daughter pregnant?

Did your parents seek legislative power to force their own views on other people even though perhaps they did not live by their own views themselves?

That's why this is an issue.

This is getting good. We all know that regardless of the truth, once the MSM finds a narrative it can latch on to THAT is going to be the truth no matter what. And as the MSM begins to work the meme that McCain was too quick in his vetting or that the vetting process was flawed in one way or the other the implied message is that Palin is NOT a good vp pick.

First of all any problems Palin's daughter has are strictly her own and her mother's for putting her in the spotlight. Talk about callousness, it's the republicans that seem willing to use this girl despite her personal life.

Secondly its not about the daughter at all. Its about Palin and McCain and their desire to legislate morality and family values for OTHER people, thus their own examples of family values are legitimate items for scrutiny.

I completely agree that it should be off limits for campaigns. Considering the current state of the country and the further continuing damage should McCain become president, I welcome anything honest that keeps him from it.

In this case 'family values' is much more than if she had an abortion or not.

There is the little matter of Gov. Palin saying her daughter made the right choice about her pregnancy. This is a choice a McCain presidency would seek to deny to others.

There is also the matter Palin's and McCain's position on abstinence-only sex education and the ongoing argument as to its imaginary effectiveness. Questions now arise as to Palin's parenting on this issue. Despite her and McCain's willingness to spend tax payer dollars on religious-inspired abstinence-only sex education that while ineffectual as a preventative to pregnancy and std's, do work well in securing right-wing support and vote for like-minded candidates. Is that what you want your tax dollars spent on? Federal programs that actually make children stupider and less safe while securing more votes for republicans?

Yes, it is smart and commendable that the Obama campaign not pursue this, however the Media and the electorate should be extremely interested.

I think that though it needs to be handled gently it is totally valid to examine the family life of someone who runs on family values, specifically someone who would make LAWS that impact other people's families.

NYTimes article questions the vetting process used for Gov. Palin and questions the speed and timing of it.

To question whether the vetting process wasn't done well enough is to indirectly suggest she is not fit for the job.

Its valid to ask what you say but still given the political climate and the reality of MSM coverage, I wouldn't even go that far. Simply knowing that everyone knows that her daughter has had a teen out-of-wedlock pregnancy I would just ask her, what her positions are on sex-ed, birth-control and freedom of choice. Her answers can only betray her conservative 'values' or expose her hypocrisy without ever having to get 'dirty'.

I'm fully aware of how socially ostracized Obama's mother would have been. That's not my point.

Just saying Obama's positions do not make him a target for criticism or even just questioning on these particular issues, whereas Gov. Palin's do. When Mrs. Palin decided to make it her job to legislate (make it her job by her social positions) other people's morality, she put herself in a position that is not analogous to Obama's mother.

While I agree Mrs. Palin's daughter should be left alone (which is more than repub agents would do were positions reversed), because of her positions, her job and the job she is trying to get, it is totally valid to question Mrs. Palin herself on these social issues. And when questioning it need not even be mention that Mrs. Palin herself has seemingly failed to uphold these values within her family since it is now well known.

If however when being questioned Mrs. Palin brought her own family into it, then it would be fair to bring up her seeming failures.

Its not really a 'glass houses' issue for Obama re his own mother. Palin is a social conservative that got herself a job that gave her the power and authority to tell other people how to live their lives, and is seeking more power and authority to do the same while apparently not living up to the ideals she is attempting to force others to abide by through legistation.

Did Obama's mother do that?

This is how stupid/shallow the GOP thinks you are.

Not history. Palin is not the first woman to be a vp pick.

...that dems are classier than that? Remember the purple band-aids in 2004?

I would like think that given the stakes and the level of discourse and importance of what is going on, there is no need for 'nyah nyah!'

While you COULD be right, Alex, you could also be wrong. Lets wait to see if Obama ACTUALLY screws up before we jump all over his case for it, ok? thx.

Please don't degenerate into network-like filler news of no real merit. If you've got nothing to post, post nothing.

The threat itself was actionable. Threatening to shoot someone is a crime no matter who is doing the threatening nor whom is being threatened.