Is it possible Johnston found out he was engaged just this past week? Perhaps McCain's advisors informed him of the happy news.

It's not even politically damaging anymore. Shit, citizens of The United States of Walmart are going to look at this whole sorry clusterfuck as proof that the Republican Party is the party of "Real Folks". Nothing like a shotgun wedding to bring people together.

Meanwhile, anyone who points out that this kind of fucked-up situation is the natural undesirable byproduct of an abstinence-only anti-birth control agenda will immediately be painted as an Elitist Liberal who doesn't believe "Real Folks" should be allowed in the halls of power.

This is the tack the Repubs are going to take. Thwarting it requires Logic, Reason and more than 15 seconds to lay out everything that is wrong with these people.

don't you get it man? This is ABSOLUTELY relevant. This could kill McCain's candidacy in a week. This is the kind of thing that destroys a candidate. It may or may not in this case, but it's absolutely central to the War Room concept.

He's a hick. He's already delivered on all you can expect from him.

anyone care to bet that Bristol's wedding to Levi will be scheduled for AFTER the election?

Bristol will not be marrying this hormone-addled loser, that much you can take to the bank, unless Palin is even more cruel than circumstances to date suggest.

And her kid? well. Bristol's "choice" to keep the baby may change after the election. It'll be over before she has her child. although, I'm guessing Palin would keep the kid and raise it in her family rather than adopt it out..that said, knowing good, old Levi is the father might be just a tad annoying.

This is so great, I can't believe it. America LOVES soap operas. This is all anyone will be talking about. GOP, party of cheap melodrama. Democrats, party of gravitas and leadership. That's how it's looking right now.

I would lile to fuck that little potty mouthed bastard's girlfriend's mom. I hate her, but she is such a MILF.

"Ya f--- with me I'll kick [your] ass"

I wonder if this includes would-be in-laws who try to force him down the aisle.

Should be an interesting wedding.

Just taken on its own merit--without this kid's assocation with the political family--the kid looks like a total tool. I know lots of 17-year-olds and most of them are bright, thoughtful, and...well, better than that. Gross. I wouldn't want to know him.

To echo some of you, I'm not sure where all this sanctimony (we shouldn't talk about the family!) is coming from: if there was a unwed teenage pregnancy anywhere in the Obama/Biden families, the right would be crowing about it without cease. Obama was right in distancing himself, his campaign shouldn't say anything...but why are we above it? Too bad we liberals feel guilt even about some nice juicy gossip.

If this type of information is being posted on War Room, then I think the concept of War Room has really changed. As I saw it, War Room used to be about relevance - every piece seemed to set the terms of the debate in some way.

I don't know what the concept is now, but I think I preferred the old concept.

No, I don't think it's time to back off at all.

The Christianist right has been ruining people's lives, trashing people's reputations, and digging into everyone's dirty laundry for some time now. Now that one of theirs is getting the same treatment, it's time to back off?

I think it's time to slap them down -- hard. We don't just need to win in November. We need a landslide. We need 60 votes in the Senate before we can even start to undo the damage those un-American, un-Christian zealots have done to our country.

Social conservatives are very quick and very relentless to pass judgement and and directives on how everyone else should live their lives. Palin was an elected official who ran on a very socially conservative platform that sought to legislate her socially conservative beliefs. she put her own personal life and her family situation up for public scrutiny and discussion when she sought to push her views onto the lives of everyone else.

has hit rock bottom by electing and re-electing an illiterate cokehead, this comes along. Is anybody ready for the triumph of White Trash Barbie and Skinhead Ken?

This entire family crawled out from under a rock. Even Alabama wouldn't elect this woman. Only in the Great White Trash North could this crew be seen as leadership material.

This is just so perfect on so many levels. One hardly knows where to begin.

Two things come to mind though:

1) that my-space page is probably already gone.

2) this is all anyone will be talking about this week. McCain just fried up his own convention.

there will be lots of high-minded blather about how "we should be talking about the ISSUES..." but the noise will all be about Bristol and her neanderthal boyfriend.

I feel for the girl. Not for anyone else though. McCain, Palin, McCain's team..they deserve every last ounce of this shit. They made this bed. They get to lie in it.

It really is amazing to me that McCain and his team are so out of touch with reality that they couldn't see this coming the moment Palin told them her daughter was pregnant. And McCain picked her anyway. All to stick it to Obama for that great speech.

McCain = loser-boy

We get it, she has an irresponsible teenage daughter. So do a lot of people.

More and more it's looking like today or tomorrow will be Sarah Palin's last day as a Vice Presidential candidate. No matter how you feel about her political views, no doubt her withdrawl will be devastating on her and her family. I wouldn't wish that kind of public pain and humiliation on anyone.

So lets knock it off. We've won, by like 20 points.