Original Post:
I sheepishly admit I've been keeping an eye on the unfolding drama around Bristol Palin, her new baby and the is-he-or-isn't-he-the-daddy MOH recipient Dakota Meyer. To bring you up-to-date, Bristol announced via Instagram on December 24 that her daughter Sailor Grace had been born the the day before:
The same day, Meyer issued a tweet that would appear to claim paternity:
Best Christmas present ever!! I couldn't be more proud of this little blessing. pic.twitter.com/xCRi8oESRx
— Dakota Meyer (@Dakota_Meyer) December 24, 2015
Meyer filed for joint custody of the baby, which apparently includes the possibility of child support from Bristol to Dakota. Sarah Palin responded by slamming him in a statement to Entertainment Tonight, saying that he was just trying to save face (and misspelling his name in the process;) Bristol's publicist stated that "My values are such that a real American hero doesn't ask for child support," to which Meyer's attorney responded that he didn't request child support, and someone leaked legal paperwork showing that a paternity test will be done before anything further can happen. Got that? Are you still with me?
The Daily Mail has the details. I have a media literacy reminder about the click-bait headline, which says "Dakota Meyer's custody battle with Bristol Palin escalates as he is forced to take a PATERNITY TEST..." Note that it's not Bristol who is forcing him to take the test, it's just a required part of the process when the parents are not married to each other. (Conspiracy-minded Palin haters are salivating at the thought that Bristol Palin "forced" the DNA test, because it indicates more than one sexual partner.)
It's not a pretty picture, frankly, for a "family values conservative," which Sarah Palin claims to be, and not very dignified for a former VP candidate who at one point had a legitimate shot at serving as this nation's Vice President. (This is Bristol's scandal, of course, not Sarah's, but Sarah made her five children a big part of her political identity. It's not surprising that when there are scandals involving her children, some of the fallout lands on their mother.) As I was pondering all this, I remembered that Palin isn't the first VP candidate to endure a scandal based on out-of-wedlock sex and an illegitimate child. Her predecessor in the role did too. That would be John Edwards, who was John Kerry's running mate in 2004 and found himself in his own messy and undignified predicament 4 years later in 2008.
The most recent losing VP candidate, by-the-way, has followed a different path. As I wrote in an earlier post, after the loss in 2012, Paul Ryan went back to his day job in the House of Representatives and pretty much stayed out of the limelight. He certainly hasn't had any juicy sex scandals, and in fact, he's now the Speaker of the House, possibly the most powerful Republican in the country and second in line to the presidency. He was right there at the State of the Union last night and he and VP Biden at least appear to be playing nicely together.
Finally, there's this:
The story about the president offering to help if Beau Biden had to resign his job is moving, but I was even more touched by the affection the Obama and Biden families have for each other. I can't imagine that kind of love and affection between the McCains and the Palins after 7 years in office, can you?
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