If I understand this correctly, Passage House is but one outreach of Covenant House; thus the 1.1M reduction wasn't necessarily targeted at just the young mothers program.

If there is ANY angle of this pregnancy stuff that the Dems should touch with a ten foot pole, this is it.

Slightly off-topic, but check out the picture of a very pregnant Sarah Palin from an earlier pregnancy. Here's the link:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/charlotte-hilton-andersen/sarah-palin-bikini-pictur_b_123234.html

The announcement of Bristol Palin's pregnancy has completely quieted the earlier rumors about Sarah's new baby actually belonging to Bristol. But based on the photo, it seems to me that Sarah's recent pregnancy would have been obvious well before she announced it at seven months. And then Sarah gave birth to a 6+ pound baby after just eight months.

Just saying. (By the way, the bikini picture is photoshopped.)

Look, it's all consistent as long as we agree on what they want: no more sex. No more f&*(ing.

Duh.

I suspect that any interviews that might come later on will be as tightly scripted and supervised as the speech she gives tonight.

She'll receive only one iron-clad instruction: "Just look pretty and say what we tell you and everything will be all right."

This may prevent any more immediate gaffes on her part but over time her responses will become as trite and repetitive as McCain's have already become. Not a good situation for her but what other choice do they really have?

Over at the WP comment section the spin is that (1) this is actually still three times what CH got from the government the previous year and (2) it's money for new facilities, not operational expenses. Of course, (2) makes (1) entirely irrelevant -- apples to oranges.

Hypocrisy knows no bounds in this matter.

Earlier this year, in fact around the time when the birth of Trig and the pregnancy of her daughter occurred, the younger sisters of Brittany Spears and Lindsey Lohan were revealed to be pregnant.

The gnashing of teeth and wailing about the decline of morals and parental failings were all over the conservative media.

A few months later, the daughter of the VP candidate is reveled to be pregnant. It is now a time for celebration. No hypocrisy there--it's now a sterling example of how a family should work.

Don't ever forget, these people act as though they believe life begins at conception and ends at birth.

I wonder if anyone noticed the date of birth for the Palin daughter and the teenage father, and the current statutory rape laws in Alaska?

http://blog.laborlawtalk.com/2006/10/18/alaska-statutory-rape-laws/

In addition, Alaska statutory rape laws declare that anyone who is 18 years old or older who has sex with a person who is 16 or 17, or who is at least three years younger than the offender, can be charged with sexual abuse in the third degree. This is also a felony.

Not looking to destroy the kid but it just amazes me that conservatives and so “cool� with this.

and here is where Obama was wrong to declare Bristol's pregnancy off-limits. Its the hypocrisy, stupid. Its the "I cant recall how many homes I own" out-of-touchness.

it is easy for the Palin's, with means and power, to provide Bristol and baby a home. of course other teen moms who aren't lucky enough to be a Palin? aw, the hell with 'em.

again I ask: what family values?

Have we dealt with the "Our daughter choose to have her baby", a choice Palin would deny every other woman in America?

Oh, yah, we have.

Doesn't she oppose the use of condoms and birth control even within the bonds of marriage?

Ask her about that.

Thanks Steve - I've hammering this all day. She needs to be asked about this. Alaska is awash in oil revenues. Palin couldn't find just a little bit of money to throw to those in need? Disgraceful.

There are 18yr olds in prison right now for having consensual sex with 16y/o girls...yet here is Palin parading the father around as a family values representative...doing the right thing etc. They hypocrisy here stinks. Palin doesn't care about the unwed pregnant mother's plight when it is someone else's child, only her own. Leave it to McCain to pick another hypocrite phony to add to his gutter campaign. No national health care plan but instead creationism. How pathetic that republicans are only concerned with their own self interests and not the public welfare. Slashing funding for a social service while claiming to support that service is par for the course. I find the entire McCain campaign insulting, particularly their lobbyists handlers.

OK, this is not going anywhere. Sure, she didn't expand funding, and she gave Covenant House only 80% of what they asked, but it's still quite an increase over the actual budgeted amount for the previous year if those reports of $1.1 million the previous year are true.

Nice gotcha, but flawed. Hopefully the Obama campaign continues being as careful and effective in their claims, because some of the stuff being floated in the media and the blogosphere is weak.

She's stonewalling on Troopergate now. Somehow I'm not surprised.

We can leave Bristol's name out of the questions at this point because, frankly, everyone not living in a cave has heard the story. When we ask, "Tell me, Governor, why did you cut funding for a program to help pregnant teenagers who aren't lucky enough to have strong family support?" everyone will know why we're asking the question.

We can avoid attacking the kid while making Palin explain why she's willing to let her policies hurt other people's children.

It appears that "family values" are optional for the righteous. I'll bet if creationism was taught daily in schools, the Lordy-Gourdy-Grape could dramatically reduce teen pregnancy.

Let me be clear: we don't need to be sniffing around Bristol Palin's panties to criticise her mother's dangerous ideology and actions. It just makes Gov Palin's glaring hypocrisy that much more tangible.

If Bristol Palin's name were Latifah and she lived in Harlem, she'd be called a dirty slut and a welfare queen and the Rethugs would be lamenting the downfall of society. But because she's pretty white christian wealthy Republican family Bristol Palin, she's being held up as a moral pillar of righteousness for "choosing life." Meanwhile girls who are in her exact same situation, minus the white skin and stable financial support system, are thrown to the wolves because of the circumstances of their own births.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Republican.

(If her name were Malia Obama or heck, if this had been Chelsea Clinton in the 1990's, the Clintons and the Obamas would have been positively crucified.)

I agree it appears hypocritical, but one would have to dig further to determine if it really is. As a poster above said, maybe what got slashed didn't affect the teen mother's program. Or maybe whoever wrote the budget high-balled it and Palin was being *reasonably* thrifty. How many teen mothers who need this sort of assistance are there in Alaska? Was there an outcry from the program because they're strapped for funds? Did that money go to another cause? Was it worthy? Etc.

It smells fishy, but we can't accuse her of hypocrisy without more info. I think it behooves us all not to give the McCain crew any more ammo - they're already being pretty aggressive with their librul media push-back. It's true they'll just make up stuff to complain about anyway, but better they make it up than us handing them something legitimate.

The topic no one is talking about in this race is intelligence - Democrats have it and the Republicans don't. Period.

I know Rush Limbaugh and his ilk have made it unfashionable and "elitist" to be intelligent, but when I was growing up I, and many others, believed that the president and vice president should be the best and the brightest this country had to offer. That sure doesn't seem to be the case these days. Look at what eight years of having a moron in the White House have given this country.

When the next president sits down across the table from Dmitri Medvedev or Nicholas Sarkozy, it won't matter how much time they spent in a Vietnamese prison cell or whether they can cook a mooseburger or not. What will matter is how much depth and breadth of knowledge and intellectual firepower they bring to the table.

The facts are this: In this complex and diverse world, John McCain and Sarah Palin are simply too stupid to run this country.

If she ever submits to an interview, perhaps someone can ask her.

Emphasis mine. She may well be the only VP candidate that NEVER submits to a one on one interview.

Steve Benen wrote: "If she ever submits to an interview, perhaps someone can ask her."

The suggestion that Sarah Palin should be questioned in an interview with the press is sexist and beyond the bounds of acceptable discourse.

Hypocrisy, thy name is ...Palin.

Was this a cut or a reduction in increase?

But you keep telling us that unborn babies are SO important that the government should take any steps necessary to make sure that no woman has an abortion, ever. Palin herself says that she wants to change our nation's laws so every abortion is illegal except to save the life of the mother.

Are you now saying that unborn babies aren't really all that important and we shouldn't spend money on them that could be used elsewhere? That a program that helps teenage mothers keep their babies and not have abortions is something that can be cut at the governor's pleasure? After all, I thought you were saving innocent lives -- isn't an innocent life saved worth that measly $1 million? Where are your priorities?

Here's some much needed context to the Covenent House funding/line item veto issue:

Our House is Full – But the Need is Growing

As the state’s largest youth shelter, Covenant House Alaska is a place of refuge for kids all across the state – kids who don’t feel safe at home. Last year alone, Covenant House Alaska served over 3,100 youth – a 15 percent increase from 2006. In fact, Covenant House Alaska Crisis Center has experienced a 58% increase in our average daily census over 3 years, download a copy of our FY07 Number of Youth Served Fact Sheet.

Of these kids, many were dealing with mental illness, substance abuse issues, and lack of affordable housing. They came from all over the state, as well as a diverse range of backgrounds. For example, 39 percent were Alaska Native, 42 percent were female, 52 percent were male. And 100 percent were 20 years old or younger.

Every year, we take in more kids like these and, now, our house is full. However, the need continues to grow. To make sure Alaska’s kids have someplace to go, we are looking to build a new home – and you can help. To learn more about this important project, download a copy of our capital project summary.

To show your support, please consider making a donation to Covenant House Alaska. We also encourage you to contact Governor Sarah Palin or contact your legislator to voice your support for the much-needed services Covenant House provides.

We – and the kids we serve – thank you.

58% increase in our average daily census over 3 years... sounds like they needed the money. Thanks, David W.

Now, here's what Benen forgot to tell you: the amount the non-profit got from Palin is over three times what they got from all gov't sources combined in 2006. Don't believe what you read at Washington Monthly, TNR, or the Washington Post.

Pro-choicers say people like Palin "only give a damn about a woman and her baby until the moment that baby is born." That's not fair -- they usually oppose prenatal funding for poor women as well. They stop caring WAY before the baby is born!

Evidently some critics here who are against needed Covenent House funding aren't aware that Barack Obama supports such faith-based provision of social services. Hopefully Gov. Palin once she's back in Alaska next year will work with Obama and the White House to help get Covenent House the funding it needs to do it's mission.

What everyone fails to realize is that Palin's feminism credo is this: Keep 'em dumber than a doorpost, barefoot, and pregnant. It's sort of the 2008 edition of "Der Deutschen Mutter" promoted by the Third Reich.

Remember---she's trying to populate a new country so it can stave off the imminent threat of Putinism!

Now, here's what Benen forgot to tell you: the amount the non-profit got from Palin is over three times what they got from all gov't sources combined in 2006.

So they were supposed to serve 58% more people with the same amount of funding?

I know Republicans are bad with math, but I would like an explanation as to how Covenant House was supposed to cover 58% more people with the same amount of funding as the year before.

I guess that Palin and the repugs are the only ones to "choose" to have the baby. Why are they the only ones to have a choice in these situations?? Everyone should have this choice and if they choose to keep - fine. If they choose adoption - fine. If they choose termination - fine. It is personal and a choice to be made by the girl. As Palin had a choice - does this mean she is pro-choice - I think so!

As Palin had a choice - does this mean she is pro-choice - I think so!

Yeah, any choice she approves of.

As I expected, the "it's really a funding increase" folks made it here right on schedule. Just ignore the fact that money for operational expenses and money for building new facilities aren't comparable. For all we know Alaska contributed nothing toward program expenses and just this $3.9M (vs. $5M the legislature approved and $10M Covenant House requested) for the building project.

They're comparing two unrelated numbers -- and they call themselves the party of business.

Mnemosyne,

Ignore the money problems. It's all just in your head. Phil Gramm said so.

Ignore the poor. They don't exist. The RNC said so.

Problem solved!

Orwell, MaryL,

It was a cut from the budget the state congress passed using the line item veto. Which is exactly what Steve said it was. Reading are fun.

Oh, and I seem to remember the right wing flipping out about the line item veto in the nineties. Guess it's okay for Palin but not for Clinton.

Four years ago, Bush fans would respond to complaints with extremely circuitous explanations, or they'd just ignore basic facts. It's interesting - but not surprising - to see BHO's followers do the same thing. See the previous link, compare it to what you're being told, and then decide whether you want to believe what those people tell you in the future.

Do you know how much it hurts to see my name beside Orwell? *shudder*

OK, then if they needed to serve a larger population AND needed new facilities as well, then there's more of an argument that she didn't serve the kids targeted by Covenant House well.

But you're now looking at nuance entering the narrative because it's now not a simple "she slashed the budget for teen moms from the year before" to "sure, she increased the budget a lot, but the population had increased by 58% and they needed a new building and yeah, it's not just teen moms affected by the budget ...". Look, I'm a huge Obama supporter and I've been following the twists and turns over the past few days, but I was still tripped up.

I'd rather see the Democrats hit hard on a few solid stories that are easily soundbited. That sucks, I know, but it's what works these days. This story may yet work, but right now, it's still wobbly, especially as the first presentation of the story by the Washington Post used the wrong soundbite.

But you're now looking at nuance entering the narrative because it's now not a simple "she slashed the budget for teen moms from the year before"... -MaryL

It's not nuance to say that the budget passed by the state congress included $5 mil for the program and she slashed it to $3.9.

Orwell and the fright wing are bringing up the previous year's budget as if that's relevant, but it's not.

Like many have said it doesn't account for the growth, but I think even the that's the wrong tack to take on this issue.

The right line of thinking is that Palin felt she knew more than the entire Alaskan legislature (hardly a bastion of liberal thinking) and overruled the budget they passed.

They agreed $5 million was what this particular service needed, and in her infinite wisdom she felt the need to slash it.

Traditionally, congress holds the power to apportion funds. Palin felt that was her duty instead.

Regardless of whether Palin cut funding or simply did not give as big an increase as the legislature proposed, there is an interesting question to explore. What is more important for a conservative: cutting taxes, or supporting the kind of faith based initiative (like Covenant House) that would seem to blend well with the conservative opposition to abortion--helping young women and girls care for their children. It does not have to be a gotcha conversation but a real question of priorities.

My god, the Democratic lapdog press never ceases does it? With B.S. charges flowing and never corrected, instead only echoed by empty-headed partisan TV pundits like Chris Matthews.

Only in the bizarro world of left-wing politics is a near tripling of a budget a 'cut'. Good grief, how dishonest, how low, but sadly how typical. Power at any price, eh? No limits, no conscience, and no ethics. I shudder to think what an Obama presidency will bring.

Brad @ 7:07 PM posted: "...With BS charges flowing...".
The Alaskan legislature has, as do all state legislatures in the US, the sole right to originate money bills. The legislature decided that Covenant House deserved funding to the extent of $5 million dollars. I do not know how much input, if any, the governor has in Alaska in drawing up the State Budget. Regardless, Gov. Palin reduced the amount designated by the legislature by $1.1 million dollars and I have yet to hear that she has given any reason for going against the plainly stated intentions of the legislature.
Personally, it sounds as if she was brushing up her tax-cutting/reduced spending credentials for re-election. Has there been any searching of the Alaskan budget to see what Gov. Palin didn't cut?
"...I shudder to think..." Sorry, I thought you were a troll! I also am looking forward with pleasure to Sen. Obama being elected, but, gee, I've never had an orgasm just thinking about it!

HOLD IT.

I'm a Berkeley liberal. I like Obama. Now:

Since when does "slash funding" mean, she increased its budget fivefold?

Where's your retraction?

Jesus, what the hell is wrong with us about this woman, people? Please, please, please.

Gee, doug try looking in a dictionary sometime if you can't understand the meaning of the word "shudder".

But then why should I be surprised by you? Considering your contortions defending the dishonest claim about Palin. We have always been at war with EastAsia, eh? Doubleplusgood doublethink! (and doug -- since "shudder" went over your head -- my comment about EastAsia and doublethink are references to the novel "1984". Read it sometime, you might learn something)

Sanjay? Good luck buddy. You are going to need it with this crowd.

I also see that while in the past she has cut programs that benefit families with children born disabled, in her convention speech she promised such families that she would work to support them.

Nothing like a little personal experience to make a conservative do a 180.

This woman has an appeal that will have Americans following her like a dog in heat--no matter her qualifications. Leave it to America to choose a president this way.

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