Levi Johnston heading to convention

Posted: Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:18 PM by Mark Murray
Filed Under: Sarah Palin

From NBC's Mark Murray
The AP reports: "Bristol Palin's boyfriend plans to join the family of the Republican vice presidential candidate at the GOP convention. Levi Johnston's mother said her 18-year-old son left Alaska on Tuesday morning to join the Palin family in St. Paul, Minn."

"Sherry Johnston also said there has been no pressure put on her son to marry Bristol Palin, the pregnant daughter of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. 'Absolutely not,' Sherry Johnston told reporters outside the family's Wasilla home. Johnston said the two teens already had plans to marry before they knew she was pregnant.

"Sarah Palin announced Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was pregnant. The father was not identified beyond the first name of Levi."

EMAIL THIS

Comments

yeah... right, and he wants a gang of kids.

ya know (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:23 PM)

So who is going to financially support this teenage disfuntional dynamic duos married life??, the WELFARE SYSTEM of the STATE OF ALASKA?? Or are they as smug as their Baby Granmomma, and expect to the Baby Granparents to support them as WELL AS HER OWN special needs baby while they play house.

Frannie (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:26 PM)

No pressure? Ha! Shotgun wedding at it's finest. $10 says they get married quick, before the election.

Poor kid. He even stated he didnt want kids. Perhaps if they taught safe sex in schools...

DV, CA (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:26 PM)

bahahahahaha "sure" This is completely unbelievable. The poor kid.

John Doe, Boston, MA (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:26 PM)

And what a sweet, responsible sounding minor he is...

http://www.usmagazine.com/news/new-levipalin-draft

Ian (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:27 PM)

Don't care.

This is not a story that has any bearing on the election (in my humble opinion).

Now, Palin's scary Christianist rhetoric about the war in Iraq -- that's a different story all together...

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending [U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan." -Sarah Palin

Yikes. Frightening.

http://thepajamapundit.com/

the Pajama Pundit (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:27 PM)

Just one big happy family...how sweet.

Susan Fort Atkinson (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:28 PM)

This is a circus, folks. What are the Republicans telling young people? Obama/Biden 08.

Bls, NC (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:29 PM)

POLITICS CHICAGO STYLE: They bring a knife you bring a gun! They bring a gun you bring a Nuke! You are doing a hell of a job John McCain keep it coming you are a great decision maker. You are someone we want in charge of our Nuclear Arsenal.

America this will blow your mind:

http://www.mediatakeout.com/2008/26330-explosive_pics_vp_candidate_palins_daughter_is_wilder_than_britney__pics_of_her_and_her_girls_getting_drunk_and_kissing_each_other.html

http://msa4.wordpress.com/

http://www.crooksandliars.com/Media/Play/32317/1/FTN-Rove-VPPick.wmv/

Capt. Smash, Salt Lake City, Utah (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:29 PM)

A true American family dealing with one of lifes turn of events in a mature and loving fashion. And no one expects anything out the government. The Palin's are an amazing family.

Tina Garsen (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:30 PM)

LOL, yeah, the guy who said he was an "effin' redneck" who liked snowmobiling and hunting and "didn't want kids?" *Sure* they were planning to get married all along...and I've been planning to flap my arms and fly to the moon, too.

How stupid do they think we are, anyway? Wait, don't answer that, I will: they think we're pretty effin' stupid, evidently.

Lisa K. South Portland, ME 04106 (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:30 PM)

Who cares!?!?!?!

Where is AIP ??? That is REAL politics.. not this family crap.

Brian Nashville (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:31 PM)

The AP reports: "Bristol Palin's boyfriend plans to join the family of the Republican vice presidential candidate at the GOP convention. Levi Johnston's mother said her 18-year-old son left Alaska on Tuesday morning to join the Palin family in St. Paul, Minn."

This is funny on his myspace account he supports Obama! McCain told him if he did not marry this girl he would see to it he would go to the front lines in Iraq.

Capt. Smash, Salt Lake City, Utah (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:31 PM)

Gotta love Republicans. It's not enough to drag one family into the quagmire that is the McCain campaign. Now they've decided to drag this poor kid into the fray, as well.

'America First' my eye.

Vanessa, Fullerton, CA (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:31 PM)

I think the point is being missed by many on this post. Raking Bristol Palin through the coals is unconscionable, but let's not forget it's her mother who put her squarely in this position. She knew if she accepted the nomination this would come out and become another "Jamie Lyn" story. Doesn't show very good judgment as a mother....nor does her decision not to go IMMEDIATELY to a hospital when she went into premature labor during a high-risk pregnancy, with her FIFTH baby, but instead waited 13 hours so she could give a speech and then FLY back to Alaska for 8 hours, then drive 45 minutes from Anchorage and give birth in a small-town second-rate hospital

Speaking of judgment, what was McCain thinking????? Forget about Babygate, what about Sarah's ties to the AIP secessionists, being for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it, accepting millions in earmarks and claiming she's a reformer, Troopergate, etc. etc? Surely this pick was made in haste before full vetting could occur. Not the rash, ill-considered, impulsive kind of decision making I want to see in my Commander in Chief. Maverick or no maverick.

McCain is toast.

Appalled Independent Voter (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:31 PM)

As of 1:45pm Tuesday, traders on the Intrade prediction market are selling the chance that Palin will drop off John McCain's ticket at 13.9. Check here for more updates as the market moves.

---
The Intrade prediction market has opened trading on whether "Sarah Palin [is] to be withdrawn as Republican VP nominee before 2008 presidential election." At 8:55 am, Tuesday morning, the market is selling the prediction at 18 a share and rising. That means 18 percent of traders think there is a chance that Palin will be removed from the ticket.

Intrade predicted Joe Biden would be Barack Obama's running mate in August and its traders were also correct about every Senate race in 2006. It fell flat in predicting a Democratic majority.

Keep checking back through out the day for updates on the trading numbers.

Capt. Smash, Salt Lake City, Utah (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:31 PM)

yeah right, again they think the American people are stupid, i read the kid myspace page, and why now he is coming to the lower 49? why didnt he come friday, why didnt we hear of him before the story broke, that said it not about the two Kids my heart go out to them, my problem is with the lying that taking place, the country is being put in the lower important of thing that the crime

Joe Oklahoma, city Ok. (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:32 PM)

Give me a break!

Will he talk about how he is a self described "redneck" and if you "f___ with him, he'll kick your a__"?

Billy, Texas (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:33 PM)

he's baaaaack!!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/graham-mccain-supporters_n_123265.html

ya know (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:33 PM)

Those poor kids. Shotgun wedding anyone?

Obama/Biden 08/12!

Mil (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:34 PM)

Dealing with this turn of events isn't above Sarah Palin's pay grade. She knows what to do. She's knows the right answer. It's called walking the walk liberals, try it some time. It's much better then the 'If it feels good, do it' attitude liberals bring to the table.

Working Woman With A Conscious (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:34 PM)

Why? -- I mean if their intention was to keep the daughter out of the spotlight -- then WHY? -- I mean really...Really....this is too much...

Lauri Smalls, Providence, RI (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:34 PM)

First of all, this all goes back to Sarah Palin. What the hell was she thinking, subjecting her daughter to this kind of scrutiny, the scrutiny that, unfortunately, comes with a run for the presidency or vice-presidency? That, to me, shows an error in judgment on her part.

That being said, shame on you, MSNBC, for continuing to fly with this story. I support Barack Obama -- I have since Joe Biden left the race early on -- and I think John McCain and Sarah Palin would mean pretty much the end of civilization as we know it (okay, that's a little melodramatic, but you get the gist). But Obama was absolutely right: families are off-limits. I might think it's absolutely insane to plan to get married as a teenager (especially speaking as one who planned to get married as a teenager and then saw that fall apart, leaving me very depressed), but that's a personal view, and neither I, nor anyone else, has an inherent right to judge this girl and her intended. These two could get divorced six months in, or they could last a lifetime. We simply don't know, and frankly, it's nobody's business.

In other words, judge this family crisis solely on how it affects Palin's ability to lead, and not what it says about Palin's family life. There is no place for that kind of crap in this, or any other, campaign, and I think it's very, very wrong of you to invite it.

Brendan D, Niles, IL (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:35 PM)

Good luck to these kids. They probably have good family support. It is hard enough to make a go of it even when you are ready. Gonna be harder in the public spotlight.

Obama\Biden '08

Gary Schear, bozeman montana (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:35 PM)

Just what the RNC needs, another clown for the circus. It must be Christmas.

SoCal for Obama (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:35 PM)

Please MSNBC, stop reporting this trash, it is stricty a family matter that has no place in American politics. We don't care about teen pregnancy -- the teens won't be our leaders and won't influence the policies of the United States. The issue of teen pregnancy is better left to their parents, school, counselors, etc., not to politicians and the media.
Please respect Palin's privacy, even though I feel she is the worst pick -- she clearly contradicts McCain's themes of experience and "country first" and hurts his image as a person with good judgment, an essential ingredient for America's leadership. America does not have an Alaska-sized political and economic systems that Palin is positioned to direct.

Jim, NYC (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:36 PM)

It will be a short trip for poor Levi. Sarah Palin will drop out of the race Wednesday morning, so her name will not even be in nomination. Maybe the Palin family & Levi can visit the Mall of America before their flight back to Alaska.

David, Baltimore, MD (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:36 PM)

GEEEZZ.....just leave the kids out of it. And what was Obama doing at 17 years old??? Snorting blow and doing drugs......

Palin is WAY better than Obama (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:36 PM)

You have got to be kidding me...they aren't going to parade him around on stage and give him a standing ovation for doing the right thing...are they?? I want to barf.

Wes, Madison, WI (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:37 PM)

Who cares? We shouldn't be focusing on her children. That means leaving her daughter alone if she is pregnant, and not caring whether or not her daughter's boyfriend is coming to the convention or not.
The simple fact is that Sarah Palin is simply too conservative to be our president. Our current president is evidence enough of how disastrous a right-wing fundamentalist can be in the White House. Palin is too far from where most reasonable Americans are at, and by choosing her, McCain is letting us know exactly what kind of president he would be: a president who cowtows to the right wing on every important decision. Thanks, but no thanks!

Jim, Carbondale, IL (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:38 PM)

Karl Rove admits that the Sarah Palin pick was "not a governing decision but a campaign decision."

Capt. Smash, Salt Lake City, Utah (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:38 PM)

Plans to marry before she knew she was pregnant? Give me a break!!!...Gheez, what is the waiting period for getting a marriage license and saying
"I Do" in Alaska? Maybe all cameras will be on Levi. Did Alaska complete their push to leave the Union!!!!!

Ed, San Antonio (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:38 PM)

R U serious?
Next- they'll have him moving into the Palin house

Wow- guess soon Alaska values will be America's values- 17, in high school, pregnant, and today's role model- what we hope all our young daughters aspire to be

kmnecole, st louis, mo (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:39 PM)

On a MySpace page subsequently taken down, Johnston boasts, 'I'm a f - - -in' redneck' who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. 'But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s- - - and just f - - -in' chillin' I guess.' 'Ya f - - - with me I'll kick [your] ass,' he added.

Breaking news - Tucker Bounds, spokesman for the McCain campaign, announced today that John McCain has chosen Levi Johnson to be his Secretary of Defense in the future McCain administration.

The quote from Bounds:

Listen, man, the dude has military and terrorist fighting cred out the wazoo. He finished "World at War" 3 for the Xbox 360 in like 3 f----- days, man. And he slays at tall the Tom Clancy Rainbow Six RPG's. Dude is smokin, no lie.

McDude,man (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:39 PM)

This will all be fine because the families are working it out together. They couple made a mistake, but we all do, and they will learn from it. It will be hard on the young couple, going to school and raising a baby at the same time, all on limited funds. But difficult times build something liberals lack: Character.

Maria in Southern South Carolina (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:39 PM)

How does Levi's appearance relate to the abstinence the religious right adamantly encourages? These children will give Q&A’s and probably enlighten the GOP base. THE GOP are so out-of-touch and stuck in the “Dark Ages. I hope the media doesn’t diminish those children’s self-worth by turning this into the Spanish Inquisition.
Enough!
No way
No how
No McCain/Palin
Nobody but Obama

Beverly in Chicago (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:41 PM)

Gov Palin's name just keeps popping up everywhere on every blog since her appoinment as running mate on the republican ticket. Her Appointment on Aug 29 has completly erased all the hupla and fireworks of the entire DNC during that same week and continues today. She completely put Joe Biden in the background and her popularity is rising every day. The Democratic party is both outraged stunned and confused and believe that they have to attack her if they are going to survive this election. They are stretching now and realy digging to get dirt on this person, but it's only making her name more and more likely to get elected. Both Hilary and Obama have accepted her name on the ticket and are reacting as the republicans did when Joe Biden was made Obama's running mate. However because of the media and the constant coverage that the democratic party is puting on Palin, it's creating an underdog umbrella around her and starting a wave of conservative independent and liberal hero statis for her and her attempt to make it to executive office. In other words for every person that attacks her she gains 10 people who are considering her for office

RIK (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:42 PM)

That should make for a pretty picture!

Andrew Robinson (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:43 PM)

Of course, mama is a lifetime member of the NRA. But surely that didn't affect his decision.

Man-sized Safe, Portland, Texas (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:44 PM)

How quaint...does anyone in Alaska have even the smallest sense of propriety or are they all like the palins, johstons and stevens? And some have the nerve to talk about southern ignorance...hmmmmph

not fooled by her looks (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:44 PM)

I'm confused. These kids are supposed to be left alone, so now the hockey teen/father is going to the GOP Convention, the biggest media orgy on the planet?s

jbentley,Chicago,IL (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:44 PM)

Lol what do you expect his mother to say. What a joke.

Linda Schatzer, Inverness, Florida (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:44 PM)

At least this kid will have a loving mom and dad, and two families that care about him or her. More then I can say for some of the far left posters around her who look to have been cloned from a batch of dna that had been left in the sun too long.

David Niles Anders (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:45 PM)

These are quite confusing messages. Private life of children is out-of-bounds. Bring father of pregnant daughter - whom we should not be discussing - to the convention. Confusion reigns. McCain and confusion?

JTatEHT (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:46 PM)

I thought the consenus of both campaigns was to turn the spotlight off of the the Palin family soap opera and concentrate on real issues. Why, then, is the McCain campaign asking the young father-to-be to be a part of the Republican convention? Will everyone now have to vett Levi? If so, the vetting might make a few attendees of the convenion a bit turned off by Levi's profane-laced blog (which mysteriously has been taken down).

Bruce Oregon (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:47 PM)

GEEEEEESH, THIS JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.

THEY DONT WANT THE MEDIA TO FOCUS ON PALIN'S 17YR OLD DAUGHTER, BUT NOW THEY WANT TO BRING THIS YOUNG MAN ON BOARD SO THEY CAN PARADE HIM AROUND FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE....

THUMBS UP McCAIN CAMP! THIS SHOULD REALLY ENERGIZE THE BASE

McCAIN CAMP AND THEIR CARD TRICKS (THE RACE CARD & THE SEXIST CARD) (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:48 PM)

did anybody see the nbc today show 4th hour. I would like to know if it was true that they had a written copy of an interview with Levi Johnson. Suppose he said, he had no intentions of marry Palin's daghter and didn't want any kids! It (interview) was full of profanaties coming from him.

Jim Wylie, TX (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:49 PM)

I question the values and judgement of a mother who could be home with her children, attending to her infant with Special needs and her teen-age daughter who is pregnant. She left the baby after three days and plans to marry her 17 y/o off. As if that were the solution to her dilemma

Erie Zander (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:50 PM)

This is not news. Nor should it be. When is the media going to get to past the salatious and get in to the meat of the issues.
Is someone going to ask how Palin is prepared to deal with the international community. Could you really see her sitting down with Malkai, Saakashvili or Putin? Does anyone really think she could hold her own. It isn't about motherhood, her child's pregnancy or any of those things. It is the fact that she is not qualified to handle the presidency. But the Republican talking points... the machine is working the message perfectly and you are all feeding into it... they don't even allow for a question of qualification before they screech about the 'mommy wars', 'sexism' and that 'she has the same experience as Obama'. And you guys let them get away with it. Face it... she is a competent governor of a small state, with some limited experience on a small scale. She has done well, and is to be respected for what she has accomplished... but she is no Hillary Clinton, no Kay Bailey Hutchinson, or any number of qualified female politicians that could run for president or VP. It is not about her daughter, her being a mother or a woman... it is simply that she is clearly not a candidate... but a pawn that Republicans are using to make McCain more palatable to the Christian Right, evangelicals and old time Republicans.

But that arguement means facing down the nonesense being spewed at anyone that says anything against Palin... so let's just continue the drivel and inane conversations about a 17 year old and her boyfriend. It isn't as if the highest seat of our nation is at stake or anything...

Antoinette Croly, Suffolk, VA (Sent Tuesday, September 02, 2008 5:51 PM)

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