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Bristol Palin, daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, just gave birth to a son Sunday.  The 18-year old named her son Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston.  The baby weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces and is said to be in very good condition.

The baby’s father is Levi Johnston, a former hockey player at Alaska’s Wasilla High School.  During the campaign period, Levi announced that they were in love and did plan to get married even before Bristol got pregnant.  Johnston, who dropped out of high school to take a job on the North Slope oil fields as an apprentice electrician, said he was a little shocked to learn that Bristol was pregnant but quickly warmed to the idea of being a father.  He now looks forward to hunting and fishing with his son in the future.

If John McCain’s intention in choosing Sarah Palin as running mate in the upcoming US Presidential Elections was to monopolize the limelight, his advisers certainly did a good job. However, news circulating about Palin seems to lean towards controversy rather than good publicity.

Now, newspapers and the blogosphere are buzzing about her previous record as Mayor of Wasilla and Alaskan Governor. Following reports about the teen pregnancy of daughter Bristol, it seems many people are bent on digging more skeletons in her closet.

Sarah Palin now continues to hog headlines with reports saying that she fired local officials during her term in local government and the fiasco involving the construction of a sports complex in her local town. Early in her tenure as mayor, she fired Wasilla’s police chief, finance director, city planner and other department heads explaining that she felt that she didn’t have their support. Anne Kilkenny also confirmed rumors that Palin attempted to dismiss the library director Mary Ellen Emmons after the latter answered her query about banning of books in the local library. Emmons answered firmly that she wil not allow Palin to ban any books from the library. According to Kilkenny, Emmons was only able to keep her job because the residents all rallied behind her.

Another issue that crept to hound Palin is the construction of Wasilla’s new hockey rink and sports complex. Voter’s approved a $15 million bond issue and boosted sales tax to pay off the bonds. However, Palin’s administration did not have legal title to the land. Everything ended up in court with the city paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in interests and legal fees. It put a dent on the city’s reserves and it did happen during her watch.

Palin is known as a leading advocate of ethics reform and is known for being tenacious for whatever she sets her mind to. With all these controversies cropping up, is she really a persistent reformist having bad luck or is it a mask she wears?

With McCain and Obama now heating up the campaign trail and the US Presidential elections just 2 months away, dirty laundry are now expected to be thrown out in the open. The first one was just thrown out and presented to the public with Sarah Palin, John McCain’s running mate, admitting that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was five months pregnant. This latest news left the McCain campaign defending the efficiency of its background check on the little-known Alaska governor.

It was also reported Monday that a lawyer was hired to represent Palin in a state ethics probe and that her husband, Todd, had been arrested for drunken driving two decades ago. According to the McCain camp, that was all the dirty laundry that can be unearthed from their closet.

In response to the pregnancy story, McCain adviser Steve Schmidt can only say, “Life happens.” On the other hand, colleague Mark Halter remarks, “An American family.” Short sentences to minimize further damage.

Sarah and Todd Palin said that Bristol would keep her baby and marry the child’s father, identified only as a young man named Levi. The baby is due in late December and the expecting grandparents are proud and excited about the upcoming event.

During discussions about her background, Sarah Palin was warned about the scrutiny on her private life as she disclosed the pregnancy and her husbands DUI case. They told her that it would be intense and there may be nothing to prepare for it.

McCain aides claim that the announcement about the pregnancy of Bristol Palin was intended to dispute rumors that Palin’s own youngest son, born in April, was actually the daughter’s. So, the plot thickens. Sarah Palin’s fifth child, a son named Trig, was born in April with Down’s syndrome. Internet bloggers have been suggesting that the child was actually born to Bristol Palin but that her mother, the 44-year-old Alaska governor, claimed to be the mother. Politics can be just as dramatic as any soap opera . . . and just as interesting.

Meanwhile, Democratic rival Barack Obama’s remarks ignores partisanship. Obama responded sympathetically. “I think people’s families are off limits and people’s children are especially off limits.” Interesting, don’t you think? Taking all of these under consideration, I think my first choice is still the best.