Ok, seriously, LEAVE THE GIRL ALONE.

As much as it annoys me to know that if Obama or Biden had daughters that were pregnant, the Republican and Evangelical blagosphere would be aflame with accusations that the parents clearly had no morals and had raised their child poorly and blah blah blah (I would never say this about the Palins, by the way, or anyone else), this does not give anyone a license to do the same.

Come on, guys. We’re better than that.

But before I say what I’ve got to say, let me just say this to the media: everyone knows already. Let it go.

God only knows that after the last four years, I’m not for sweeping crap under the rug, but seriously? The only reason this is still such a story is because you people are keeping it there. Yes, I’m sure the McCain campaign did do a nasty by releasing the information when everyone was worried about Gustav, and I could say a whole bunch of cynical (and probably true) things about that move, but that is all beside the point.

The point is this – a young woman is pregnant, she has chosen to have the baby, and it is none of anyone’s business but hers and the child’s father’s. Period.

Being pregnant is hard enough. Having a child is even harder. Being a new parent? I don’t think I know of anything in the world harder than that, quite seriously. It’s wonderful, but it’s very, very difficult. And doing it all at 17 is going to be enough of a personal challenge for this young lady – the fact that she is going to have to do this under a microscope is unfathomable.

It’s ok if you want to look at what the campaigns may have done based upon their bases’ anticipated reactions to the news, but I think you’ve done enough looking.

Can we not move on to important issues?

(And, for the record, I think it would be equally shameful for the McCain campaign to point to the pregnancy as an example of Palin’s conservative values – this is about what Bristol Palin has chosen to do with her life, and while it’s criminal to use it to attack anyone in the presidential race, it is no more acceptable to use it to laud them.)

Seriously, guys – leave the girl and her upcoming new arrival alone. All of you.