Family is Off-Limits*...

*...unless, of course, you’re poor . . . and black

The Obama campaign responded to the news that, Bristol, the 17-year-old daughter of Republican Vice Presidential nominee (and proud NRA member) Sarah’s Packin’, is five months pregnant by telling everyone to “back off.” As reported in the New York Times,

Mr. Obama said the pregnancy “has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president.” He added that, “my mother had me when she was 18. How a family deals with issues and teen-age children — that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics.”

“So,” he added, “I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories.”

Noble words, but as a friend has pointed out, Obama’s “new politics” has included a healthy dose of these kinds of stories. In The Audacity of Hope Obama writes,

We know that many in the inner city are trapped by their own self-destructive behaviors . . .
. . . perhaps the single biggest thing we could do to reduce [inner-city] poverty is to encourage teenage girls to finish high school and avoid having children out of wedlock. (pp. 255-6)

Shouldn’t Bristol and Baby Daddy Levi have received a stern lecture from Senator Obama? Nope. Fornicatin' and fertile young white people are private family matters, and Barack respects those families. And of course, if you’re not from the “inner city,” getting pregnant when you’re 17 and unwed says nothing about your culture, poor role models, and lack of proper parenting. But if you don't pass the brown bag test, Barack will be ALL up in your business.

...he told a mostly African-American crowd that parents need to shape up, turn off the TV, help their kids with their homework and stop letting them grow fat eating Popeyes chicken for breakfast.
"...Make them go to bed at a reasonable time. Keep them off the streets. Give ' em some breakfast. Come on. ... You know I am right..."