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Kids in the public eye: Where do you draw the line?
By Ted Anthony
Associated Press
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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The review was scathing. "She cannot sing very well," it said. "She is flat a good deal of the time." So the singer's father did what any loyal dad might. He put pen to paper and dashed off a blistering nastygram. | Biden: Some media coverage sexist | Area delegates eager to hear from ticket | Read Palin's speech | Fact check | Video | Photo gallery

"Some day I hope to meet you," he wrote. "When that happens you'll need a new nose, a lot of beefsteak for black eyes, and perhaps a supporter below!"

The year was 1950, and the singer was, it's true, receiving far more scrutiny than some of her colleagues on stage. Because at the time of the review, Margaret Truman's angry dad happened to be the president of the United States.

When the offspring of politicians interact with the public, things can get dicey. And understandably so: There's no human issue more personal, more natural than the parental instinct of "Leave my children alone."

Yet sometimes politicians have invited us in, deliberately or otherwise.

John F. Kennedy's kids became national icons because their parents let the cameras in. LBJ's daughter, Lucy, stumped on the campaign trail at age 16. Julie Nixon married an Eisenhower as the world watched. Chelsea Clinton's parents insisted she was completely off limits - a notion tested when they used her as family-friendly scenery during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Now comes Sarah Palin, whose pregnant, unmarried daughter is suddenly dealing with attention that could intimidate even the most paparazzi-weary teen idol. Enough, Republicans say - and they have a point.

Yet even as they make it, they're putting 17-year-old Bristol Palin and her boyfriend on stage to present a portrait of a strong, attractive family - a family, Palin said, with "the same ups and downs as any other."

It's easy for things to get muddy, particularly when campaign strategists are involved. But we're living, too, in a coarser culture, one where celebrities' children are all but stalked for photographs of them eating ice cream. Where does the line lie? More to the point, who decides if it gets crossed?

"When public figures use their own children, I think they have to be very cautious about that," says Jane Dickie, a developmental psychologist and professor of women's studies at Hope College in Holland, Mich.

But, she says, that only goes so far. With children, "We as a society have to be clear and say, `This is not acceptable.' The extraordinary scrutiny and shoving cameras and microphones in children's faces is not OK."

Obviously, one factor is age. However good or bad her singing may have been, Margaret Truman was 26 years old at the time of that review. She was an adult fending for herself, and her dad's spirited defense was redundant, if entertaining.

Young children are different, though campaigns have used them for decades. Carl Sferrazza Anthony, historian for the National First Ladies' Library in Canton, Ohio, says even the sainted Lincolns made sure that early photos of two of their boys, Tad and Willie, were copied and distributed for campaign purposes.

A generation later, candidate Benjamin Harrison's grandson, "Baby McKee," was turned into a virtual brand for the 1888 campaign. The media, fascinated, chronicled what the child ate, what he wore, where he went. "The baby was used by his family to get Benjamin Harrison elected," Anthony says.

In Palin's case, an unusual combination of events is creating a unique circumstance. The McCain campaign and Republican leaders have told media to lay off, yet also put Bristol Palin and her boyfriend front and center. After her mother's acceptance speech Wednesday, they ascended the stage and stood together, waving to the public.

"There's a longstanding precedent of children of the candidates being in the public eye as members of families involved in public service," says Tucker Bounds, John McCain's spokesman. "There is also a longstanding precedent of candidates' children being left out of the hardball politics of campaigning for higher office."

Political leaders, though, are becoming celebrities, and the media's hunger for celebrity rarely stops with the stars themselves. Witness the intense desire for early looks at the newborn twins of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Politicians' kids, too, end up ensnared in a net not of their making.

"They've become a little more fair game, as all celebrities' children have," says John Matviko, a professor at West Liberty State College in West Virginia and editor of "The American President in Popular Culture."

"I don't think it's a good thing," he says, "but I don't think it's something that's going to go away."

Anthony cites Caroline Kennedy as a useful model. Though she became part of the alluring photographic record of her father's administration once he took office, she wasn't made available for photographs during the 1960 campaign.

Growing up is hard enough. But growing up not only in the public eye, but while your parent is being watched, criticized and photographed from every angle? It's almost unimaginable, though Bristol Palin handled it with visible grace on Wednesday night. It fit her mother's compelling narrative of a strong family in all its shiny and blemished glory, ready to help lead America.

"If there is one thing I have learned, it is that it is difficult to establish your identity and independence as the son or daughter of a politician," McCain's daughter, Meghan, wrote on her blog Monday, expressing empathy for the Palin kids and what they're facing.

"It's a rough go," she wrote. "You can't fully understand it unless you have lived it."

Take a look
Bristol Palin, right, daughter of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is seen with her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
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Reader comments on this story - 18 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

Two Cents wrote on Sep 4, 2008 4:00 PM:

" Every politician running for office has had their family on stage during election time. Why should Sarah Palin be any different? She is not, and should not, be ashamed of her daughter. She is not the first, nor will she be the last young women to become pregnant outside of marriage. "

republicrat wrote on Sep 4, 2008 3:18 PM:

" To: Rivers
I disagree. I think this is the equivalent of "Dog bites man isn't a story, but man bites dog is!". As in, "Pregnant teenager is no longer a story, but if her mother is the VP candidate who preaches abstinence only education, then it's a story!" "

roobyroofan wrote on Sep 4, 2008 3:17 PM:

" Why aren't these hormonal maniacs in school instead of at the convention? "

I like toast wrote on Sep 4, 2008 3:04 PM:

" I think Bill O'Reilly said it best when he said that it is a private family affair and we should not judge the family over this private matter. Just like he said about Jamie Lynn Spears when it was announced she was pregnant: Her parents are pinheads for not teaching her how to prevent this. I love the consistency that he shows. "

Clintuckymaniac wrote on Sep 4, 2008 2:55 PM:

" The kids aren't running for office, leave them out of it, or can't the media find enough dirt without the kids. "

Rivers wrote on Sep 4, 2008 2:50 PM:

" This story is on the headlines because it's easy. Don't for a second believe that tired line of "we only give the public what they want". Journalism has lowered itself to the path of least resistance, simply using press releases as actual reporting or finding something, anything that can be used as a character context piece. The problem this time is that 85% of the American people couldn't care less about a teenage mother. How long has it been since that migh have been news? Half a century? "

Pastafarian wrote on Sep 4, 2008 2:48 PM:

" I'm sure Bristol is overjoyed to be thrust into the limelight by her mother's candidacy. Now granted, kids will do things you tell them not to, but this still casts a shadow over Palin's mothering skills. Would you want the world to know your daughter was pregnant in high school? "

smapdi wrote on Sep 4, 2008 2:41 PM:

" John McCain has redoubled his campaign based almost entirely on the "family values" and "exemplary handling of family issues" (paraphrasing) they point to in the Palin family. That, by definition, is politicizing the family and very specifically that child and even her boyfriend. To cry foul or plea for common decency based on the idea that people should not politicize the families of politicians is some combination of disingenuous, ironic and hypocritical. Can't eat that cake and have it to. So far, by leaps and bounds, the most egregious exploitation of this family has been by the McCain campaign itself. I'm not sure by November the Dems could make half as much hay from them. "

Emily wrote on Sep 4, 2008 2:15 PM:

" When my sister got pregnant at 16 the most important person to her was our mother. I don't think that she would have had a chance in Hades if it wasn't for her. This poor girl not only doesn't get a decent mother, she gets one who wants to parade her around as fodder for the fire. It's disgusting. It's horrible that she is all "special needs kids need blah blah blah" they need their freaking parents! You can't tell me that going back to work 3 days after giving birth is maternal. Not to mention the health risk involved with having a tiny person surrounded by loads of germ carrying strangers. I hope her baby doesn't get RSV. What a monster. I'll take a boys club any day if this woman is my choice. "

localliberty wrote on Sep 4, 2008 1:57 PM:

" I think that it is beautiful that the Palin family isn't shooing Bristol into the shadows.
Sarah Palin obviously sees herself as inseperable from her family. Her identity seems to be very much wrapped up in them.... and do you know what? I think America likes that. "

SoccerMomager wrote on Sep 4, 2008 1:57 PM:

" I have no beef with Bristol Palin, and I feel really bad for her right about now. I just find it HILARIOUS when abstinence only "education" backfires on those that promote it. I have a relative who is a Baptist minister and all four of his daughters got pregnant in high school. You can preach all day long, but once kids hit a certain age, there's very little controlling them. At least give them some knowledge to work with. "

real american wrote on Sep 4, 2008 1:47 PM:

" Hey Meh, if you don't want to hear about the kids again you better not watch MSNBC or CNN. "Where do you draw the line"? A candidates' kids, Dem. or Rep. should never be brought into question about anything unless, they are actively campaigning for their parent as was the case with John Kerry. The same can be said about Chelsea Clinton now. 10 years ago Chelsea Clinton should never have even been in the minds of anyone other than her parents. If the kids are adults, and they are holding press conferences, meeting with likely voters, and attempting to answer questions, I say their fair game. However, a personal issue such as an unattractive child, a baby with down syndrome, a pregnant teenager, etc... is nobodys business but the parents. Neither Palins' son, or daughter is running for Vice President. If some of you want to focus on these 2 non-issues, and say she won't be able to do her job as Vice President, I ask that you recall the President we had in the 90s that was trying to juggle his wife and a mistress. "

Greed wrote on Sep 4, 2008 1:09 PM:

" Too bad John McCain didn't show the same regard for Hillary's daughter as he is demanding for Palin's.
John McCain at a fundraising dinner in Arizona a decade ago. "Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly?" he told a handful of big Republican funders. "Because Janet Reno is her father."
Can you imagine the press outrage if Bristol was said to be the product of a lesbian relationship between Sarah Palin and for instance Condi Rice? "

Generation Bleach wrote on Sep 4, 2008 1:01 PM:

" For a self proclaimed redneck, Levi looks pretty good in his straight laced Republican approved suit. "

Meh wrote on Sep 4, 2008 12:53 PM:

" Seems like the Republicans are the ones shoving the Palin children into the limelight. Bristol Palin's pregnancy has been an effective distraction from the fact that McCain has no real agenda except more of the same... I have to wonder how she feels about being used as a pawn like that.

Personally, I would rather not hear about Palin's family again. Despite the gutter amusement of seeing "Abstinence only" in action, its really none of my business. "

voa wrote on Sep 4, 2008 12:51 PM:

" Can't we let this "story" go already? "

2 cents wrote on Sep 4, 2008 12:51 PM:

" Get over it people she is knocked up and she is not the first person to be thats under 18. "

Sam Wainwright wrote on Sep 4, 2008 12:48 PM:

" Well its the candidates who keep dragging out their kids at every opportunity- it's not like we the people give a crap. It was kind of funny seeing the baby daddy standing there like he just won the Nobel Prize for Knocking Up Teenagers. If I was Piper's or Bristol's or Halcyon's or whatever her name is dad I'd be taking that opportunity to kick the kids butt on national television. Now that would be a message to teenagers about abstinence! "
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