In between hugging and jumping up and down and weeping tears of joy on the night of November 4, I paused to say to my fellow Harpies, “Bristol Palin must be so relieved.” Back in Alaska, out of the spotlight, I was sure Mama and Papa Palin would put away the shotgun.
Sho ’nuff, according to People.
Bristol’s now officially a free woman. Oh sure, she’s still living with her folks, has a newborn and is trying to get her GED. But she’s much better off than most young women in her situation; she’s got affluent parents and a bunch of siblings who love and support her. As for the gum-cracking baby daddy, Levi Johnston?
Despite the breakup, Levi still sees the couple’s son. Levi’s dad, Keith Johnston, told PEOPLE recently that his son is a devoted and “proud father.”
Now, I’m sure he’s proud. Whatever. That takes no effort. But “devoted”? Let the record show, he was not even present for his son’s birth. Right before the due date, he chose to take job on the North Slope of Alaska, about as far away from Wasilla as one can geographically manage. That ain’t devotion in my book. And the fact that he “still sees” the baby? Well, as Chris Rock famously ranted: “What do you want, a cookie? You’re supposed to take care of your kids.” Levi, you don’t get points for showing up to “see” your kid.
At any rate, I truly do wish the best for Bristol Palin. I always felt that she was an unfortunate victim of her mom’s political juggernaut. Were it not for that nomination, she could have stayed home, had her child in peace, and been spared a drubbing as the national poster child for the failure of abstinence-only education. Her mother may not have achieved her political ambitions, but now Bristol can continue growing up–on her own time, and without getting married before she’s old enough to vote.
Let the record show, he was not even present for his son’s birth. Right before the due date, he chose to take job on the North Slope of Alaska, about as far away from Wasilla as one can geographically manage. That ain’t devotion in my book.
A tad harsh don’t you think? Ever consider that the kid was trying to get a decent paying job so he could take financial responsibility for his child?
We all know what time it is with the maternity leave situation (bad) in our country and paternity leave is pretty much non-existent. No chance that he could tell his new employer, “Yeah, I really want this job but can I wait a couple of weeks to start so I be there when my kid is born?” Especially in a state with 9% unemployment.
No, I don’t think so. Personally, I think a father should be present for his child’s birth. This was not a life-or-death situation where they would have lost their home or been unable to eat had he waited a couple months.
As it turned out, Johnston quit the North Slope job because there were unresolved questions about whether he was even eligible to hold it and whether he’d been hired as a favor to Gov. Palin. See below from Anchorage Daily News:
http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/643519.html
Thank dog they didn’t get married.
This was not a life-or-death situation where they would have lost their home or been unable to eat had he waited a couple months.
Fair enough, but then the story probably would have been that Levi is an unemployed shitbird. Like Bristol, Levi is a stupid kid that got caught up in some shit that had nothing to do with him and he deserves at least a little sympathy/understanding.
It’s easy for me to pass judgment on Levi for being a poor father, but I also didn’t have children until I was 34. I can’t say for sure that I would done any better in his situation when I was 18.
I wouldn’t have considered him an unemployed shitbird if he had taken that time to finish his high school degree, which he has not yet done. There wouldn’t have been any shame in him being a full-time student.
I agree that Levi got caught up in a bad situation and a lot of it was out of his control. But I do think his choosing to take a job hundreds of miles away while his child was being born was a lousy decision. I’m assuming he made that decision on his own. But you’re right, he’s 18, and 18 year old guys are not known for their stellar decision-making.
The conspiracy theorist in me is thinking that Gov. Palin got him that job with the express intention of getting him away during the birth. Levi and his family had been a public relations nightmare for her, so not having him around during something as stressful as the birth of the first grandchild that is made even more stressful by a media microscope would probably be a good thing for her.