“What would have happened had the young couple in question engaged in youthful sexuality in Arizona? There the young man would become both a “father-to-be” and a felon at the same time. Any sexual act by an 18-year-old and a 17-year-old is a felony in Arizona, even if the girl’s mother is running for vice president of the United States”

-a “gotcha” on the Bristol Palin pregnancy scandal.

Of course, McCain would spin it into a states rights issue, saying that each state should decide how to regulate relationships. However, the flip side of this is he would essentially be saying that we shouldn’t care about crimes committed in other states.

And of course the wider question behind that, (that would not get asked): Why should such behavior be legal in one state but illegal in another? What is the underlying rationale for the inconsistency? I think the knee jerk answer to this is “state’s rights” or “federalism!” but of course this is never actually discussed because that would require the American public to have a working knowledge of civics.

Of course, the fact that an 18 year old boy could be prosecuted for sleeping with his 17 year old girlfriend is another level of ridiculousity but it can and does happen.

And not that I think Bristol Palin’s pregnancy should be National news in the first place, but her stupid mother opened the door for that. Poor girl. (People will of course say she was stupid/irresponsible in getting pregnant but…these things happen. Of course, her mother also carried about a campaign of abstinence only education, so who knows if they were using protection, but even if they were, These Things Happen. And you’re not going to stop teenagers from having sex. And this isn’t my business anyway, and yet I can devote paragraphs to it.)

And I feel REALLY sorry for the guy who knocked her up. I am sure that Palin’s people got to him and were like “Ok. This is what you’re going to do. This is what you are going say.” Kid is trapped. Again, not that he doesn’t need to take responsibility for his actions, but there are ways to take responsibility that do not involve marriage.