Fair game?

According to a statement issued today by Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, their 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. The young woman plans to keep the baby and marry the father.

So, does this have any relevance whatsoever to the presidential campaign? No. Is it a private family matter? Yes.

To his credit, Sen. Barack Obama, himself the child of a teenage mother, has declared the subject "off limits." Smart, classy, correct.

Now, should we condemn the media for reporting the story and discussing the topic? Absolutely not.

Like it or not, this is news. And considering Gov. Palin's wish to be seen as a social conservative -- including standing for abstinence (however one does that) and against sex education in public schools -- it's news with more than a touch of irony. Of course, that doesn't stop some McCain-Palin supporters from waxing indignant.

Please, people, I'm beggin' you -- get over this media-as-root-of-all-evil thing and, while you're at it, get over yourselves.

As for claims that Gov. Palin's 4-month-old son, Trig, isn't the Governor's child but daughter Bristol's, that yellow trash is being "reported" by gutter-scraping blogs and like-minded conspiracy theorists. As far as I know, the story has no basis in fact.

Then again, neither do reports that Sen. Obama is Muslim (etc., etc.) -- and speaking of irony, some of the folks complaining loudest about the Palin baby-laundering story are the same people who help perpetuate equally baseless claims about the opposition.

Slime attracts slime. Just desserts and all that. It's a great country.

The real, relevant issue here is whether or not Sen. John McCain's reportedly impulsive choice was subjected to the proper "vetting."

Being a maverick is one thing, but being hoodwinked -- or, worse, doing the hoodwinking -- is quite another. That, it seems to me, is where the media should focus its attention.