Palin's teen daughter is pregnant.

No, I don't really care about a teenage girl's indiscretions. She can do what she wants, well, as long as nobody gets hurt. However, I wonder how this will frame the issues in the upcoming elections. As I mentioned in a previous post, John McCain's appointment of Sarah Palin for VP is not about substance per se, but about manipulating the debate. Rather than the media focusing on the fact that Obama isn't well, white, the media can now focus on the fact that Palin isn't well, male. Although these facts could cancel each other out, and leave only substantive issues in their wake, the likelihood is that Palin's being a woman will be a prime topic.

The news that her daughter is pregnant likewise has the power to tune debate. The possible smears against the family are obvious, but an issue driven backlash is also likely. From the Democratic side, Bristol Palin will literally be the poster girl for the failed moral applicability of Republican sentiments. It doesn't take talking about sex for kids to want to have sex- they want, and are going, to have it either way.

But, the news was leaked by the Republicans, and for a reason: abortion. Much larger than the issues of the pill, sex-ed and the distribution of condoms, abortion looms as one of the most contentious issues in the country. Much as the Democrats can spin Bristol as the poster girl for sex-ed, the Republican party can use her as the poster girl for anti- abortion sentiment, if not legislation. A teenage pregnancy is one the more easily justifiable types of abortion, and yet abortion is out of bounds for the Palin family.

Expect this, like previous presidential elections, to be about flash, and not substance.