Andrew Sullivan, the patron saint of that neurotic band of conspiracy theorists whose pathetic raison d’être is to discover the “truth” about Sarah Palin’s fifth pregnancy, now tells us that it is Palin herself who is driving this creepy story:
Sarah Palin has now made two very clear public statements in the last day about the legitimacy of questions about the maternity of her son Trig.
This is a surprise? Sullivan and many of his accomplices in the “news” media, obviously frustrated at their inability to take her down with conventional slander, are now desperately grasping at the Trig story in the hope that it will finally dent her armor.
Then, when Palin casually acknowledges the existence of these freaks by making vague statements about the right of journalists to question politicians on a variety of issues public and private, Sullivan tells us she has somehow legitimized his weird obsession with her son.
Palin says that all inquiries into a candidate’s veracity, record, associations, and medical history are legitimate forms of inquiry. She therefore backs this blog’s near-solitary attempt to get her to provide evidence … that she was indeed the biological mother of Trig.
This is not the reasoning of a psychologically healthy individual. No rational person would interpret Palin’s attempt to be magnanimous about the incessant attacks to which she has been subjected as a license to pursue a morbid fixation on the fruit of her womb.
It’s quite sad really. Sullivan was once a man to be respected. He has now become a kind of journalistic rapist who tells us his victim has it coming because she’s been showing too much Trig.
UPDATE:
I have received many comments from Triggers demanding to see the boy’s birth certificate. I have deleted most of them because (a) these commenters are mostly gibbering whackjobs (b) they robotically repeat a single idiotic talking point:
Obama has released his birth certificate. Therefore, Palin should release Trig’s certificate.
First, at the risk of being labeled a Birther (a charge this post should dispel), I feel compelled to point out Obama has not actually released his birth certificate. All we have is an electronic version that any ten-year-old could have photoshopped. Sullivan has himself made that very point in this post:
It is not my job as a journalist or yours as a citizen to take public officials on trust … I know the electronic record is legit … But there is no reason on earth that the original cannot be retrieved and shown.
Second, Trig isn’t running for President. Obama’s birth certificate has at least some rudimentary relevance in that he must be a U.S. citizen to be President. Trig, on the other hand, IS A BABY. To demand his birth certificate is just plain nuts.
Comments 20
I’m a Sarah supporter but even I want to see this info on her child released if not to vindicate her.
Obama has released his birth certificate.
Sarah, set the record straight on this.
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 8:41 am ¶“I’m a Sarah supporter.”
With all due respect, Bill, I think you are being less than candid on this point.
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 9:30 am ¶why in the hell does anybody care about whether it’s her son or not ?
it has no bearing on anything important whatsoever !
why bother…
ask obama to show his LONG FORM birth certificate because that is way way WAY more important because he is the president!
that’s important !
you nuts have no clue what obama’s doing, well here’s the news:
obama’s crashing our currency under his national debt wave and it’s costing us a billion dollars a day !
it’s almost 365 billion dollars so far ! in ten years of not paying this back it’ll be over 3 trillion dollars !
YOU SHOULD WORRY ABOUT THAT !
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 9:33 am ¶It’s too bad that the rumours about Trigg are still going around. But you do have to admit that the story regarding his birth are strange. Sometimes truth IS stranger than fiction.
But if Palin would stop bringing up the whole issue, the rumours would surely slow down. If Sullivan seems obsessed about Triggs birth, Palin herself does nothing to stop the obsession.
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 12:00 pm ¶Why do you take down the opposition emails? People need both sides of the story to make an informed decision.
I really don’t care who gave birth to Trig.. What I care about (as a voter) is the wild ride. My only child was born 3 weeks early and I had a very smooth pregnancy. My water broke, called doctor, he gave me NO choice on going to hospital. He was born 25 hours later with induced labor. His lungs weren’t fully developed. If the hospital hadn’t had a neo-natal unit he couldn’t have survived. I have to questiion Palins logic for that ride.
If she didn’t birth him, I’d have less concern. Without a birth certificate, how do we find out?
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 12:05 pm ¶If you have any pics of her pregneant would you please post them.
Thanks.
I don’t really care whether Palin is the mother of Trig. If she isn’t, it’s possible that her 2008 campaign’s use of Trig was cynical and despicable, to say nothing of what ugly truths that story concealed… but since these things do not stand to affect me as a citizen, it really doesn’t matter that much to me.
However, if she uses her experience with addressing the question of Trig’s parentage to attack the President’s handling of the question of his own birth, the public has every right to decide whether this attack is fair.
I grant that this is not Sullivan’s only concern with Palin’s statements about Trig, but Sullivan confronted the issue at a time when it was much more important–during her 2008 vice-presidential campaign. In that campaign, Obama (eventually) responded to requests for his birth certificate, even though his response didn’t seem to satisfy some of his critics. Palin has yet to release anything whatsoever on the issue.
I don’t mind if she never releases any documentation on Trig’s birth, but I’d like her to avoid falsehood by claiming that she has, and hypocrisy by claiming that these questions should continue to be asked of Obama.
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 12:53 pm ¶“If Palin would stop bringing up the whole issue …”
It’s sad, mary b, that (as a woman) you are also blaming Palin for the violation of her own privacy.
“Without a birth certificate, how do we find out?”
OK, ferob, read this slowly, and try to grasp it. Nothing relating to Palin’s uterus or children is any of your business.
Your fascination with Palin’s uterus is driven not by anything she has done or by any need for information as a voter. It is driven some deep-seated neurosis that all you Triggers seem to share.
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 1:01 pm ¶Are the Obama girls Barack’s? See how stupid this whole issue is?
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 1:03 pm ¶It is important only because, if Trig is not Sarah’s bio child, the entire “water leaking, multi-state, multi-transportation mode return to Wasilla to deliver Trig” story was made from whole cloth. Why? Why would someone make up an elaborate story like that? Did she want to make herself out to be a more heroic mom than she could already claim to be? Did she make up the story to show how tough she is? Did she (secretly) adopt a special needs child to shore up her credibility with the RTL?
No woman who has given birth buys the whole story about Sarah’s labor. She lied. It may have been a little lie that snowballed out of her control that started it. “I was leaking amniotic fluid, but, courageously gave my speech anyway. I’m just that tough!” I suspect that is what is at the bottom of this. Sarah tried to make herself seem so much better than “ordinary moms” and, in the process, painted herself into a corner where she embellished the story even more to fit with the “facts.”
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 1:05 pm ¶Most relevant question, Y thrust yourself into her pregnancy, labor and giving life to a ’special’ child? What’s the payoff?
PS– I’m NOT a fan [of Palin’s] Thanks
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 3:40 pm ¶This seems good enough:
And this explanation:
The Obama campaign released a 2007 certified copy of his Certification of Live Birth (sometimes incorrectly called a “short form”) that states Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, on August 4, 1961. A common argument of those questioning Obama’s eligibility is that he has not released a photocopy of his original birth certificate (in this instance incorrectly called a “long form”), having only issued an official certification of live birth (what Hawaii deems equivalent to one’s “birth certificate” upon request).[8] Asked about this, Department of Health Spokeswoman Janice Okubo stated that Hawaii “does not have a short-form or long-form certificate.”[9] Moreover, the director of her Department has confirmed that the state holds Obama’s “original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.”[10][11]
So what’s the problem? I don’t give a damn about palin producing birth certificates, but the major story is she has come out as a birther. Oh sure, she tried to dial it back, but apparrently she believes it is legitimate discussion.
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 4:45 pm ¶Republicans, please nominate Palin or another candidate willing to doubt all the lies the liberal media bring up. I want there to be a Republican candidate in 2012 who is brave enough to deny these and other massive conspiracies - Obama’s birth in the US, 9/11, the moon landings, the Holocaust, all the plans of the New World Order cabal, evolution, etc.
That way, even sensible conservatives like Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who called the birther movement a bunch of cranks, won’t be able to support the Republican nominee.
That way, when Palin starts attacking Obama about his birth certificate after winning the nomination, he can just whip out the long-form birth certificate and medical records proving beyond a doubt that he was born in the US.
Oh, I’m sure the birthers and your brave new candidate won’t believe those are authentic. You and the other 33% of Republicans who won’t regret being stuck with Palin for a general election, even after she humiliates herself on a few more interviews where she won’t be able to name, say, the Prime Minister of the UK, or what the 1st Amendment is, or point out Iraq on a map. You’ll know she’s still better than that liberal liar Obama, you and the other 50 electoral votes Palin will win in ‘12.
Birthers and Palin supporters are some of the best things going for this country right now! They’re going to guarantee beyond a doubt that Obama will get re-elected. Thanks! Me and the rest of the 80% of the country who believe in evolution and Obama being born here thank you for letting worry about real issues in 2012 instead of the election.
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 6:10 pm ¶Palin doesn’t need to show her birth certificate. She is now a private citizen and what she wants to reveal about herself is up to her.
If she decides to run for the presidency, however, this issue will come up again. If she’s wise, she’ll provide documentation and get it behind her quickly. In a tough primary race, fellow Republican candidates may themselves be eager to see a little more light shed on the topic.
Also, Catron, your point that a 10-year-old could have photoshopped Obama’s birth certificate leads me to now consider you a bona fide member of the “birther” club.
To Mr. Catras: Obama has been forced to spend billions to prevent the banks and economy from collapsing.
Mr. Bush added $4.97 trillion to the debt during his tenure. The revered Ronald Reagan was the first big spender in recent times, adding $1.9 trillion to a debt that had been below the trillion mark.
When Paul O’Neill expressed concern about the mounting debt in 2002, it was none other than Dick Cheney who said: “You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don’t matter.”
Posted 05 Dec 2009 at 11:18 pm ¶This a ‘camera obscura’ of a post — everything upside down and backwards.
President Obama has indeed released his birth certificate Brooks Jackson of factcheck.org has handled it, felt it, seen it, touched it, smelled and said in his opinion it is real and authentic. What is ‘reported’ in this post misleading.
No person of normal common sense would judge Sarah Palin of magnanimity in her glib and morally fractured argument that everything about a candidate is up for discussion, even questions that contain within them slanders and libels.
A politician asked those questions who was being truly magnanimous would have said: “I am all for vigorous debate, and I am for fulling vetting the people who serve us in public office; but I am not for character assassination by innuendo. It was wrong to question the clear truth that I am my son’s mother and it’s wrong for people to question the president’s citizenship when both are clearly true and the leading questions are not asked in an effort to find the truth but as cowardly attempts to smear people.”
She could have ending the ‘Trigger’ and the ‘Birther’ nonsense in a single, simple, beautiful act of fair play and common sense.
That she didn’t shows a defect in her character.
That it is defended her with asinine rationalizations that abuse the notion of common sense and decency is further evidence of the continuing tragedy that Mrs. Palin has failed to stop.
Posted 06 Dec 2009 at 5:47 am ¶I doesn’t matter to the public interest if Trig is Sarah Palin’s biological child. What does matter is if someone running for office is a psychopathic liar. Seems like the matter could easily be laid to rest by scientific evidence, yet none is forthcoming, and Palin lies about proof that has never been released. Her whole story is possible, I suppose, yet common sense tells one it is entirely fishy.
Posted 06 Dec 2009 at 5:49 am ¶You’re quite wrong on every point, Ego, but I like your “camera obscura” metaphor.
And, David, your comments consitute a classic example of Obot projection. The documentary crawfishing you describe is a much better description of what Obama has done on his birth certificate than anything Palin has done.
The ironic thing about both of your comments (Ego & David) is your pretense that your fixation on Trig is about Palin’s veracity. This nonsense is obviously about your prurient fascination with Sarah’s uterus and the products thereof.
Posted 06 Dec 2009 at 5:50 am ¶Catron, I don’t know how many sick individuals you know but for you to believe that anyone really cares about Ms. Palin’s uterus is pretty wacko.
This is the bottom line. This is a lose-lose for Sarah Palin. If Trig is not her biological child, then she has committed an elaborate scheme to mislead the public. This makes it very likely that any Presidential term she has would be full of corruption and similarly elaborate schemes to mislead the citizens of this country.
If Trig is her biological child, then she showed incredibly poor judgment in flying from Texas to Alaska while in labor with a child she must have known (from medical testing) had Downs Syndrome. This makes her irresponsible at best and a real whack job at worst. Again, it questions her judgment to be President of the US.
This has nothing to do with Sarah’s uterus. It has to do with what’s between her ears.
Posted 07 Dec 2009 at 12:04 pm ¶I personally laugh with Schadenfreude, remembering how badly Democrats have gotten smeared in the past, when I see Palin attracting ever large crowds and media attention. In ‘12, Democrats won’t have to find political hitmen to smear or “Swift Boat” the Republican candidate, since Palin will do a great job of doing that ever time she opens her mouth. I am just amazed that rational conservatives (not liberals) are not trying to drag her down.
I am seriously thinking about donating to Palin’s campaign and not Obama’s, and I’m an Obama supporter. I think my dollar will go farther to getting Obama re-elected if it can support her primary run and help her get nominated…
Posted 13 Dec 2009 at 3:13 am ¶I’m not sure you’re going to find a more rational conservative than Andrew Sullivan.
Posted 21 Dec 2009 at 3:12 pm ¶The question is very relevant because it shows her charactr. If the baby is hers then just release proof. Sarah Palin is the one who dragged her children into the spotlight, and she has no problem using them for her own publicity. It goes to ethics and character, both of which are very relevant for a publicly elected official. If she lied and used the child to make herself look better than se is not soeone who I want as president in the future. It is less about the baby then it is about palin’s motives and ethical makeup. If he were really hers then she would have released the proof and stopped these rumors a long time again. Because she has not it is obvious to the public and journaliss that she is hiding things.
Posted 29 Dec 2009 at 10:21 am ¶Post a Comment