MONROE, Mich. Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama Monday afternoon issued a strong statement to "back off" reports of Bristol Palin's pregnancy, telling reporters families — and especially children — are off limits in this presidential campaign.
Mr. Obama, campaigning here, also noted that his own mother was 18 when she gave birth to him.
"People's families are off limits," he said. "People's children are especially off limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin's performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. "
"I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories," he added. "That shouldn't be a topic in our politics."
"We don't go after people's families. Our people are not involved in any way," he said.
That is exactly the right and principled stand. As I recall, Barack Obama himself was conceived out of wedlock by his then 17 year old mother. That is certainly no reflection on him and should not be a source of shame to him, and I said so in an earlier post in this blog.
Back when Bill Clinton was in office, I told many friends and colleagues that Chelsea Clinton was "off limits" and not a valid topic for scoring political points. She was just a little girl and some things, like someone's daughter, are sacred.
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