Everyone has an opinion on Bristol pregnancy Party faithful rally to support decisions by Palin family

When she ran for governor of Alaska in 2006, Sarah Palin was asked if she would support abstinence-before-marriage programs over sex education, school clinics and contraceptive distribution. She was firm in her answer: "Explicit sex ed programs will not find my support."

But that response came back to haunt her - and the presidential campaign of GOP candidate John McCain - Monday with the news that Palin's unmarried, 17-year-old daughter Bristol is five months pregnant.

Palin and her husband, Todd, released a statement saying they welcomed the news that their daughter would keep the baby, marry and make them grandparents - unexpectedly, but happily, they said.

Palin's news is by no means unfamiliar to American families of any background. But even in an era when little seems to shock us, the eye-opening situation of the woman with five children who hopes to be the nation's second most powerful executive - a heartbeat away from the presidency - is cause for concern in the harsh spotlight of a presidential contest.

It's especially troubling because voters have just been introduced to the virtually unknown Palin, her biography and her record as a Republican, a party that has long trumpeted its support of conservative "family values."

And the Palin news, at the start of the Republican National Convention, came just 72 hours after McCain had named her his running mate. It raised questions about whether she had been properly vetted, if the story would be a distraction to the campaign and whether there might be more unexpected news.

"It shows the problems of picking someone out of the blue," said Hoover Institution media fellow Bill Whalen. "It doesn't happen with someone well known like Mitt Romney," and whose every detail of business and life experience has been examined with a magnifying glass by media.

Support at convention

The surprising announcement of Palin's impending status as a grandmother first surfaced with Internet rumors that daughter Bristol may be the mother of Palin's 5-month-old son, Trig. The McCain campaign strongly denied such rumors, but the news of the daughter's pregnancy - never mentioned this week during Palin's formal introduction to the press and voters - still had GOP loyalists buzzing at the start of the party's nominating convention here.

Most staunch Republicans in St. Paul, hearing the news, tried to accentuate the positive: Palin's daughter is keeping the baby and getting married, a plus - the embodiment of family values, they said.

"I'm not a feminist, never have been, and I opposed the Equal Rights Amendment because it was bad law," said Jo Ellen Allen, a delegate from Newport Beach. "But women ought to be applauding her ... this happens to the best of families."

"As a delegate, and as a woman, I respect them even more now,' said Miryam Mora, 26, a GOP delegate from Los Angeles, whose reaction mirrored many others' inside Xcel Energy Center. "It's a family with real issues and real problems ... but it's an amazing family."

Mixed views outside

Demonstrators outside the convention center had varying reactions.

Mary Kay Ryan, 54, of Chicago said she was "of two minds when I heard the news. From a feminist point of view, I hate it when people use women's bodies to make a point." But as someone who says she doesn't want McCain to win, "the bratty side of me says, 'Na-ne, na-ne.' I feel really, really bad for the girl."

Sarah Smith, 21, a marketing manager from Chicago, said that the story "proves to me that we really need more sex-positive sexual education programs in the United States. If the potential vice president's daughter isn't getting the message - then what does that say?"

The latest news could exacerbate doubts in voters' minds about Palin - doubts reflected in a focus group of undecided voters this week organized by GOP pollster Frank Luntz. The group of 25 Midwestern voters, by a 2-1 ratio, said they had deep concern about Palin's experience.

At least one focus group participant said she was deeply troubled that Palin - a mother of five young children whose husband also works - had chosen to seek one of the nation's highest offices instead of looking out for what she said should be the governor's first priority, her kids.

The irony

Whalen said the strongly pro-life Palin "will be pounded in some circles" for her support of abstinence education - and in her own situation, "people will glady point out the irony."

But he said, "the problem would be even greater if there were hypocrisy involved ... if she were sneaking her daughter off to get an abortion."

One Republican operative at the convention, who didn't want to be identified for fear of being seen as critical of McCain, said McCain's pick of the virtually unknown Palin - whose conservative values excite the grass roots - as his vice presidential candidate has been a risky move indeed.

"It's kind of like Babe Ruth pointing to the bleachers and saying, 'That's where I'm going to hit it,' " he said.

"If you actually get it out there, you're a hero," the operative said. "But what are the chances that it's going to happen?"