Laura Novak
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Sarah Palin and the Professor: A Conversation, Part 3

4/19/2011

 
Picture
In which I continue my dialogue with Dr. Bradford Scharlott, tenured professor of communications and journalism at Northern Kentucky University. He wrote an academic paper entitled “Palin, the Press and the Fake Pregnancy Rumor:  Did a Spiral of Silence Shut down the Story?” It was released and circulated widely last week to the interest and consternation of Sarah Palin followers everywhere.

This appears to be the first time an academician has publicly examined the role of the U.S. press in covering, or not, the controversy that continues to surround Mrs. Palin and the baby, Trig Palin, born only months before her candidacy for vice president. And that is what has made me want to do a story on a story about a story.

(And at the bottom of this interview, I’ll post a photo of me holding my son in the Children’s Hospital NICU at 3 days old. With a few additional thoughts.)

LN:  Brad, in your paper you quote a blogger who asserted Mrs. Palin was not the birth mother of Trig only days after her selection as John McCain’s running mate. That blogger quoted the Anchorage newspaper as having reported on rumors to that effect almost six months earlier…rumors that were apparently “long simmering” about this. And yet another Alaskan reporter shut that down. And when you tried to contact a reporter about the confusion, he shut you down.  Who can make any sense of this?

BS: Gregg Erickson, a Juneau-based newsman, told the internet-poster ArcXIX that the press had pursued the hoax rumor and it proved “baseless” – that is different from saying the rumor was untrue. I believe he meant that Wesley Loy, an Anchorage Daily News reporter, had investigated the matter the previous summer and had failed to find affirmative proof of a hoax. There still is no affirmative proof of a hoax, just a ton of circumstantial evidence. That doesn’t mean there was no hoax – simply that, if there was one, it has worked well so far.

I tried to contact Wesley Loy, as you note, and he did not respond. (Recall that he is the reporter who wrote that Palin “simply does not look pregnant” when she announced the pregnancy – which took a lot of guts.) There is nothing unusual about the fact that he would not respond to my email. At the time I tried, he was probably getting contacted by lots of reporters and would have had no particular reason to want to talk to a professor in Kentucky who contacted him out of the blue. Remember that Palin was not only the governor, which gave her great power, she also had a reputation for being viciously vindictive. Even a reporter who felt certain a hoax had taken place had to be very careful of what he said. Loy is no longer with the newspaper; he was offered a buyout and took it.

Erickson and Loy were the only reporters I tried to contact back then. I wasn’t planning on doing anything with the information. I was just curious – professionally curious.

LN:  But you also said that the McCain camp felt the need to respond to the rumor that Mrs. Palin did not give birth to Trig Palin, even though none of the mainstream press in the Lower 48 picked up the story. The campaign did this by saying Bristol Palin was pregnant.  You then write:  “It seemed strange and needless. A birth certificate would have settled the matter, as would a statement from the hospital or from the doctor who delivered the child.”  Had that happened, you and I would likely not be discussing this today. So, what’s your theory on why that didn’t happen?

BS:  Why didn’t Sarah Palin offer documentary proof she’s the mother? There would seem to be two possible answers, and they are not mutually exclusive: 1) she’s not the birth mother; and 2) she’s mentally unbalanced.

BS:  Laura, you’re a mother. If someone doubted your birth story, would you simply ignore the matter, or would you prove your maternity with a birth certificate or other documentary evidence such as medical records?

LN:  Once when I was working for CBS Radio in San Francisco, this nasty little woman who worked in the newsroom began spreading a rumor that I had been a biology major in college but never ended up graduating. She said I was a college drop out. Not only can I barely spell biology, let alone would I ever major in it, but I in fact have two degrees, both a bachelor’s and a master’s. I quashed that stupid rumor fast by chewing her out across the newsroom, as everyone ducked their heads! Had I needed to trot out my framed degrees, I would have. The rumor was so crazy, baseless, and insulting, I didn’t want it to fester.

Were I running for top office in the United States and a crazy rumor came up that I either endangered my child’s life, committed a fraud or lied through my teeth about the birth, I would quash that even faster by yelling even louder. For my child’s dignity, if not mine.

But, would I stand in front of a bank of cameras and wave my innocent child’s birth certificate around? I can see not doing that.  Would I offer up all my medical records? Likely, no. But what would  be appropriate is to have a pool camera and reporter view the certificate and talk to my doctor. Especially if this were causing my running mate any embarrassment!  Or, I would have the campaign arrange for me to be on 60 Minutes, maybe even have my doctor laugh off the rumors with Leslie Stahl, and then show me in some beautifully quiet, peaceful, loving moments with my most precious offspring. I would leave no doubt, no doubt, in anyone’s mind that I gave birth to this baby. To leave doubt is to foment mystery. To leave doubt would demean my intelligence and viability as a leader. The right person speaking in front of the right camera able to back up the facts to the right reporter, would be all that it takes.

Anyone would do the same thing. Unless of course, they wouldn’t. And the question remains:  why not?

BS:  As a former reporter yourself, can you identify with the reporters who covered the campaign and totally gave Palin a pass on the birth hoax rumor? If so, why?

LN:  Hey, d’you hear the one about the third rate burglars who broke in to that apartment building in Washington one weekend? Well these two Metro reporters read about it on the police blotter, and the next thing you know, the president is resigning in disgrace. baduum tssshhh.

Sounds like the start to a joke, right? Whatever happened to gum shoe reporters who meet people in parking garages? Who ask tough questions and demand honest answers?

A few years ago I was working on a story for The New York Times. I had written proof that someone allegedly tried to extort money from a man I was reporting on. It was relevant to the story, but I double-checked with the editor overseeing the story. She said to put it in. When I tried to get the people involved to respond, they went insane. They threatened me. They threatened the Times. The woman herself stalked me and ended up in my driveway. Later, in a conversation with the editor who wanted me to pursue this line of questioning, even though it was becoming more and more tangential to the story, I explained how this woman was really harassing me.  “If you’re afraid, hang up and dial 9-1-1.”  That was this New York Times’ editor’s response to me about something that had happened a few days before:  “Hang up and dial 9-1-1.”

People assume that the editors and managers in charge of stories for the MSM are necessarily wise, prudent or compassionate. Some of them really are. Most are great mentors and sharp professionals and I’m grateful for the guys I’ve worked for there. But some are also checked-out, like this woman. They make poor decisions, or bad calls. So too do reporters who get on a list-serve and decide a rumor is icky and that it’s their job to protect the candidate’s family from embarrassment. Imagine if Woodward and Bernstein felt Trisha and Julie’s feelings were more important than this incredible and incredulous story? How possible was it that Richard Nixon was somehow connected to a bunch of guys who bungled a burglary? Thankfully, two unknown Metro reporters thought it their jobs to find out.

The problem with the Palin baby story is this: if it’s a hoax, and I emphasis the word if, it is the perfect one. Almost like the perfect crime. Because it involves medicine and there is no way anyone can prove it to be false. True? Yes. But false, no, because every one of these facts is protected by law. The facts behind this are under lock and key. The only good thing about all of this that I can see is that the child about whom this story has unfolded will never be able to cognitively comprehend the nuances of what is being surmised or said.

But whether a mother or a reporter:  Why would I want that question to be left in the air? Why? That’s the question. Forget follow the money. The question is:  who benefits from this controversy continuing?


Picture
This is me holding my son for the first time. He was 3 days old and living at a children’s hospital. I was finally released from the birth hospital nearby.  He was born at 36 and 5/7 weeks and weighed 5 pounds 14 ounces. Here, his weight had dropped to 5.9 pounds. There was no fat on him anywhere! He was jaundiced in this photo, which can present as a ruddy, red look, rather than a sickly yellow look, though he never went under the bili lights for it. The condition resolved itself.  He was breathing room air (I discussed how we prepared his lungs for birth in an earlier post.) He received his nourishment in the form of hyperal (hyper alimentation) through a deep line in his scalp. That is a suctioning tube taped to his nose. Again, just some perspective. 
Kim Chatman
4/19/2011 02:57:59 am

I so appreciate Brad and Laura both taking the time to address the birth of Trig. I am from Alaska and my children and I saw her right after she announced her pregnancy, she wasn't even and arms length away from my us, and she was not pregnant. Her stomach was ironing board flat, she did not walk or sit like a pregnant woman that far along. At first I didn't think too much about it. Then the very disturbing story of her plane ride from Texas, and her drive past a major medical center in Anchorage to Wasilla made alarm bells go off for me. The announcement that she gave birth to a Down's Syndrome child and went to work three days later made me pause. My theory is that she wasn't pregnant and that Trig is a convenient prop for her and the McCain campaign. In an act of desperation this was a good way to add that extra "Oh look at beautiful Sarah Palin that didn't have an abortion". It energized McCain's campaign, and it is a hoas that needs to be revealed. The Alaska Press was very irresponsible and they are not interested or professional enough to handle the "Big stories".

Kim Chatman
4/19/2011 02:59:30 am

Sorry - typing so fast didn't mean hoas meant HOAX.

mistah charley, ph.d. link
4/19/2011 04:15:39 am

Since you bring up Watergate, Laura, I want to mention something relevant that I was reading yesterday. This is from the book Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership, by Joseph Jaworski, San Francisco: Barrett-Koehler Publishers, 1996. The author is the son of Leon Jaworski, Watergate special prosecutor, like his father also a lawyer, and his father's confidante during the case.

The father is quoted as saying to his son, "Here is the President of the United States, his counsel, and his Chief of Staff - three of the most powerful men in the country, people charged with the highest responsibility in our government - and I heard them talking and plotting against the ends of justice like thugs. Sleazy, third-rate criminals." Leon Jaworski showed his son Joseph the transcript of the taped conversation. Joseph writes about his own reaction, "Now I was seeing the private Nixon - the real Richard Nixon. His betrayal of the Constitution and his staggering abuse of power made me sick to my stomach. Revulsion and hate welled up in me. I had a feeling of fear for our entire country, fear that followed the revelation that we were being lead by a man with so little character. How could someone with such a low moral and ethical base ascend to the highest office of the most powerful nation in the world? How could this happen? Who was responsible? How could we prevent this from ever happening again?" [all quotes from page 22 of book]

Laura Novak link
4/19/2011 04:28:48 am

Thank you both for stopping by and offering two fascinating stories! That Leon Jaworski quote is chilling. It's difficult for people to think that sociopaths can have two such distinct sides or personalities. But they can, of course. What makes them feel infallible? Why do they purposely get sloppy? More importantly, it's interesting that my post called out for you this excerpt in particular. Thank you for sharing.

Belle
4/19/2011 04:37:13 am

The picture of you with your baby is beautiful - you look so happy to be holding him. That baby is very fortunate to have you for his loving parent.
On the Palin birth story, your picture above is very different from the picture of Trig Palin at the hospital, supposedly newly born, being held by his grandparents. There is also a picture of Levi Johnston holding the newborn Trig with a loving, fatherly look. I think the pic was taken in the Palin's kitchen. Weird isn't it?

Berkeley Mom
4/19/2011 05:27:39 am

Laura and Brad, this is another terrific interview, complete with a real picture of how most preemies look after they are born!

And, wow, Kim Chapman? THE Kim Chapman?
Good to have you here with your eye-witness account!

Finally, Mistah Charlie, the Jaworski quote is awesome!

When time permits, I urge everyone to go over to Daily Kos to read the hilarious account of Sarah's Wild Ride.

Bandit
4/19/2011 05:51:48 am

Awesome as usual Laura. I'm sure you have just read Geoffrey Dunn's piece in the Business Insider where he deals with the "wild ride" and how it was handled by Palin.

The ADN reporter (Julia O'Malley) has attempted to smear Brad S. by stating his pictures are photoshopped (not true). Additionally she apparently is such an egoist that she contradicts her own newspaper. It is obvious that she lacks any jounalistic integrity - and she has chosen to use her own private opinions as facts.

How will this story ever come out when people like Julia O'Malley at the ADN make up stories to protect Palin? What does O'Malley expect to get out of this? Do you think she plans to try and become a private press contact for Palin?

None of this makes sense. Why would the Anchorage Daily News allow one of their own to make up lies and contradict their own story?

There are many questions here ... concerning what goes on in Alaska.

It isn't just Palin who apparently is crazy.

DebinOH
4/19/2011 05:55:10 am

I am one of those people who is not 100% sure that Trig is not hers. I have seen the evidence and her walking in heels during an interview, etc. and the wild ride story. I've been following this story from day 1. Participate in all the anti-palin blogs. Audrey did one of the best jobs of documenting that I have ever seen and then palingates after Audrey dropped out.

I can understand how anyone can believe she didn't give birth. Everything about SP is just so darn odd, and I mean everything. This is always what gives me pause. I could totally see her binding her stomach so that she didn't show. She didn't want the people scouting for a VP to know it because I sincerely believe that that is why she didn't say anything. Yes, she did the day after McCain was nominated and that is why I think she knew it would be okay to come forward. I think that since she knew this baby was going to be a Down Syndrome baby & that just sealed the deal.

I am not even sure that all of her mistakes are mistakes (when & where she gave birth). I truly believe she believes that no news is good news and it keeps her in the spotlight so that people are always talking about her. Of course, she does lie all the time and I am not even sure she is even aware of it anymore.

I think that if she truly had Trig then her actions show her as completely incompetent and just shows how awful she really is. Both stories though are equally bizarre.

I will be so happy if this ever gets resolved. This woman has wasted way too much of our time. I don't mean ours but our countries. The level of hatred that this woman has brought out in people and the division is among one of the worst things ever for our country.



midnight cajun
4/19/2011 06:10:17 am

So I want to know the rest of the story: is your son now okay?

Laura Novak link
4/19/2011 06:14:18 am

Thanks for asking. He's fine and great. You'd never know to look at him that he's had 16 surgeries or procedures. The longest one lasting 7 hours when he was 3 months old. He's taking 2 AP classes, rides a BMX bike, face plants off a BMX bike (last Dec.) and is funny and kind. Neonatal medicine is astounding. And serious. Pregnancy is risky and serious. I like stories that make sense and add up. Loose ends bug me!

BlueberryT
4/19/2011 06:42:54 am

This is another excellent interview, which I appreciate very much. You have made an important contribution in showing people how implausible Palin's story is, and how likely it is that she was not the birth mother of Trig Palin. Laura, the photo of you with your baby is wonderful, and it's great to know that he has grown up into a healthy, happy teenager. Thanks for delving into this subject.

S. Powell
4/19/2011 06:50:20 am

theimmoralminority.blogspot.com has some photos that leave no doubt.

No one's tummy makes an inversion below the belly button when that pregnant. You can see the edge of the fake baby suit around her collar in the lighting.

Enjoying the added info from your interviewing, but those photos, and maybe someone can mark it up so no one can miss it and the comparative baby suit, need to go viral!

S. Powell
4/19/2011 06:54:44 am

Probably should have added this article title since Gryphen keeps site up to date with lots of great info:

See the photo on theimmoralminority.blogspot.com

This article:

"Every picture tells a story. And then another picture refutes that story. And yet another picture then refutes THAT story. And...well you get the picture."

truthrocks
4/19/2011 07:29:11 am

S.Powell - I have looked at all the IM pics many times over the last couple of years. Please describe the one in which you see the edge of her fake baby suit. Just a general description of the setting, what she's wearing, so I can check it out. This sounds important!! Thank You!!!

MariaT
4/19/2011 07:37:01 am

Laura and Brad, I'm loving this discourse. Thank you both.

I can't help but compare the pic above with the one Gryphen at IM used to illustrate his blog post about this 3rd part of your conversation. Laura, your pic shows a loving mother focused on the wonder of her new baby... the pic of Sarah Palin at IM says to me, "Lookee here, at my prop. Oh, clever me!"

The latter pic, btw, was taken at the baby shower hosted by Kristan Cole at the beginning of May 2008. That baby is the one with the ruffled ear and does not appear to have DS.

Please refer to this IM post for more details:
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2010/02/tale-of-two-babies-by-sarah-palin.html

KatieAnnieOakley
4/19/2011 07:37:32 am

Laura, I wanted you to also know about how it was PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE to do what Palin did: flat abdomen for months, then grow, then flat, then a slight belly, then flat, then appearing to have swallowed an entire watermeleon: her round ligaments in her uterus would never, EVER have let her do it. PERIOD.

You can't grow a maternal belly overnight without ending up in an ER - read this and find out why:

"PEOPLE LIE, SCIENCE DOESN'T"

http://palinpeytonplace.blogspot.com/

midnight cajun
4/19/2011 07:38:33 am

Thanks for answering. That's wonderful! He was lucky to have you as a mom. But then, I suspect observing Sarah makes most of us appreciate our mothers just that much more.

Ironically, I was out of the country when Sarah was selected and the rumors about the fake pregnancy swirled. By the time I came back, it was all gone, Poof. Talk about a spiral of silence; I didn't hear anything about it. But I did observe Sarah's behavior with that poor infant and thought, That's the strangest mother-child interaction I have ever seen. It wasn't until a month later when a Republican relative complained to me about those evil people who were attacking Sarah and "had even suggested that little baby wasn't hers", that a lightbulb went on in my head. I rushed to the Internet, but it was amazing how everything had been scrubbed. No news site even wanted to be caught with the old articles in their archives, that's how complete the decision to shut everything down was. Even the Daily Kos had scrubbed its blog files.

I am sooo glad to see someone looking into the media's handling of this. Something as important as the honesty, integrity, judgement, and sanity of a national politician should not be left to the valiant efforts of unpaid, anonymous bloggers.

ProChoiceGrandma
4/19/2011 08:17:04 am

Actually, Palin's hoax has not worked well - it is the MEDIA that has guaranteed that it remains nearly as top secret from the general public as the nuclear codes.

Palin never purchased actual maternity clothing. Instead, she emptied the stock of long scarves from Wal-Mart. With those scarves, Palin wore long jackets indoors ALL the time, even when others were wearing sleeveless shirts. She even wore a trench coat while serving as hostess to a luncheon in the Governor’s mansion. Palin’s piss-poor job of pretending to be pregnant necessitated the need to scrub the Governor’s website of all pictures of her from January 2008 to April 2008, and all MySpace comments of her daughter and her daughter’s friends. McCain's goon squad deleted the contents of the Johnston's computer. Anna Arodzero was at the Johnston home pretending to reporters that she was a friend of the family, when in fact she was part of the McCain opperatives.

I believe the only real fact that Palin has related about Trig’s birth is that he was born at 35 weeks gestation – but not from Sarah’s womb.
Bristol’s MySpace comment of 5-14-07 said:
“haha, my mom was asking me who i was on the phone with last night, and she said she heard everything i was saying, now she thinks im pregnant. ahaha, call me later if you’d like. ♥”
Do the “granny finger counting” before and after this 5-14-07 MySpace comment. I firmly believe Bristol became pregnant in mid-May 2007 and her baby would have been due in mid to late February 2008, but at 35 weeks gestation he would have been born approximately mid January 2008.

I believe that Bristol gave birth in mid-January 2008, and that a custody hearing was held on SATURDAY, January 19, 2008 giving custody to Sarah and Todd. This is based in part on the fact that Bristol got a minor speeding ticket on 8-6-07, which was continued several times, and finally heard on SATURDAY, 1-19-08.
http://www.courtrecords.alaska.gov/pa/pa.urd/pamw2000.docket_lst?44738506

Tell me anywhere in the US where they hold traffic court on a Saturday! None! But a clerk at the Palmer courthouse responded to a telephone call that ‘sometimes they hear custody cases on a Saturday’.

Bristol was in a traffic accident on 2-8-08 that occurred in front of an OB/GYN’s office. The young fellow that she hit did not notice if she was pregnant. Really? She would have been close to 9 months pregnant, and he didn’t notice? He didn’t notice because she had already had the baby.

Laura Novak link
4/19/2011 08:21:38 am

People have commented other places that mothers usually LOOK post partum. I have another photo to add to my next post. You'll see my holding my son in the NICU weeks later. Wow, the stomach on me! No doubt I had a little baby and a lot of fluid on board!

I also want to add that for what it's worth: I obtained the OR Report on my son's birth. That's the operating room report that the OB dictates. It's a fascinating document and I wanted it for posterity. They are available to the patient b/c it's essentially your property. It's not difficult to obtain. You just ask. Just sayin'...

Amy
4/19/2011 08:21:52 am

Laura and Brad:

It's ironic--especially since Laura posted a picture of herself with her baby--but the explosion of the rumors really spread once Sarah Palin presented her family at the RNC:

The body language was all wrong. The video and photos showed Bristol and Levi looking lovingly at Trig, holding, and kissing him. Sarah and Todd hardly held him at all.

People noticed instinctively. The saw the bond, or lack thereof of the child with the two couples. The "rumor" then burst onto center stage as fast as Sarah did.

Interestingly, it's been reported (I think in GAME CHANGE) that at one point during a PEOPLE magazine shoot, McCain barked at Sarah---something to the effect: "Aren't you going to hold the baby, or are you going to just let those rumors that's he's not your child continue?"

ProChoiceGrandma link
4/19/2011 08:49:00 am

Laura, I can relate to the post-partum belly! I naively packed my jeans for return from the hospital only to have to dejectedly wear my maternity dress home. However, six days after giving birth, I was able to lay on the bed to zip up my jeans! Ta Da! The belly flab could be packed in.

Ingrid Ricks link
4/19/2011 10:44:11 am

Compelling interview, Laura. Ok...now you've got to solve the mystery for us.

Who needs Huffington Post? I'm coming here for my news.

Great work!!!!

Laura Novak link
4/19/2011 10:50:55 am

Thank you for visiting here. I just heard that Huffington Post won't post Geoffrey Dunn's newest essay. So I'm happy we are having a conversation!

Speaking of: I have no idea why this default photo landed here. It comes with the template, but isn't as hip and cool as (me, or) my graffiti graphic.

I've contacted Weebly and their support is very good. I'm sure they'll figure it out because I don't want to give the impression my head is in the clouds. Because I'm grounded. And I love this story about a story about a story. And I want to keep working on it.

HP
4/19/2011 11:09:24 am

again, thank you to both you Ms. Novak and Dr. Scharott. I am thrilled to see this get coverage again. I don't give a hoot what happens to Palin, but the media needs to be exposed for not asking important questions. And preferably before the next election cycle.

Dr. Scharrot, how would it effect your paper if you look at the media response of another case involving a Democrat-John Edwards? That paired with Palin's case might help people see that you are targeting the media rather than Palin herself.

As the mother of a child born at 36 weeks with jaundice (but healthy enough to go home at 2 days,) I immediately realized the "in the hallway with Chuck & Sally" photo is not of a preemie newborn. Too chubby, nice healthy pink. My child looked like ET. Giant sunken eyes, unnatural pink color, bones in her skull showing.

Bobcat Logic
4/19/2011 12:12:42 pm

The "media" (with some important exceptions) need to be highly scrutinized, at the very least.

We need to be asking: Who scrubbed all the government websites of Palin pictures from the 7 or 8 months previous to April 18?

Could the people sent to "vet" Palin have been complicit in the hoax?

Could this whole story involve a "third rail" of American politics?

ProChoiceGrandma
4/19/2011 12:51:58 pm

<b>To HP:</b>
I had never personally seen a preemie until early 2009. When I saw this baby, who had been born 6 weeks premature, I was shocked that at 10 weeks of age, he looked like he was born yesterday, and still tiny at that. As I'm sure you know, it takes weeks, sometimes months, for preemies to catch up on their growth, and preemies have their own separate growth charts to account for this. After seeing that preemie myself, I could finally put into perspective how Trig could easily have been born prematurely in January 2008. My babies were 8 & 9 pounders, so it was a real eye-opener to actually see that 10 wk old preemie still smaller than any of mine at birth.

<b>To Bobcat Logic:</b>
I am absolutely convinced that McCain's operatives were complicit in completely stripping the Johnston's computer. Anna Arodzero was a McCain operative who answered the door at the Johnston's and identified herself to reporters as "a friend of the family" Palingates had a good post about Arodzero & the corporation she worked for.

Bobcat Logic
4/19/2011 02:04:18 pm

To ProChoice Grandma:

I would take my hat off to you, if I wore one.

The questions now include: "What did they know and when did they know it? And what did they, then, do about it?"

"They" includes all the GOP pundits who came to Alaska to meet with Palin in 2007, and the McCain operatives who scrubbed the computers, and CBJ, and her fellow Fundies and/or militia members.

This is worse than Watergate, and bloggers, not the "media," are breaking it.

ProChoiceGrandma
4/19/2011 03:08:12 pm

To Bobcat Logic:
Have you read Game Change? I am convinced that Palin did not tell McCain about the "rumors" that she had faked her pregnancy until it came out after he announced her as his VP pick. She had not even told him that Bristol was pregnant until she was already in Arizona. By then, it was too late for McCain to make another pick.

I seriously doubt that Palin ever confessed to McCain that she faked her pregnancy. Instead, Bristol's current pregnancy with Tripp was used as the scapegoat to deflect further speculation.

I do suspect that Palin consulted with someone like Franklin Graham or James Dobson of Focus on the Family about her faked pregnancy. I also suspect that the ludicrous "Obama birther" conspiracy was specifically invented to project similar ridicule on any rumors that Palin faked her pregnancy with Trig.

As for CBJ, at first I felt she was in on the whole deal. Later, I began to feel that she may have been unwillingly sucked into Sarah's crazy plan. I believe CBJ was involved with Bristol's first pregnancy because of her specialty in child sexual abuse/incest. I doubt that CBJ knew of Sarah's plan to fake a pregnancy until Sarah announced it the day after McCain won the Republican nomination. Look carefully at the few direct quotes of CBJ. It was safe for Sarah to fly because she wasn't pregnant.
http://www.adn.com/2008/04/22/382864/palins-child-diagnosed-with-down.html
The letter purportedly from CBJ released at 10:30 pm the night before the election has so many indications of a forgery, but it was too late for anyone to ask questions.

The MEDIA's failure to investigate Palin's pregnancy hoax is worthy of an investigation in itself.

Kenna
4/20/2011 02:18:09 am

"Why didn’t Sarah Palin offer documentary proof she’s the mother? There would seem to be two possible answers, and they are not mutually exclusive: 1) she’s not the birth mother; and 2) she’s mentally unbalanced."

Ah, no. There is a third option. It's none of your d*** business.


Laura Novak link
4/20/2011 02:41:06 am

http://my.firedoglake.com/edwardteller/tag/madison-wi/

There is an excellent post up on Fire Dog Lake right now. Worth taking a look.

I plan to post on preemies soon. People have ideas about how they all look and there is real variety there.

Also, newborns are nose breathers. Their mouths aren't open. When a mouth is open or the tongue showing, it can be an indication of Ds. and other syndromes. Those babies can have larger tongues. That is in response to someone who commented on the photo in the Immoral Minority post about my post.

Thank you all for weighing in. No matter your opinion. Glad the conversation continues. Part 4 on the way

Bobcat Logic
4/20/2011 03:30:02 am

@ Kenna,

Ordinarily, I'd say it is none of our d*** business.

But Palin and her right-wing supporters made it our business by proclaiming Trig (and his birth to Sarah) as the most important fact of Sarah's personal and political life.

This meme was started at the moment of her announcement as McCain's running mate and was repeated many times by pundits in the 2008 race, during which Trig was Palin's most valuable campaign prop.

Palin herself made Trig the issue.

If her account of Trig's birth is a lie, and it almost certainly is a lie, that makes it the crucial business of every voter in the US, and of all the countries in the world with whom we have a relationship.

AnotherAlaskan
4/20/2011 04:16:05 am

I really appreciate the evenhanded and professional approach to this story. This segment asks the question that has bothered me for a long time: Why would any mother allow this sensational speculation to continue when she could clear it up so easily?

And why would she allow this question to hang over Bristol in particular? Unlike Trig, someday Tripp will understand how he's been dragged into these rumors, too. Wouldn't you be a little upset if you knew your family allowed something like this to go on and on?

However, this is also the same woman who treated Bristol like Kevlar by announcing her teenage daughter's pregnancy to the world solely to protect herself from an obscure rumor. That, to me, says everything about Palin's character, her ambition, and her overwhelming hunger for fame and power.

I also wonder why there is so little evidence that would cast doubt upon or flatly contradict any of this speculation. Where are the friends who would speak out to defend Palin's story? The extended relatives? The medical professionals who would dismiss anybody's concern over The Wild Ride? The former staff who could dispute any misunderstandings or misperceptions of her actions or character?

The spiral of silence hasn't just engulfed the press--it has swallowed whole the Palins and everyone in their personal and professional circles.

DebinOH
4/20/2011 05:04:08 am

You know after going over to Palingates today and looking at the postpartum pictures that these are really the nail in the coffin pictures. I am sure that you are all over there reading so I won't repeat what I said there.

Like I always say - anything that surrounds anything SP is just so bizarre and unusual.

chris
4/20/2011 05:05:22 am

Having had a amniotic fluid leak and having my doc tell me to go to the hospital because of the risk of infection that could harm the baby and that I'd need to be induced if I did not go into labor on my own within 24 hrs.

So I found it totally unbelievable that Sarah Palin's doctor would tell her it was "okay" to stay for the speech, not go to the TX hospital near by and to fly all the way home.

As a mother I found it alarming that Palin would endanger her baby like she did. It also bothered me during the campaign that no one seemed to care about Trig's young ears being protected from all the loud noises or over stimulus to his sensory system.

And further more she alarmed me with the lack of concern toting a baby around the US on book tour during flu season exposing him to thousands of people. He could have died if he'd had to fight off an infection. And taking him outside late at night with barely any clothing in cold weather to show him off to the crowds?

Whether she bore him or not, she is a terrible example of a caring mother! She displayed over and over negligence to protect her special needs vulnerable child.

I sincerely hope Trig is getting the physical and educational therapy he needs. He's supposed to wear glasses, he never seems to have them on.

I honesty think Palin has some sort of psychological problem. I don't want anyone like that near our Whitehouse or be a politician.

Truely ludicrous

JR
4/20/2011 09:07:27 am

This is so interesting. I wonder why Brad thinks the media killed this story, and why they continue to do so today. I just read that The Huffington Post banned and "Trig" stories, labeling them as a conspiracy theory (but there are 10 stories a day about the debunked Obama birth certificate). My opinion is that John McCain and his staff knew that Sarah Palin faked her pregnancy and if it was ever revealed it would bring him & his reputation right down with her. Who wants to be the one who destroys the the career of a statesman?

Marleycat
4/20/2011 09:23:31 am

Thanks for at least allowing those who question the inconsistencies about this 'pregnancy' a voice. The questions need to be asked. BTW - the picture IM has up showing a picture of Palin postpartum on day 3 after the 'birth' with a 'newborn' Trig is another huge red flag that her story is nothing but a big lie. As you noted - a newly postpartum mom does not fit into a fitted suit size 2, nor is that a pic of a preemie born 6 or 7 weeks early. No hospital, doctor, or new mom would be passing around a 6 or 7 week DS jaundiced preemie with a hole in his heart 3 days after his birth, If SP did in fact do this she should be charged with negligence! It takes some weeks, not 3 days for the paunch of recent pregnancy to disappear. Palin has brought but shame on her family, the State of Alaska, and America.

Laura Novak link
4/21/2011 01:08:08 am

Thank you all for reading and commenting. Especially someone from Alaska! I know that many people from up there visit this blog!

I have spoken at length with a pediatric specialist and am finishing the post. I'll put it up as soon as it's ready. It will spark more conversation, I have no doubt.

vg
4/21/2011 11:23:26 am

So glad this is being brought up again! It is embarrassing, how intimidated our media has become. Why is it wrong simply to ask about the births? Of course, practically no one challenged GWB regarding the WMD in Iraq...

After reading and thinking far too much about Sarah Palin, I'd like to offer a few more reasons for the deception. First, she adores attention. Being pregnant turned her into a star. Second, I'm sure there are some competitive issues that she had with Bristol. Instead of Bristol getting all the attention with the pregnancy, Sarah hid her daughter away and pretended to be young and fertile herself. Third, Sarah suffers from a severe inferiority complex, particularly regarding her brains. So, hoodwinking everyone helped feed her voracious narcissism. In fact, I bet she had fun staging many parts of the escapade.

I know these words won't convince those who think I just hate SP (which I do, but I like to think that the stuff above is why I hate her, and not that I believe such stuff because I hate her). Is there any way to come up with a smoking gun?

The McCain staff think she's a whack job, presumably because they know the truth. However, their coming out with this information would make McCain appear really foolish, so that's an unlikely avenue. So we have to go back to Alaska - family, friends, medical personnel. Records. All very hard to crack.

Again, Laura, thanks for this! Also, does anyone know what happened to Audrey at palins deceptions?

Bobcat Logic
4/21/2011 12:58:50 pm

@ vg who wrote:"Is there any way to come up with a smoking gun?"


DNA testing overseen and conducted by multiple labs and collectors.

No way I would trust a "birth certificate" at this point.

vg
4/21/2011 01:14:48 pm

DNA testing would be interesting - but would it be conclusive? As Bristol is her daughter, TriG would have the same mitochondrial DNA anyway - and possibly enough DNA so thst you couldn't tell. However, you could easily tell whether or not Todd was the father.

Unfortunately I can't see any of them cooperating in this! The easiest thing to do would be for a caretaker to get samples from both little boys - and to do a comparison. Again, still a violation of privacy, certainly illegal, and it would never stand up in court - and whoever did it could not publish the results without getting into a lot of trouble. Ah, Sarah and her shenanigans - I am being influenced by you into taking (or at least imagining) devious paths!

Laura Novak link
4/22/2011 01:33:17 am

Thank you for posting, and for not posting the entire thing in German! I think there's food for thought there about how this conversation continuing feeds narcissism. How having a fecund teenager might have created tension and incited passions and emotional triggers. These are all components of one angle of this story. Because again: why prolong this discussion. It must be painful for the other child and it robs the baby of dignity. And if it were easy to debunk, why didn't the campaign do so properly to save face for their primary candidate?

vg
4/22/2011 02:13:04 am

The German reference is a little puzzling - yes, I do speak it, despite being American, but I'm curious as to how you know. However we may address that issue in private messages.

There are so many failures of the media these days. Do you remember how for weeks, after 9-11, they kept saying that there were 6000 dead? At the time I worked for an insurance company and was trying to get a handle on how much money we would owe. One variable was the number of dead - and to my surprise I found an article in the Hindustani times maintaining that it was 3000, not 6000. Curious, I went over to the CNN website and looked at the six lists of dead. The Hindustani times was right - it was only 3000! So I shot off a memo to all those involved in making estimates - use 3000, not 6000, in your calculation.

But that's not the end of the story. Within 48 hours, CNN stripped the numbers off their lists of dead. Now, it would be an easy matter for anyone to print out the lists for the 4 planes and the Pentagon, but counting the list from the WTC would take serious effort. And so no one did. And for six weeks the media continued to report the wrong number - and then dropped it to the correct one, but without any explanation.

Why? Because we were in the first stages of bombing Afghanistan.

I enjoyed Scharlott's paper, but I don't think there's nearly enough about who controls the media in it.

WRT Palin, she could quash this if she could. I'd think she'd enjoy quashing it if she could. But she can't...

vg
4/22/2011 03:11:29 am

And another point - we should all remember what our teachers told us in school: THERE ARE NO STUPID QUESTIONS. We all remember being the kid who held up his/her hand to ask the question that everyone else was afraid to ask - and instead of looking stupid, that kid always looked smart.

Laura Novak link
4/22/2011 07:19:35 am

I agree. No stupid questions. And I'd like to think No stupid answers. Just answers that might lead us to another direction.

As for quashing it: someone above speculated that the entire ordeal feeds her narcissism. That may be true. But the story is also so far gone, there is no good answer. It's beyond embarrassing at this point. What can she possibly say?

lilly lily
7/9/2011 12:12:31 am

This entire family as evidenced by Sarah, Todd and Bristol completly lack any moral compass. They talk a good talk but beneath it all they are tawdry and conniving.

They do have blood loyalty to a degree, but even there ,as Bristol has shown in her break for freedom from Sarah, they end up back in the bosom of the Heath blood family and lie, lie, lie for their advantage.

Everyone else can go to hell and "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." (the Troopergate affair, and Levi and the Wine Coolers.)


I saw a N.E. article while shopping this morning, and they mention Brad and his paper. Their pictures aren't as damning as yours. Too bad they are soft pedaling it all. Putting a toe in the water so to speak on Babygate.

MicMac
7/20/2011 06:47:54 am

Let us not forget that at the time Wesley Loy "looked into" the pregnancy hoax, he was reportedly having an affair with Ivy Frye, Palin's aide. Unreliable Narrator. I believe that was the reason why he was dismissed from the paper.


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