Wow — Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter Bristol is pregnant. I honestly cannot imagine how shrill and neverending the GOP attacks would be if it was discovered that a teenage daughter of Barack Obama or Joe Biden was pregnant; televisions would be blanketed with never-ending ads about how worthless “liberal” sex-education programs have proven, how Democrats are encouraging promiscuity, and every other nasty spin you could think of.

In all honesty, if this was in Bristol’s plans, then this is great news for her and her boyfriend-cum-fiancé, and that’s where the personal side of this ends for the rest of us political gawkers. But given that Bristol’s mother has just been selected by John McCain to be his party’s vice-presidential nominee, it’s impossible to deny that there are a few other sides of this that remain highly relevant to the country. For me, this is just another indication that either McCain’s judgement, or his ability to vet his candidate, is much more flawed than anyone previously thought; the whole picture is one of a campaign in total disarray.