I'm sort of surprised at the level of empathy shown by conservatives towards the Palin family in the wake of Governor Palin's daughter's pregnancy, especially given the dehumanizing language the right generally uses to talk about young single mothers and babies born out of wedlock. Conservatives would probably argue that this situation is different given that by all reports, Palin's daughter intends to marry the father of her child, but I don't really understand why someone who isn't quite as fortunate as her should be subject to the kind of degrading, sometimes violent language used on the right when discussing single moms, especially when the moms in question are black.
Colbert King at The Washington Post recently wrote an op-ed on the problem of teen pregnancy that didn't mention race, and he received the kind of race-baiting responses that unfortunately, one comes to expect when discussing this issue. Every child is a blessing, and it's for the best that instead of shaming the Palins, the right is showing her support. But there certainly is an element of hypocrisy to their reaction, and it would be nice if they were able to show the same kind of empathy and understanding for families struggling with teen pregnancy who aren't white, Republican, and flush with the kind of social and financial resources that mitigate such circumstances.
Of course, some Republican reactions to the story suggest that might be impossible. Adam Doster, over at Progress Illinois, catches former Speaker Dennis Hastert describing Palin as:
the only person that’s a real American family person that’s come out in this election.I suppose if you don't see black people as Americans, and you blame Joe Biden for the car accident that killed his first wife and child, and you assume that John McCain's divorce from his first wife makes his family not a "real American family" then that statement makes complete sense.
--A. Serwer
