Bristol Palin, Alaska's "first teenager" and one of America's most prominent unwed teenage moms, is set to follow in own her mother's footsteps and hit the speakers' circuit. Available to share her thoughts on such topics as "women, youth, abstinence and 'pro-life' programs," Bristol will command a fee of between $15,000 and $30,000 — small change compared to Sarah Palin's regular $100,000 fee (plus occasional Lear Jet hire), but it still has commentators wondering if this 19-year-old deserves five-figures:
Rewarding Bristol sets a bad precedent: "The only message that hiring Bristol sends sexually active teens is "Look at me. I didn't abstain and I'm making a boatload of cash because of it," says Sheri Reed at Cafe Mom. Young audiences might learn more from "teen moms who don't or didn't always have it so good," not this "overpriced bad example."
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Actually, kids could learn from her experience: Bristol knows "her situation has been made easier" because of who her Mom is, says Adrienne Ross at US4Palin.com. That shouldn't discount her, though. It's not hypocrisy "to learn from your experiences and then to share those lessons with others." I applaud her for being the "vessel" to spread the message of "pause before you play."
"Bristol Palin signs up to speak out"
Sigh...more nepotism in America: This "makes sense" if you know anything about how American media works, says Tbogg at Firedoglake. "I think we should all just give up right now and breed Bristol Palin with Luke Russert in an effort to create a super-race of unqualified media creatures who will rule our world."
"Getting banged in the back of a Camaro is the new meritocracy"
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