And so it begins....

Markos Moulitsas Zuniga wasted no time in going for the gutter on the subject of McCain's choice for VP. In a post on Daily Kos this afternoon he accuses Gov. Sarah Palin of lying about 4-month-old Trig being her son.

The rumor – that Trig is actually Bristol's baby – is an old one; it's been floating around for a few months. Most people, though, realized it was nothing more than the nastiest type of gossip that pops up in the Legislature after lawmakers have been kept in Juneau too long in special session.

But Palin and all Alaskans can kiss that kind of respect goodbye. This is just the beginning. If Stevens thinks the national media gives him a hard time, wait until he sees the treatment they put Palin through. Not to mention what the blogs will say about her.

It's too much to expect decency and respect. The stakes are too high. This is going to get ugly. Already has. Only thing to do is batten down the hatches and ride it out. Maybe she comes out the other side. Maybe not.

There are plenty of legitimate questions that can be asked of and about Palin. But this isn't about an honest vetting. This is about winning an election; a race with no second place. Rumors and innuendo will do. Both sides are guilty. No innocents here.

And so it begins.

• Scott Slone over at Alaskapodshow.com has a video of Palin near the end of the pregnancy that clearly shows her carrying more weight than normal. 

Comments

[Rob_N]

Markos "Kos" Moulitsas Zuniga did not write that post.

Please correct your entry, Dillon.

An infrequent diarist with the moniker "ArcXIX" wrote it and has since deleted it. "ArcXIX" had written 3 diaries total since 2005 and 2 of them were on this topic. It was more of a hit and run than anything -- not too uncommon in political blogging unfortunately. And it shouldn't be too difficult to understand that blogs allow people other than the main contributors to post to them... happens on both conservative and liberal blogs.

As noted by other commenters on this very thread, the rumor over Trig Palin actually started with Alaska's Republican circles among Gov. Palin's GOP enemies. It's unclear why conservatives and other folks are now blaming a liberal (who didn't even write on it) for the rumor.

(PS: The McCain campaign seems to have announced Bristol's pregnancy in reaction to a forthcoming National Enquirer story on it, from the same reporter who broke the John Edwards affair no less.)

[Sunshine Jim]

So a busy morning so far!

It's hard to get a post in here!

Folks in the lower 48 are concerned with wayyyyy more than Palin's babies that's a 'fer sure'.

C'mon by this blog if you want to know what we're talking about.

http://www.samsedershow.com/node/3687

Seems to me that Alaskans are just getting to know what's up with Palin for the most part.

Me personally? I think her ambition has sucked her into a maelstrom.

[Sunshine Jim]

Regarding the Palin flap:

Wayyyy more issues than her baby flight being talked about in the blog world.

Seems Alaskans are learning more about their gov than they knew before she got tossed into the VP slot.

[MissS]

That video doesn't "clearly" show anything. The guy in the video said that it was not apparent that she was pregnant to him, or anyone in the crew. That is not a confirmation, but Ive never seen a woman be able to hide a seven month pregnancy, unless she was already overweight.

If she is not the baby's grandmother, then she got on a plane and made a 12 hour trip back to Alaska after her water broke, endangering both herself and her child. She also did not inform the airline of her condition.

One or the other is true, as the 12 hour flight is her own retelling of the story. If she is this careless with her own child during a higher risk pregnancy, we can't trust her with the reins of this country.

[Dillon]

So Daily Kos allows anonymous contributors to post accusations that Palin is a liar without any verification at all? Now I have even less respect for the guy and his Web site.

[Logan]

The post needs to be revised since Markos Moulitsas is not the author of the diary on Daily Kos you site. (Unless, you are a liar, which may be the case.)

As the first comment notes, anyone can write a diary on Daily Kos. There are thousands of diary writers on the site.

So, if you are a journalist, try getting the facts right.

Now, I don't care who had the baby. What is interesting is that the McCain campaign doesn't have a ready answer for that accusation, or any of the others floating out there about Palin. Which only goes to show Team McCain is lying about having vetted her. They clearly didn't. The story isn't about Palin. It's about McCain's judgement. It's about his decision making process. Instead of researching to find the best candidate, he basically picked one out of hat. Or let James Dobson make the pick for him. We already know that Karl Rove wouldn't let him pick Lieberman, whom he really wanted.

So, it seems the real story here is about McCain, not Palin.

[Greg]

Brief clarification: That post was not by Markos. Daily Kos allows any registered user to post diary articles - that one in particular was posted by a user named "ArcXIX".

[Dan]

For those of us who are seeing this story for the first time, and who have to admit that the photos and videos show a suspiciously unpregnant-looking person, maybe you could toss a link or two up that explain away the circumstantial evidence? Calling it bullshit without a proper argument doesn't really clarify the picture.

[Maia]

We've all known the Trig rumor for months, and we all refrained from posting about it... but you're right, this is what she can expect now. Although Palin had to have been aware this rumor was bumping around out there, which makes me seriously question the family's decision to have Bristol wear Trig in a baby Bjorn during the announcement. Why encourage it?

Also, the consensus among my media-junkie friends last night is that Bristol Palin has a body type that, when paired with the of-the-moment babydoll cut, could be misconstrued as pregnant. I just don't see McCain trying to shore up social conservative support by picking a running mate whose teenage daughter is pregnant.

[The Real AlaskaReport]

I have media from around the US emailing me about this. I saw Sarah up close many times in the last weeks of her pregnancy, she was pregnant without a doubt. Dennis Zaki

[Tom Lamb]

http://www.polartrec.com/node/3944

"...There were several of us PolarTRECers waiting in the Fairbanks, AK airport to catch our planes home. We were chatting about all we had learned when Kristen Timm, ARCUS administrator said “ Look, there is the Hottest Governor in the United States” as she has been publicly deemed by media and fans.

Of course I had to check out the “Hottest Governor in the US” and quickly turned to see her pregnant (she has since had her baby) with bags and daughter in tote. Then it struck me as odd. Why is the Governor of Alaska in the airport and preparing to get onto my commercial flight?

I questioned PolarTRECer Craig Kasemodel an Alaskan resident. He let me know that Governor Palin sold the corporate jet after securing her official Governor
position."

[Visitor]

I believe Trig is Sarah's baby.

HOWEVER, after watching Palin's acceptance speech and seeing the photos for People Magazine, I am almost positive that Bristol Palin is currently pregnant.

[Observerqz]

The story about Sarah's daughter having the baby is a dirty lie.

But here's a true story:

Alaska's Governor has always had a security detail from the Alaska State Troopers. Sarah got rid of hers after the baby was born because the Troopers insisted that she put the baby in a car seat, which Sarah refused to do. Later, when she was driving herself, she got pulled over by a Trooper for having an unrestrained baby. When the Trooper realized who he'd pulled over, he called in to headquarters for advice about what to do. He was told to give her a warning and let her go. When Monegan found out, he read out the supervisor who said to just give the Governor a warning. Shortly after Sarah found out what Monegan did, he was terminated.

[Philip Munger]

When somebody connected to Lyda's office fed me that crap months ago, I called around. A lot. Removed the comment.

Markos is a big Ethan supporter, Dillon. Maybe you should call Ethan and tell him to get Markos to wise up, eh?

I'm coming down on Sarah's ineptness really hard, but am pushing back on this particular bullshit just as hard as you.