Thus far, Minneapolis-St. Paul hasn't gotten nearly as much of a bump from hosting a political convention as did Denver. But even though day one of the Republican confab was a wash thanks to the timing of Hurricane Gustav, this evening's events could be must-see TV -- especially if former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee speaks as scheduled. Why? Because it'll be fascinating to see if the Huckster takes the same approach to the pregnancy of Bristol Palin, unwed teenage daughter of vice presidential designee Sarah Palin, as he did late last year, when Jamie Lynn Spears announced that she was in the family way.
Plenty of conservatives have argued that discussing Bristol's situation should be off-limits, and even Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama concurs. But Huckabee didn't see anything wrong with weighing in on Spears' delicate condition last December. He called the choice not to terminate her pregnancy "a good decision, and I respect that and appreciate it." However, he added, "I hope it is not an encouragement to other 16-year-olds who think that is the best course of action," and declared, "It's a tragedy when a 16-year-old who is not really prepared for all the responsibilities of adult life is going to be now faced with all the responsibilities of honest-to-goodness adult life."
Will Huckabee echo these comments from the podium at the Xcel Energy Convention Center in regard to Bristol Palin? More likely he'll scold the press for making a big deal of the story if he brings it up at all, even though he had no problem joining the media frenzy on a similar topic a few short months ago. -- Michael Roberts
