Bristol as a Role Model? You Must Be Kidding

When the Candie’s teen fashion line came under fire for dressing high school girls like hookers, it formed a nonprofit to fight teen pregnancy. And when the foundation needed a “teen ambassador,” it called Bristol Palin. “Can I say upfront that this is a terrible, terrible idea?” writes Gail Collins of the New York Times. “Surely when it comes to combating teen pregnancy, the Palin family has done enough damage already.”

Didn’t the Republican convention already send the worst possible teen pregnancy message? “If your handsome but somewhat thuglike boyfriend gets you with child, he will clean up nicely, propose marriage, and you will get a standing ovation.” But there Bristol was yesterday, preaching abstinence and bemoaning her maternal workload. Writes Collins: “It’s hard not to suspect that for her, being the anti-pregnancy ambassador is just a good excuse to get out of Wasilla.” (More teen pregnancy stories.)