Bristol Palin, Alaska's poster teen-mother

by Mark Silva

ST. PAUL -- So much for privacy.

Sarah and Todd Palin insisted they wanted to protect the privacy of their 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, even as they announced on Labor Day that she is pregnant.

Then Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston, the 18-year-old father-to-be, arrived at the Minneapolis airport today for the Palin family greeting of Sen. John McCain, the presidential nominee-to-be of the Republican Party.

Levi Johnston's appearance is as public a statement as possible that he plans to step up to the plate: The couple will marry, the Palins say. They planned to all along Johnston's mother says, even before Bristol Palin became pregnant.

Sarah Palin's appearance at this novel arrival ceremony is as public a statement as possible that she supports her daughter's choice -- indeed hails it as an affirmation of the "pro-life'' cause which she supports, an affirmation appreciated by the conservative, religious base of her party.

John McCain's appearance in the picture is as public a statement as possible that he accepts the whole family, a measure in and of itself of how far American politics has come: There was a time when pregnant teenagers were hidden, shipped off to schools of their own. In this time, a pregnant teenager and her boyfriend can be embraced by a candidate for president, in the most public fashion possible.

A public picture of extended family values.

So, so much for privacy, Palin family and McCain family alike. They have chosen a public path for America's at least temporarily most famous teen mom. And ultimately the public will make the call about what, if anything, it all means.