A reader writes:
As a woman and a mother I am deeply offended by your reader's suggestion that Sarah Palin ought to be given privacy about whether she really gave birth to Trig because "women lie about pregnancy/birth/parentage all the time." Give me a frickin' break. If a woman lies to her mate about whether she's carrying his child, that's between them. But if Sarah Palin lied about giving birth to Trig and then goes around talking about his birth in her book and in speeches, that's a public matter.
"E]ven if you prove what is likely true - that she is lying - it is neither unique nor crazy." Well, it may not be unique to fib about a pregnancy, but it is crazy to build an entire political identity on what even this reader thinks is almost certainly a lie. If Palin can blatantly lie about something this big, and keep lying and embellishing the story, then how could we possibly trust her in public office? This is why it matters to voters.
I am sick and tired of this sexist bullshit. She's a politician. She made it part of her identity. It's fair game.
Amen. Another adds:
The crux of the controversy about the Trig/Palin issue is quite simple. If Trig is her biological son she should offer proof. PERIOD.
She should do that so that she is worthy of a position of influence within our society. If she can’t do that because she has lied and lied and lied about the circumstances of Trig’s birth and has not only lied, but has exploited the lie to further her personal ambition, then quite simply she has no place in our society that demands trust and accountability. PERIOD.
There is no gray here. The media giving her this so-called’ pass is abhorrent. There are no passes’ here for lying and exploitation just because she is a woman. None at all.
But you think the NYT will re-examine its own on-faith elaboration of Palin's story? Not if the powerful don't want it. I reiterate my commitment to publishing in full any evidence that Palin provides to prove that her story does make sense. I want to be proven wrong. I have begged to be proven wrong. It is insane that the MSM won't clear this up - out of the same cowardice that led them to their Orwellian circumlocutions about torture.