Friday, July 10, 2009
When The Levi Breaks
Regular readers of this blog know that, from the announcement last summer of Palin as McCain's running mate, I've been rather skeptical of the soon-to-be-former governor of Alaska. My initial doubts had more to do with what I saw as a disconnect between the GOP's "family values" brand and the seeming acceptance of familial dysfunction represented by the welcoming of pregnant teen Bristol and "baby daddy" Levi Johnston at the GOP convention.
Since the end of the campaign, my doubts on Palin have intensified, even as the broader family soap-opera has expanded. The end of the Bristol-Levi relationship was about as surprising as the idea of snow in Alaska -- "engagement of convenience," if ever there was one.
What bothered me even more was that Palin constantly gave mixed signals. On the one hand, she indicated frustration over her family coming in for unfair scrutiny from the media. On the other, she seemed to have no problem with letting Bristol become a celebrity herself: She stood by as her 18-year old daughter first became a national spokeswoman against teen pregnancy (which included a trip to a national convention in New York City -- 2,900 miles away) and then sat for a People magazine cover-shoot. Sorry, but this girl has a six-month baby that she's supposedly taking care of!
What sort of "role model" is being created here? If Sarah Palin wants her family out of the media spotlight, don't toss them into it! Let Bristol work within the parameters of being a "normal" teen mother: Help her with college if necessary or help get her a "normal" job in Alaska. As obnoxious as David Letterman's initial comments were, if Palin lets her daughter become a more prominent teen mom, the family becomes fair game for "knocked up" jokes.
However, if Sarah Palin actually has presidential plans for 2012, the smartest thing that she can do is get rid of her spokeswoman. Meg Stapleton doesn't seem to know the first rule of dealing with the press or political incoming fire: You never engage an attack from below. By that I mean, a chief executive doesn't get into a personal fight with someone of unequal stature. During a campaign, a presidential candidate doesn't get into a political fight with a staffer from the other campaign: The candidate just engages the other candidate.
While the dynamic is slightly different when family is involved, the principle isn't completely thrown out the window. Stapleton doesn't understand this. On Thursday, Johnston reappeared to give his opinion that Palin decided to quit the governorship because of monetary reasons:
Levi Johnston, 19, whose wedding to Bristol Palin was called off earlier this year, said Thursday he lived with the Palin family from early December to the second week in January. He claimed he heard the governor several times say how nice it would be to take advantage of the lucrative deals that were being offered, including a reality show and a book."She had talked about how nice it would be to take some of this money people had been offering us and you know just run with it, say 'forget everything else,'" he said.
He said he thinks book deals were really what appealed to Palin.
"I think the big deal was the book. That was millions of dollars," said Johnston, who has had a strained relationship with the family but now says things have improved.
Johnston is a 19-year-old kid. The only way he's a threat to the Palins is if they let him become one. The smart response to this is to either (preferably) just ignore the comments or, alternately, just play them down. She can say, "The governor has made the reasons for her decision known. It's been more than six months since Levi lived with the Palins. He's not in a position to know what's transpired since then." Palin and Co. remain above the fray.
Instead, Stapleton can't resist personalizing exchanges with Johnston: "It is interesting to learn Levi is working on a piece of fiction while honing his acting skills." By engaging him, Stapleton elevates Johnston (and diminishes her supposed bosses, the Palin family).
And it's not the first time she's lashed out at him. After Levi's appearance on the Tyra Banks show in April (when he surmised that Sarah Palin probably knew that he and Bristol were having sex before the pregnancy became known), Stapleton said:
"Bristol did not even know Levi was going on the show. We're disappointed that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship," says the statement from the Palin family rep, Meghan Stapleton.Even though Bristol and Levi are no longer romantically involved, they still have a child together. Having the spokeswoman trade barbs with the father of Gov. Palin's grandson isn't just dumb politically, it's stupid personally.
"Bristol's focus will remain on raising Tripp, completing her education, and advocating abstinence," the statement continues. "It is unfortunate that Levi finds it more appealing to exploit his previous relationship with Bristol than to contribute to the well being of the child."
The statement ends, saying, "Bristol realizes now that she made a mistake in her relationship and is the one taking responsibility for their actions."
Furthermore, Johnston (or his attorney) seem to have better political instincts than Stapleton (or Palin herself, considering she keeps her spokeswoman around): His explanation for Palin's quitting seems to be more honest and straight-forward than hers. In short, he's sounding more "plain-talking common-sense" than Sarah Palin herself.
But, again, Stapleton is failing the basics of PR: A story only gets bigger when a statement is returned with major fire. Forget about political press secretaries, spokespersons for celebrity clients know this.
Stapleton doesn't. Which creates a big question: Who is Sarah Palin's worst enemy: Her non-son-in-law, her spokeswoman -- or herself?
Labels: Levi Johnston, Meg Stapleton, sarah palin
Friday, May 29, 2009
Madness A-Parent To All
A week or so back, former magazine editor Bonnie Fuller took People magazine to task for essentially making teen motherhood look a heck of a lot more glamorous than it is in reality:
She may not intend to encourage other teen girls to follow her example, but with her picture perfect looks and adorable baby son, she is absolutely now the poster girl for teen momhood.
The inside article, with dreamy full page photos, might as well be titled, "I'm 18, a mom and HOT...and you can be too!" There's not one photo of an exhausted, haggard, harried, unkempt-looking Bristol, reeling under the enormous responsibilities of raising an infant, working part-time — which she is — and hoping to somehow continue her studies. Instead, Bristol appears tanned, rested and already fitting back into her skintight jeans.
Visuals are a powerful force. And more than words, they produce visceral reactions! So while Bristol talks in the exclusive piece about how "girls need to imagine and picture their life with a screaming newborn baby," there's nothing in the People magazine spread to visually suggest that life isn't one big happy bed of roses in the Palin household, where Bristol and Tripp still reside. There's not even a dish out of place, let alone a pile of laundry or an unmade bed.
Gratuitous slaps at Palin's ideology aside, Fuller's overall point is a good one. Despite what the text of the article might say, the pictures make teen motherhood a lot more alluring than it is. Fuller could also add that, one area where criticism for Gov. Palin is fair is in allowing her 18-year old daughter to become a "spokesperson" against teen pregnancy. Earlier this month, Bristol attended a town hall for Candie's Foundation, hosted by NBC Heroes star Hayden Panetterie. Bristol is Candie's "teen ambassador." She's eighteen and has a one-year old child. How is she giving "insights" on teen pregnancy, when there's no way she's figured out how to raise the child herself. But as its spokesperson, the Foundation undoubtedly flew her from Alaska to New York for the event. As Fuller suggests, an impressionable teen-age girl might think, "Hey, having a child right now isn't so bad -- you can get on People magazine, hang out with Hollywood celebrities and fly to New York as a celebrity spokesperson! Cool!"
Talk about mixed messages.
Could it get any worse? Of course!
If teen motherhood can be cool, how about making teen fatherhood sexy? Enter GQ, which makes a cover boy out of Palin baby daddy Levi Johnston in its next issue. The spread includes several pictures of Levi stripped to the waist as he changes baby Tripp's diaper! The feature -- near-Biblical in length -- makes Levi into a hunting stud who's coulda-been father-in-law Todd Palin offered Bristol a car get Levi out of their lives.
Levi got the first brush of fame when he was all cleaned up and introduced to the world at last year's Republican National Convention. After the split with Bristol, not surprisingly, both families traded pot shots at each other. So, he's figuring he's going to maximize his 15 minutes of fame.
Lessons for guys here: If you have to knock a chick up, make sure she's politically connected. At one time, that could have meant a death sentence. In today's culture, it means that you become a celebrity yourself, with appearances on Larry King and a full feature in GQ.
And then there's the most famous baby (not born to Hollywood celebrities) in the world. Tripp gets to appear in two major magazine spreads (one tastefully nude), while his parents present decided mixed messages on what his presence in their lives means. Well, in between the photo shoots, interviews and gala appearances, they do.
Any guesses on how regular and functional his childhood is going to be.
Somebody tell these kids that the best thing they can do for Tripp is to "just say no" -- to the media that is. The only hope for a normal life for Bristol and Levi's child is for his parents to try to start living normal themselves.
Labels: Bristol Palin, Levi Johnston, Sara
