October 29, 2009

I'm worried about Levi Johnston.

He's just a naive kid who got caught up in a whirlwind. He's a teenager who got his girlfriend pregnant, which is hard enough to deal with. Now, he's estranged from his own child; he is massaged, paid, and goaded by clever people who've seen ways they can use him. But now he's cut off from the access to information that made him useful. And the material he's coming up with has become increasingly desperate-sounding, like the fake confessions of a tortured man. What does the boy have left? Yes, there's his genitalia. He's still got that to reveal. There will be the Playgirl spread, but then what? Is there anyone in his life who loves him, who is available to help him? He's surrounded by false friends who will soon have used up everything he had to give. What resources does he have to draw on as his fame spike plummets? We are talking about a boy who is still only 19 years old. God help him.

ADDED: When a publishing company offers me a big advance, I'm going to write a roman à clef about Tripp Johnston. It is a revealing memoir of growing up in his mother's family, where, despite the intense environment surrounding his grandmother Sarah Palin, he felt drawn into the unknown world of his long-lost father, Levi Johnston. (I'll have to change those names.) What became of that wandering soul after he was exiled from the powerful family by the woman who had a chance to become the first female President? "Tripp's Journey" is the gradual discovery of what happened to Levi Johnston after Palin's enemies sucked him dry and left him to his grotesquely inadequate devices. Tripp himself becomes a lost soul, a shell of a man, who must struggle to rebuild his identity. But he is only able to burnish that empty shell into a superficially winning personality. But in that shining surface, America could see itself, much as it had seen itself in Barack Obama, almost half a century earlier. We're reading the new edition of the memoir people found so inspiring. It has a new postscript, in which President Johnston jokes that he should have titled it "Dreams From My Father."

204 comments:

1 – 200 of 204   Newer›   Newest»
Anonymous said...

Yes, there's his genitalia.

Funniest line I've read so far today.

Peter

Balfegor said...

What resources does he have to draw on as his fame spike plummets?

I assume he has his actual family. It could be worse. He could be a budding pop-star with a psychotic father working as his manager, after all.

TosaGuy said...

The other day on your blog, a 19 year old was an adult, today a 19 year is a boy.

chickelit said...

Funniest line I've read so far today.

Not as funny as yesterday when Johnston was quoted as having "something big" to reveal.

David Walser said...

In the effort to destroy Sarah Palin, a lot of other people are being hurt. Granted, Levi gave them the keys, but they are driving him off a cliff.

Kevin said...

You make your bed, you lie in it.

He gets another two minutes of fame, and then he can work in a 7-11 for the rest of his life.

J. Cricket said...

Seeing Russia from your house is nothing! Althouse can see into Levi Johnston's circle of friends from her house. She can see what is happening in his inner-life! What amazing powers you have, professor!!

Quasimodo said...

nice post ... so true ... kinda like a cute child star that grows up to be an unattractive teen and is cut from the show

The funniest three lines I've read today:

Yes, there's his genitalia.

Funniest line I've read so far today.

Peter

Bissage said...

I'd trade places with Levi Johnston in a heartbeat and I'm not joking.

Anonymous said...

What does it say about the rabid crowd who hold this punk up as a reliable sage? He's everything Althouse says--naive, desperate, manipulated--and the willfully ignorant herd will hang on his every revelation of Palin transgressions, as if he were Moses, returning from the mountain with the glory of God glowing on his face.

Bissage said...

Okay, I changed my mind and I'm not joking.

Bissage said...

No. Wait a minute. Maybe I would change places.

Would I still have my present mind? Would I have my memory?

Bissage said...

I mean, I'd take his youth.

Can I have just that?

TMink said...

I agree. He is acting like a putz, but then he is just a kid surrounded by people who see him as a meal ticket or chance to diminish a strong conservative Christian woman.

He is being used like a tool, but I think he is too young to be a tool.

God bless and keep and protect him.

Trey

Skipper50 said...

Child support, anyone?

Bissage said...

But I used to have his youth and I made different decisions so maybe I don't need his youth so maybe I don't want it, after all.

Bissage said...

Oh, my goodness, how I can dither!!!

prairie wind said...

He spent time on the arm of Kathy Griffin. If that doesn't shock him into using good sense, nothing will.

Scott said...

Ann, I share your sense of pity and disgust.

The enemies of Sarah Palin are attacking her by using Levi as a proxy. It's the left's form of McCarthyism; and like the famous Wisconsin senator, they don't care whose life is ruined as long as they score political points.

Bissage said...

No, I've changed my mind.

I'm not dithering.

Well, maybe I am.

Ann Althouse said...

"I assume he has his actual family."

His mother is facing felony drug charges. I don't think he has a father in the picture. I think the boy is truly alone, and, if so, the Palin's actually did owe him parental care, but they simply couldn't afford to give it to him after he... what? Went rogue?

former law student said...

Did Levi learn nothing from Trooper Wooten's ordeal?

You don't mess with the Heath sisters. Unless you want your life ruined. They have long memories and you will pay.

traditionalguy said...

The "Levi is a poor dumb jerk Alaskan yokel" stories are not meant to show any misconduct about Sarah Palin at all. That is their surface hook, but the purpose of the Mass PR campaign telling us Levi said this and Levi said and did that is meant to attach a label to Sarah Palin as being familiar with and little removed from dumb jerk Alaskan yokel origins herself and therefore she cannot be seen in the same league as an anointable super smart Harvard/Yale educated Presidential candidate.

Pat said...

It is a tribute to your goodness, Ann, that you would feel sorry for this guy.

I think 19 is plenty old enough to be culpable for mendacity.

Meade said...

Levi's manager has been quoted as saying he is "90% sure" the pictorial will contain full frontal nudity.

So he's 10% open to the pictorial excising part of his genitalia?

Henry said...

@Bissage: I'm reminded of a William Steig cartoon. A very old, sagelike man exclaims: "Oh to be young and a jackass again."

MadisonMan said...

(1) The song Glory Days by Springsteen pops into mind.

(2) There's still a Reality TV show for him, then addiction, rehab and a big come-back. Isn't that how the scripting works?

(3) You know, it is possible he is resilient and canny enough to get through all of this.

KCFleming said...

It seems no one said to Levi 'Great back-stabbing, kid. Don't get cocky.

'Cause now he's going to get cocky.
For $2.50 an issue.

Meade said...

...therefore she cannot be seen in the same league as an anointable super smart Harvard/Yale educated Presidential candidate.

Thank heaven for small favors.

paul a'barge said...

You know, when he has nothing left he can still move to Provincetown on Cape Cod and live with Andrew Sullivan.

paul a'barge said...

I assume he has his actual family.

Wasn't his mother busted for dealing drugs?

bagoh20 said...

Few people would pass up the opportunity he is getting at 19. I was broke, unemployed, and nobody was offering me a bunch of cash to get naked. Take it Levi, and use it to move on. Talentless women have used this option for ever and men can now too. Men, liberation is at hand!

Unknown said...

As the Catholic church teaches, we all have free will and intellect. This kid could have done the right thing by his girl friend or, at least, made the future of his son the most important thing in his life. Given his background, that would have been tough, but not insurmountable.

The real problem, Ann, is that he's a man, not a boy. He can enlist or get work in the oil industry (what he intended to do, I believe), but, in our nanny state, in terms of character, very much a child - I use that word specifically. The line from the Psalms is instructive - when I became a man, I put away childish things. His petty little threats are childish, but the decisions he's making are adult decisions and everyone but him knows it.

He's tied himself to the Lefties like Cindy Sheehan and now he'll be used the same way.

WV "tagmar" Personality on the old Tonight Show.

David Walser said...

I think 19 is plenty old enough to be culpable for mendacity.

Sure it is. Levi will have no right to blame anyone else for the mess he's made of his life (assuming arguendo his life becomes a mess). The same can be said of all the 19 year old kids who try to make it big in Hollywood and only end up making it with a numberless succession of Johns in seedy motels and even seedier parking lots. We don't absolve pimps from moral outrage just because their whores were "plenty old enough to be culpable".

Those around Levi Johnston know the likely bad outcome of the decisions he's making. Rather than steer him away from disaster, they're encouraging his recklessness in a hope of profit (and of damaging Sarah Palin). Whether Levi's culpable or not, what these others are doing is despicable and there's nothing to be gained from ignoring that fact.

Bissage said...

@Henry, William Steig was one of the greats.

I was thinking of Charles Saxon and his cartoon essay entitled “The Fountain of Youth.”

I can’t find it on the intertubes but here’s a description from Mr. Saxon’s obituary:

An example was a four-page sequence of drawings in The New Yorker that ran in 1968, titled "The Fountain of Youth." It depicted a corporate surburbanite who, when given the chance to sip from the fountain of youth, is tempted, but loses his chance when he hesitates too long. He frets about whether his peers will take the chance, and, ultimately, worries that it might affect his pension plan. When he gets home, his wife asks him, "What did you do in the woods today?" His answer: "I got lost."

Link.

Brilliant!

Anonymous said...

The line from the Psalms is instructive - when I became a man, I put away childish things.

Psalms? Try Corinthians.

Levi was used by the Palins. The whole wedding story was a sham in order to appease the Christian Right. When Levi was no longer useful to them, they dumped him like a hot potato.

Bissage said...

BTW, now that I read it more closely, I see that The New Yorker made a typo. The man didn't worry about how "his peers will take the chance . . ." He worried about how his peers would take the change in him, IIRC.

He encountered the fountain of youth completely by himself, alone in the woods, and there was no one other than him who could drink from the fountain. It called out to him by name.

That was crucial to the story.

Alex said...

I hope the scumbag gets severe depression and takes the manly way OUT.

hdhouse said...

Don't worry he won't survive long with that nitwit after him.

And who is it that is after Sarah as David Walser suggests. Gotta be right wing moderates (sic!) as this is the best drama for democrats to watch since Gone with the Wind.

TMink said...

"The whole wedding story was a sham in order to appease the Christian Right."

I disagree. I have found the Palins' faith to be genuine. Faith and family perfection are not the same thing. For one thing, faith is attainable.

Trey

Anonymous said...

"those who would sell their body for money reflect a desperate need for attention and are likely to say and do anything for even more attention,” Palin says in the statement.

Sarah Palin never really had much of a knack for self-reflection, did she? Talk about projection.

knox said...

Levi was used by the Palins. The whole wedding story was a sham in order to appease the Christian Right. When Levi was no longer useful to them, they dumped him like a hot potato.

Yes, it's obvious that given the chance, he would be a hard-working, responsible adult and a loving, mature father right now.

If it weren't for those damn Palins!!!



Look, I don't know what happened in this mess. But I don't act like I do, either.

BobbyBoxty said...

"Levi Johnston has quit his North Slope oil field job over questions about his eligibility to work in an electrical apprenticeship program, Johnston's father said Monday.

In a Sunday newspaper column, Anchorage radio talk show host Dan Fagan questioned how Johnston could take part in ASRC's apprenticeship program without a high school diploma."


Perhaps the same group of people that are using him now are the same ones that destroyed his shot at normalcy.

hdhouse said...

Scott said...
The enemies of Sarah Palin are attacking her by using Levi as a proxy. It's the left's form of McCarthyism ...

That is such bullshit. The left is enjoying the right wing in their ineptness. We aren't in this at all except as gleeful observers.

Why don't you pinhead rightwing idiots ever take responsibility for anything you do? Is it because all your ideas are so boneneaded?

Anonymous said...

Tmink: I'm not saying their faith isn't genuine. But the wedding was a ploy all along to cover for Bristol's pregnancy among "values voters".

Unknown said...

jasperjava said...

Levi was used by the Palins. The whole wedding story was a sham in order to appease the Christian Right. When Levi was no longer useful to them, they dumped him like a hot potato.

All he had to do is marry the girl. They could have lived somewhere else in Alaska, they didn't have to move in with her family.

Unless you know something no one else does (aside from the Kossacks), there's no more reason to believe your take than there is that he seduced a girl younger than him because her mother was powerful and might get him a cushy state job. Given his family background, not entirely implausible, I might add.

I'd also add that the story of Bristol Palin's pregnancy probably put off a lot of conservatives' view of her mother's fitness for the office.

PS What's with calling him, "Levi". I notice this with the Lefties. They want to take up somebody's cause, they're suddenly on a first name basis.

Wince said...

He's tied himself to the Lefties like Cindy Sheehan and now he'll be used the same way.

Now there's an idea for a TV reality show.

All the used-up liberal-left poster children living together under one roof.

Beside Johnston and Sheehan, who else could be there?

Thinking about it, the perfect host would be the pony-tail guy from the presidential debate in 1992 who told the candidates that we all are "symbolically the children of the future president."

miller said...

I am sorry a 19-year-old boy/man doesn't see how he will be discarded as soon as he's no longer useful to bash Palin.

What career lies ahead of him? "Oh, once I was famous for posing in 'Playgirl'. And for being a father to a child out of wedlock. And then for the last 40 years, it's been 'You want fries with that?'"

Alex said...

I have to say that Bristol's pregnancy was very off-putting for me, I know it caused many familiy-values conservatives to stay home.

Meade said...

We aren't in this at all except as gleeful observers.

"Gleeful observers" read: "Copperhead Democrats"

Anonymous said...

What's with calling him, "Levi". I notice this with the Lefties. They want to take up somebody's cause, they're suddenly on a first name basis.

Calling him "Johnson" provokes too many giggles, considering his spread in "Playgirl". Plus, "Levi" is shorter, and we all know how lazy liberals are, right?

Besides, we don't "take up his cause". We're just enjoying goofy braindead conservatives and their delusional antics. Pass the popcorn.

MadisonMan said...

Used.

Levi Johnston used Bristol Palin. Perhaps Bristol used Levi to strike out at her mother.

The McCain/Palin campaign used the Palin/Johnston pregnancy and purported wedding to distract people from other issues. If all you focus on is a pregnant teen, do you notice the questionable skills of the Vice Presidential candidate?

Johnston used his link to a famous person to try to get ahead in the world. He's Wasilla's Billy Carter and Neil Bush wrapped up into a cuddly, 19-yo package with a package.

Johnston's "handlers" used him to make money.

Kev said...

(the other kev)

Johnston's not really a celebrity, but he's in my death pool for 2010. I'm betting on an OD at Sully's house.

traditionalguy said...

jasperjava...As to Christian values voters, I are one. You mistake thinking that an out of wedlock pregnancy is OK withe values voters if marriage is planned later. It is what it is. The question is how did the innocent parents handle the consequences of their child's willful rebellion. Supporting the daughter in her decisions to have the child and marry or not marry were the details we watched. Sarah passed with an A in doing the right thing in a hard situation...like a President should quit dithering and do.

Invisible Man said...

Isn't it ironic that the beauty pagaent queen is criticizing Levi for "selling his body".

Palin and Levi are like the Superman and Lex Luthor of Alaska. It's great that Palin has a formidable nemesis to test her wits against.

Ann Althouse said...

"the Palin's actually did owe him parental care"

I wrote that, and I humbly apologize for the inappropriate apostrophe.

Unknown said...

Ann Althouse said...

"I think the boy is truly alone, and, if so, the Palin's actually did owe him parental care, but they simply couldn't afford to give it to him after he... what?"

Oh horseshit. The Palins nor anyone else "owes" an adult man parental care.

KCFleming said...

Levi wears his break-up like a crown
He called his child Tripp Easton
`Cause he liked the name
And he sent him to the mother-in-law to stay

Levi, Levi likes his money
He's made a lot they say
Spends his days counting
In a garage by the motorway

And he shall be Levi
And he has been a traitor
And he shall be Levi
No tradition, no family man

Levon sells nekkid pictures of himself
His family business dives
Tripp plays with Grandma all day
Sits on the porch swing watching the sky

Joe said...

Worried about, sorry? Give me a break. Enough of the hand wringing; the kid is nineteen. Seems that this is the time to exploit his fame for all its worth; if he has any brains, he'll bank his money, otherwise he'll just have fun for a bit. Whatever happened to the 60s ideal of "seize the moment?" It's like everyone from the sixties has turned into a bunch of scared wimps.

former law student said...

This was a small town problem. With not much else to do, a couple of horny kids have sex. But in small towns, high school boys are too embarrassed to buy condoms when everyone knows who everyone's dating.

Unknown said...

Alex said...

I have to say that Bristol's pregnancy was very off-putting for me, I know it caused many familiy-values conservatives to stay home.

You can't whine about values voters, especially how hypocritical they are, and then complain when they stick to their principles. Besides, not everybody views illegitimate pregnancy as fodder for the welfare state.

It's interesting to note how a woman who keeps the baby and turns her life around without the help of Uncle Sugar is often sneered at by the Left.

jasperjava said...

Calling him "Johnson" provokes too many giggles, considering his spread in "Playgirl".

Besides, we don't "take up his cause". We're just enjoying goofy braindead conservatives and their delusional antics. Pass the popcorn


First of all, his name is Jonston, as in Joe, as in Albert Sidney, so you can't even get that right.

Second, in telling yourselves (and every one else) how he was "used" when there is no evidence of it sure sounds like you're taking up a cause.

Finally, you guys are the ones getting all wrapped up in this, the rest are just commenting.

WV "swidess" When something is the most wide.

traditionalguy said...

Levi needs what every 19 year old needs, which is wise counsel which he summits to and enough money to finish High School and whatever college.

Original Mike said...

Althouse said: "the Palin's actually did owe him parental care".

I don't know how you reach that conclusion. He knocked up their daughter, then walked out on her. I'm thinking the Palin's have already done more than is owed him (i.e. they didn't beat the snot out of the little creep).

Ann Althouse said...

"Oh horseshit. The Palins nor anyone else "owes" an adult man parental care."

If I were in Sarah Palin's position there, with my daughter's boyfriend troubled and unprotected by his own family, I would have tried to be a mother to him — especially if he was the father of my grandchild.

Now, Palin had to scramble to meet the demands of the campaign she jumped at the chance to participate in. That made her unavailable to some people who may now face a lifetime of troubles. If I had done that to my grandchild's father, my daughter's young love, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.

Hoosier Daddy said...

It's interesting to note how a woman who keeps the baby and turns her life around without the help of Uncle Sugar is often sneered at by the Left.

It takes a village don’t you know? That’s the mindset of the Left today in which you can’t wipe your own ass without a government funded program to make sure you wipe front to back

Brent said...

Is there anyone in his life who loves him, who is available to help him? He's surrounded by false friends who will soon have used up everything he had to give. What resources does he have to draw on as his fame spike plummets? We are talking about a boy who is still only 19 years old. God help him.


Something we all know is the saddest truth:

Most people have no one in their lives who loves them enough to tell them the truth (even when it's painful)so they continue in self-destructive ways.

Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life, page 146

Ann Althouse said...

I'm not saying that Johnston isn't responsible for his own actions. He is. I'm saying that I pity him. He was not good at dealing with the emotional overload that befell him. He has been enticed down a path of wrongdoing by people who are much more aggressive, sophisticated, smart, and motivated than he is. How well would you have done if you were suddenly exposed to such mindbending forces? You like to think you'd have done much better, and you very well may have.

rhhardin said...

Not everybody saw themselves in Obama. They saw the incompetent boss.

Ken Pidcock said...

I suspect that Johnston is going to have a better life than he would have had he never met the family.

I think we probably overestimate the misery of brief infamy. My guess is it ain't all that bad. Though a plausible claim that it is can get you a second shot of it!

rhhardin said...

Guys avoid emotional overload, pretty much.

It's thicker wires, or maybe being grounded better.

hdhouse said...

Hoosier Daddy said...
....the mindset of the Left today in which you can’t wipe your own ass without a government funded program to make sure you wipe front to back"

Oh hoosier, you do tee them up for us don't you. i'll just pass for now but the temptation to once again make you look pitiful is almost overwhelming.

Original Mike said...

I'm not saying that Johnston isn't responsible for his own actions. He is. I'm saying that I pity him.

Well, I buy that.

He has been enticed down a path of wrongdoing by people who are much more aggressive, sophisticated, smart, and motivated than he is. How well would you have done if you were suddenly exposed to such mindbending forces?

Even at 19, I have little doubt I knew enough to run as far away as possible from people who are trying to drag me into the lime light.

traditionalguy said...

Professor, you may be right. But in my career the worst part of teenagers screwing up that I saw was the self condemnation by innocent parents blaming themselves for the failures of the kids. After age 16 all teens are making all of their own descisions and are proud of fooling the dumb parents. To blame the parents is wrong. Mitigating the damages/blessings of having a child without a job also requires that the teen wants to submit to the decisions of the parents. Frankly, they do not even pretend to do that anymore.The times have a changed.

G Joubert said...

If I were in Sarah Palin's position there, with my daughter's boyfriend troubled and unprotected by his own family, I would have tried to be a mother to him — especially if he was the father of my grandchild.

How do you know she and Todd Palin didn't? Maybe they tried, but he walked because of what was expected of him.

Shouting Thomas said...

The furious hatred of Sarah Palin on the extreme left probably says everything you need to know about her.

Let's hope the Republican party takes notice.

They extreme left is terrified of her. I haven't seen this kind of fear since Reagan's days as Governor of California.

They fear her because they know she's got the ability to succeed.

If the Republicans don't nominate her for the presidency in 2012, they are even bigger knuckleheads than I think they are.

William said...

Levi is to the right as Monica Lewinski is to the left. There are so many layers of venality and manipulation that it is almost impossible to take a moral stand. It's like trying to find the high ground in a quicksand pit....Monica reportedly recognizes that her name will always be synonomous with oral sex and is depressed about it. Levi has picked up a few quick paydays, and, as Althouse points out, does not yet understand the fragility of his situation. There's a pretty good chance that in middle age, with a paunch and a bald spot, he'll be sitting at the end of the bar, still trying to figure it out at closing time.....In youth and adolescence we all have a few affairs that we would not like to see reported on the front page of the Times. Levi and Monica were not such awful people. They were both run over by accidental fame and tried to make the accident into a tort case.

TMink said...

Jasperjava, sorry, I misunderstood. I am not sure I agree with you, but I know you might certainly be right. 8)

Thanks for taking the time to get me on the right track.

Trey

Unknown said...

All of this is the media's fault. ALL OF IT!
It's sickening that they would let Levi's handlers put him out there. Just in the off chance that someone at home believes Levi's lies.
Sickening turn in politics.
Way to go American left! New low for the country.

Candle said...

I also have a secret to tell: I am Levi Johnston's lesbian mistress. I'm so ashamed! LEAVE MY MAN ALONE...evil republicans.

Mike Tanis said...

Ann, your bleeding heart liberal core exposes itself. So tell me what is the proper age to understand the difference between right and wrong?

Brent said...

They extreme left is terrified of her. I haven't seen this kind of fear since Reagan's days as Governor of California.

I lived in Vista, San Diego County, as a kid. I remember my fourth grade teacher putting up "Pat Brown for Governor" posters in out public school classroom. A teacher from another class came in one day and said right in front of all of us that Brown was going to lose, and my teacher said that "son-of-a-bitch" Reagan is going to get us all killed. Then something about the John Birch society, yada, yada. My school seemed have most of the teachers supporting Brown.

"Mommy, what's a son of bitch?"

Don't think teacher's can get away with that kind of political posturing, at least not in public elementary schools. I sure hope not.

TMink said...

Althouse asked: "How well would you have done if you were suddenly exposed to such mindbending forces?"

I would have been stupid, naive, and too easy to manipulate. Thank God I had my parents who had my back then. Perhaps that is the source of our pity, he has nobody to offer sage counsel.

Trey

katiejane said...

Good grief - Palin gets slammed by the "Christian values voters" because her daughter "sinned". I guess all your children are perfect or you cast them out? Would you be happy if the girl had aborted the baby that she was inconvenienced with like Obama would have thought best for his daughter?

Then Ann kvetches because the Palins didn't stop their lives and "mother" the guy who knocked up their daughter? Seems to me like they were pretty good about including him in their lives but of course the PDS crowd just accuse her of using him and the prospect of a marriage as cover.

He's probably lucky Todd didn't take him behind the woodshed and beat the snot out of hium. Maybe there is still hope that someone in Wasilla will correct that omission.

Bissage said...

Is it still the case that Norma McCorvey became a social conservative because she felt betrayed by the pro-choice left?

I'm really not sure.

It's easy to lose track of these things.

Chase said...

Levi is to the right as Monica Lewinski is to the left.

Yea, but why is it only people on the left who are inviting both of them to parties and right-bashing humor opportunities?

Republican said...

In case anyone forgot:

Sherry Johnston, the mother of Bristol Palin’s baby daddy Levi Johnston, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of possession with intent to deliver the prescription painkiller oxycodone. She will be sentenced in November under a pre-approved deal that has her serving five years in prison, with two years suspended. (Radar Online)

Levi's mom has been tied up elsewhere. The Palins DID try to parent him and ran interference for him, until he was approached by self-serving hacks.

There is not much they can do now, except protect their daughter and grandson.

Titus said...

Whatever happened to Monica and where is that blue dress?

I like Althouse's insights on this post.

Titus said...

I do like Levis nut commercial though.

It is a tour de force.

Dody Jane said...

It is a shame some sort of agency which tries to work with unmarried fathers isn't utilizing him to become a success story. Wouldn't that be great? If he could be helped in his fathering skills? Become a roll model for Tripp?

DarkGravity said...

You're right. He is being used. I just don't feel bad for him because he's too stupid to realize it. He'll have to learn his lesson on his own. If at that time, the Palins still want to associate with him, then fine.

Titus said...

I would be curious to know how much money he clears after this entire affair is over.

My guess is approximately $500,000 which he will blow in less than a year.

If I itemize his cash there would be:
commericals,
Playgirl
Jerking off on gay websites
Perhaps some Reality Show
Than doing full on gay porn.

After which his liablities will be:
expensive car
expensive apartment in Southern California
Drug Habit
And finally working the streets.

This entire story reminds me of Boogie Nights.

sonicfrog said...

Levi is clearly being used by the media machine, and has no idea what the likely outcome is going to be. Hell, he's 19, how many of us at that age wouldn't have been tempted to hang our with other celebs. The cost of admission (pun intended); telling your side of the story.

I think he was being truthful in the beginning (his version of truth anyway, based on his perceptions), but the latest video of him saying he's going to reveal "something big" makes me think that he's about to cross the line from being truthful, to dishing dirt for profit and a shot at celebrity, which invariably leads to misinformation, speculation, and flat out lies and fraud. Going down that road almost never pays off in the end. Don't have to look too far in the past for an example... can you say "Balloon Boy".

He's headed for a crash. And I don't think there is anyone around him that will warn him of the dangers.

Levi Johnson - the Fawn Hall / Jessica Hahn / Donna Rice for Generation Y... or are we on Z yet? I just hope he doesn't become the next Leif Garrett, or worse, Rob Pilatus.

Titus said...

Then of course there will be a movie about in years to come starring Haley Osmond, who returns to the movies in vengeance and wins an Academy Award for his devastating portrayal of Levis rags to riches and then back to rags.

After the movie Levi gains some popularity again but no one cares because he is no longer beautiful or young.

CarmelaMotto said...

This reminds me of the way the left used the Reagan children (Ron Jr and Patty) who, delighted with the attention from the cool crowd, went out of their way to embarrass their parents. Pathetic.

Even at his funeral, little Ronnie couldn't help himself from using the spotlight to speak "truth to power," and slam Bush (and by pushing his half siblings away from his mother). By behaving like an ass at his father's funeral, Ronnie was rewarded with a spot on Air America.

Levi won't be so lucky. He's in it for the money and spotlight. To hell with the mother of his child and his child's grandparents.

Ann, as far as I remember, the Palins are the ones who were trying to help him get that North Slope job and he was living with them. Perhaps he was unable to live by their house rules, didn't want to get a job or take responsibility. You can't force an adult to do that.

Unknown said...

katiejane said...

Good grief - Palin gets slammed by the "Christian values voters" because her daughter "sinned". I guess all your children are perfect or you cast them out? Would you be happy if the girl had aborted the baby that she was inconvenienced with like Obama would have thought best for his daughter?

You miss the point, purposely or not. Some voters will look at Mrs. Palin and her pregnant-out-of-wedlock daughter and say, "She wants to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency and she can't even raise her daughter to know right from wrong?".

I like Miss Sarah, but it's not an entirely invalid point. As we learned from the Clinton crowd, character really does count.

PS FWIW Although they love to castigate conservatives for throwing poor unfortunates out in the snow on Christmas Eve, nobody does it with more gusto (or more often) than the Lefties.

WV "veretraw" An uncooked veret,

kentuckyliz said...

Lefties love Levi because he's like a gangsta thug baby daddy. He just wanted to eff the ho, ain't no thang. In this way he resembles a significant portion of new voters who turned out for Obama in 2008.

rhhardin said...

When Levi was no longer useful to them, they dumped him like a hot potato.

Most people like hot potatos.

kentuckyliz said...

(He steal me money)
Now I ain't sayin' he a gold digger (When I'm in need)
But he ain't messin' wit no broke Niggaz (he steal me money)
Now I ain't sayin' he a gold digger (When I'm in need)
But he ain't messin' wit no broke Niggaz(I gotta leave)
Get down man, go 'head get down (I gotta leave)
Get down man, go 'head get down (I gotta leave)
Get down man, go 'head get down (I gotta leave)
Get down man, go 'head

Roux said...

Sadly he's being used. He's very immature and at 19 years old he's easily led down the wrong path. It makes me dislike the left that much more.

Darcy said...

How on earth does anyone know how much the Palins tried to help Levi?

They are now supposed to overlook all that he's allowed himself to be a part of in hurting their family and take care of him? It certainly would be a big thing to do, but it's very hard to believe many would do that. Casting the Palins as selfish here is being judgmental about something we know very little about.

I'm with knox. We don't know.

Candle said...

What nobody understands is that Levi Johnston was taken advantage of by Sarah Palin and Bob Palin in order to sell their book. In reality, they are trying to destroy him. I have documented this extensively. This has been documented.

Darcy said...

Then you might want to get the names right, Candle.

Yargo said...

It's nice to know reality will eventually seep in, I hope he eventually realizes what he's done and what it cost him.

Titus said...

My lunch is a smoothie with banana, strawberry and water.

thank you.

mockmook said...

Alex said...

I hope the scumbag gets severe depression and takes the manly way OUT.

10/29/09 10:59 AM

I have to say that Bristol's pregnancy was very off-putting for me, I know it caused many familiy-values conservatives to stay home.
10/29/09 11:06 AM



Your family values are so touching...

Were you off-put by Obama's support for letting botched abortees die without care in closets?

Or, when Obama said he hoped that his daughters weren't "punished" with babies?

I'm sure in your life, you always do right, and your children do too.

Original Mike said...

Then you might want to get the names right, Candle.

LOL

garage mahal said...

Bob Palin? lol

Roux said...

In defense of Ann....She's a Mom and that's how Mom's think. They want to take care of their kids and even have sympathy for kids when they aren't hers.

former law student said...

They extreme left is terrified of her. I haven't seen this kind of fear since Reagan's days as Governor of California.

They fear her because they know she's got the ability to succeed.

After watching how the road to the nomination was wired for the doofus papa's boy GW Bush, the left fears the same thing will happen to Palin. The much more accomplished and reasonable McCain (Rev. 2000) was merely a speedbump.

Palin is perhaps the ideal Republican candidate, combining as she does W's brains and piety with Nixon's character.

kentuckyliz said...

There were some family friends of ours, and their only child, their teenage son, murdered someone in cold blood in a mall parking lot for taking his parking space. He is serving life in prison.

Are the parents responsible for their child's behavior? They're good people who raised him right.

Just what a 19 year old man wants: a woman who is not his mother to pretend that she is.

I hope Levi joins the military before he wastes his porno proceeds on drugs and dies of an accidental, or intentional, overdose.

That character has no character.

Let's see what was so enchanting.

Go ahead, show us what you're working with.

Candle said...

His real name is Bob, so quit laughing. He changed it when he was in community college to seem more "regular Joe". See? This is the stuff the media is holding back, which I've researched. So laugh all you want. We've come to expect it...

Andrea said...

I visted "Candle's" blog. It has to be a parody of a lefty hippie vegan peacenik website -- no one can be that stupid.

Moving right along: all you conservatives who are waiting for the perfect "family values" candidate who has a perfect family none of whose members has ever done anything wrong better settle in for a long domination by the left.

As for Levi... Sarah Palin should stop lashing out at him, infuriating as his behavior is. It just makes her look panicky, and brings him more attention. I can understand her anger -- the Palins took him in and treated him like family only to be accused of "abandoning" him by moaning liberals like Ann. He's an ungrateful little shit who should be ignored. His fifteen minutes was up a long time ago.

chickelit said...

I'm with Knox and Darcy.

We don't know what Sarah Palin thinks about Levi Johnston. Perhaps we'll find out in her forthcoming book (which I pre-ordered via the Althouse link).

wv "swists" kinky Swiss

sonicfrog said...

In defense of Ann....She's a Mom and that's how Mom's think. They want to take care of their kids and even have sympathy for kids when they aren't hers.

I'm not a mom, but as a former 19 year old guy... ehem a VERY former 19 year old guy, I can look back and see how easy it is to be led, even if you yourself think you're in control, which is what just about ALL 19 year young men think.

mariner said...

Brent:
Don't think teacher's can get away with that kind of political posturing, at least not in public elementary schools. I sure hope not.

Where have you been hiding?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_l8KK3gGxQ

chickelit said...

My lunch is a smoothie with banana, strawberry and water.

I'm sure that will come out nicely.

katiejane said...

cher said...
You miss the point, purposely or not. Some voters will look at Mrs. Palin and her pregnant-out-of-wedlock daughter and say, "She wants to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency and she can't even raise her daughter to know right from wrong?".

Then you miss the my point that those voters are foolish if they think any parent has the final say on what their teen children do. We all try and raise our kids to know right from wrong but unless you lock them away in a cave you can't control them 24/7. I didn't know that monitoring adolescent behavior was a Presidential duty.


Candle said...
..... In reality, they are trying to destroy him. I have documented this extensively. This has been documented.,

Hard to understand how much effort it would take to "destroy" this useless POS. He's a hs dropout, no GED, no job, scheduled to pose nude for a mag that appeals to the gay community. Sounds like he's doing the destoying all on his own. And it's doubtful that anyone who doesn't even know Palin's husband's name is a very worthy source of "documentation."

Bissage said...

Wow. It’s funny I didn’t make the connection until just a second ago.

To date, I’ve received only one order for Bissage’s Pride® Home-Style Penis Ointment and it was from some guy who lives in Alaska who calls himself “The Dirk Diggler of the North.”

Could that have been our young Mr. Johnston?

We will find out soon enough.

There can be no mistaking the unfortunate side-effects, which now include the formation of vestigial knobs along the shaft. I’m up to three!

Leather Daddy said...

A Leather Daddy, of course, cannot help but be excited about the young twink's appearance in Playgirl.

Jim Treacher said...

First we had Billy Beer. Then Roger's Rails. Now: Levi's Legume.

His moron has made his choices. He's got nobody to blame but himself.

Candle said...

Andrea: I am TOO that stupid...

J said...

The guy was going to spend his life working some menial job. Now he'll briefly make a bunch of money and then spend his life working some menial job. Lament the fact that he didn't do anything constructive with his 15 minutes, not that what was going to happen anyway eventually happens.

"It's a short ride guys; save some money. In six months you'll be working at a car wash in Reseda with Vanilla Ice"

- David Spade

chickelit said...

(which I pre-ordered via the Althouse link).

The two-birds-with-one-stone link to pre-order "Going Rogue" (and to support Althouse) is here, near the bottom before the comment section.

hombre said...

Joe wrote: Worried about, sorry? Give me a break. Enough of the hand wringing; the kid is nineteen. Seems that this is the time to exploit his fame for all its worth ....

Amen, brother. What else does he have?

Althouse wrote: Now, Palin had to scramble to meet the demands of the campaign she jumped at the chance to participate in. That made her unavailable to some people who may now face a lifetime of troubles. If I had done that to my grandchild's father, my daughter's young love, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life.

There are some unwarranted assumptions here about the failure of Palin and family's attempts to support these kids. Nevertheless, the sentiment, while touching, is just that: sentiment. It has nothing to do with what Levi Johnston may have needed or wanted.

If he's being managed properly, this kid may set a new standards for the value of disloyalty.

Jim Treacher said...

Palin is perhaps the ideal Republican candidate, combining as she does W's brains and piety with Nixon's character.

So now people are just taking observations about Obama and putting in Palin's name. Good luck with that!

Kensington said...

I think he'll be okay if he come to his senses soon enough. In fact, I think the Palins are such decent people that they will embrace him back into the fold when he becomes sincerely contrite.

hombre said...

"a new standard" @ 1:49

ButterflyDragon said...

The sad thing is that one day his child will grow up wondering why his dad was bashing his maternal side of the family for the world to see.

Very sad.

Kensington said...

ButterflyDragon:
"The sad thing is that one day his child will grow up wondering why his dad was bashing his maternal side of the family for the world to see."

In the normal course of things, he might never even learn of this. Every now and then I learn something about my parents' past that surprises me and makes me wonder how it took X decades for that to come up.

What's really sad about the situation with Levi's child is that it will most likely be some hideous Leftist who fills him in, delighting in the chance to rub his innocent face in it for no reason other than craven vindictiveness.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Oh hoosier, you do tee them up for us don't you. i'll just pass for now but the temptation to once again make you look pitiful is almost overwhelming.

Bring it on baby.

Bring

It

On!

reader_iam said...

Guys, as Andrea points out, Candle's blog is a *humor* site--it's satire, parody (and a hoot!). She's** pulling your leg. Don't entirely lose your sense of humor just because this is a Palin thread. (Candle's line about Todd changing his name from Bob to be a more "regular Joe" was a dead giveaway, anyway.)

**At least I think Candle's a "she," based on the post about why there's no picture picture of Candle posted. LOL

Darcy said...

Oops, didn't look at her blog, reader. ;-)

chickelit said...

Oh, a "picture picture" huh reader?

Now I get it! ;)

jeff said...

"**At least I think Candle's a "she," based on the post about why there's no picture picture of Candle posted. LOL"

Ah, but there is the painting.

Meade said...

In defense of Ann....She's a Mom and that's how Mom's think. They want to take care of their kids and even have sympathy for kids when they aren't hers.

This is true - she is a wonderful mom.

Now, as the hypothetically adoptive step dad of Levi, I assure you, he'd have one month to find gainful employment, two months to find his own apartment and, for whatever term he lives under this roof, he will speak respectfully to and of his hypothetically adoptive mom or I guarantee you he will have my caribou-sized bootprints on his sore, kicked, Playgirl-posing ass.

Henry said...

FLS: Palin is perhaps the ideal Republican candidate, combining as she does W's brains and piety with Nixon's character.

Obama is perhaps the ideal Democratic president, combining as he does Jimmy Carter's self-regard with Jimmy Carter's incompetence.

reader_iam said...

Meade: Perfect!

sonicfrog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
reader_iam said...

Jeff: You're right. I didn't click through because I was reading down the main page (and trying not to get too sucked in, when I ought to be doing something else, which--clearly--I'm still not doing). But I did perceive the right vibe, anyway.

Fab painting, Candle!

Titus said...

Smoothies are fun, healthy and allow creativity.

Add a dash of honey or whey protein.

Perhaps a multi vitamin is your choice of additive.

The important thing is to bond with you smoothie.

I am excited about smoothies today.

sonicfrog said...

Candle is now my favorite blog of the week.

Ver Word: comatto... eewwwww!

jeff said...

"Palin is perhaps the ideal Republican candidate, combining as she does W's brains and piety with Nixon's character."

I'm assuming he is referring to the democratic straw man Bush rather then the real one on the first part, but I am missing any comparison to Nixon's character. What is the justification for that comparison?

reader_iam said...

So maybe Candle really is actually a guy.

Whatever. Doesn't matter. Blog's funny regardless.

Beaverdam said...

I wish that Sarah could put some of that mothering on me. I would never tell.

jeff said...

reader....as am I. Sitting here trying to do the job I get paid for, but got sucked into the page. Titus, you might check it out. Good pointers on being a caricature of the opposing party.

Unknown said...

katiejane said...

cher said...
You miss the point, purposely or not. Some voters will look at Mrs. Palin and her pregnant-out-of-wedlock daughter and say, "She wants to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency and she can't even raise her daughter to know right from wrong?".


Then you miss the my point that those voters are foolish if they think any parent has the final say on what their teen children do. We all try and raise our kids to know right from wrong but unless you lock them away in a cave you can't control them 24/7. I didn't know that monitoring adolescent behavior was a Presidential duty.


cher?

Your argument is no more than the standard lefty excuse for people who don't want to expend the effort to raise their kids - yes, I know, kids raised right can go bad, too; it's nothing new.

You're saying that kids abandoned to the media culture would have turned out that way, anyway, and that's nonsense. There are any number of kids whose parents have taken an active part in their lives and who are staying out of trouble. The whole "they would have done it anyway" is a way for the leftists to get people to lower their expectations and how much they can do for their kids - the object is to get control of those young lives early and put 'em on the government path.parstra

As for monitoring adolescent behavior and Presidential duty, many people would see it as an indication of character - I sure you saw it that way when Dubya's daughters misbehaved.

OT fls, you're sounding more and more like Montagne or Freder (both, probably) every day.

Beaverdam said...

Since Althouse crushed my dreams i must look north.

hombre said...

Meade wrote: ...or I guarantee you he will have my caribou-sized bootprints on his sore, kicked, Playgirl-posing ass.

As sentiments go, this is easier to identify with than Ann's "momness." (Although, as I recall, he's a pretty big kid.)

exhelodrvr1 said...

"If I were in Sarah Palin's position there, with my daughter's boyfriend troubled and unprotected by his own family, I would have tried to be a mother to him — especially if he was the father of my grandchild."

Good parents/grandparents would offer support to Levi, and attempt to include them in their family. But they would also try to make him take responsibility for his actions, and for his life, and if he opted not to take advantage of the opportunities they presented, would realize that they couldn't force him to do anything.

And that appears to be what took place.

Titus said...

Uh Oh Smoothie Alert.

There is a downside to all the Smoothie Hysteria.....Smoothie Loaves.

WEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW, is all I am saying.

Shouting Thomas said...

Bush is beginning to look like an intellectual compared to that bird brained Obama.

Obama keeps looking directly into the camera and lying like a rug. Today I heard him repeat again that he's going to completely reform our medical system and it won't cost anybody a dime. What a hoot!

He's stupid enough to think that somebody believes these lies, even as his ratings go south of Bush's ratings.

Today, he held a press conference expressing his high regard for small business owners! What a total BS-ing lying sack of shit this man is! He hates all business, believes only in welfare because that's the source of his power, and has never had any experience in any money making (make that profitable) business.

This guy will lie about anything.

I predict that he will have to be impeached.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Some voters will look at Mrs. Palin and her pregnant-out-of-wedlock daughter and say, "She wants to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency and she can't even raise her daughter to know right from wrong?".

Sure some will look that way. I think most conservatives saw her embrace her daughter recognizing she screwed up and is providing the support she needs. Yes we all make mistakes, the key factor is what do you do about it? That is the difference between conservatives and liberals. Conservatives do what Palin is doing. Liberals ask 'where's my gub'mint check?'

Cause you know, it takes a village.

Hoosier Daddy said...

Bush is beginning to look like an intellectual compared to that bird brained Obama.

Well that isn't too hard. Keep in mind that Obama thought they speak Austrian in Austria and that the USA was one of the biggest Muslim countries in the world. He makes Biden look smart.

Obama keeps looking directly into the camera and lying like a rug.

When have you seen him looking directly into a camera? He looks like he's watching a tennis match every time he gives a speech.

katiejane said...

edutcher my apologies for attributing your remarks to some cher,. I don't know how that name got into my post.


edutcher said...

Your argument is no more than the standard lefty excuse for people who don't want to expend the effort to raise their kids - yes, I know, kids raised right can go bad, too; it's nothing new.

You're saying that kids abandoned to the media culture would have turned out that way, anyway, and that's nonsense. There are any number of kids whose parents have taken an active part in their lives and who are staying out of trouble. .....

As for monitoring adolescent behavior and Presidential duty, many people would see it as an indication of character - I sure you saw it that way when Dubya's daughters misbehaved.


Either I was not clear in my remarks or you misinterpreted them. I believe that kids can do bad things in spite of good parenting. I don't blame the media or culture but I also don't necessarily blame the parents. Unfortunately our children don't always do the right thing even when they know it. I don't know how you leapt to me doubting Pres Bush's character based on his daughters' behavior.

Freeman Hunt said...

So Levi's mom had children and was dealing drugs?

Motherhood fail.

Most people seem to understand that once you have children, you cannot be involved in anything that could land you in prison.

I'm with knox. I have no idea how much the Palins tried to help him, but I do know that you can only help someone who wants the help. Maybe he didn't.

Unknown said...

Hoosier Daddy said...

Some voters will look at Mrs. Palin and her pregnant-out-of-wedlock daughter and say, "She wants to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency and she can't even raise her daughter to know right from wrong?".

Sure some will look that way. I think most conservatives saw her embrace her daughter recognizing she screwed up and is providing the support she needs.


Not arguing with you, but I'm sure there were people who asked the question in looking at her candidacy. One of the house lefties said the marriage was just a ploy to satisfy the values voters and I tried to make the point that those people might be a bit better at critical thinking than he wanted to believe. From my experience, conservatives are, mirabile dictu, a lot more charitable that the Left.

Candle said...

I will now leave this blog in peace, and return to my own blog for comfort and solace.... I am sorry if I offended anyone with my honest opinions....

I remain...
Candle of Collective Wishes...
Defender...of Truth...

Bissage said...

Candle, come back! Candle!

garage mahal said...

It seems like just yesterday we were hearing that the Johnston mother dealing drugs was all a liberal witchunt! against the Palins.

jeff said...

Is Candle on a horse?

jeff said...

"It seems like just yesterday we were hearing that the Johnston mother dealing drugs was all a liberal witchunt! against the Palins."

No kidding? Where were we hearing that? And were the folks talking about her dealing using it to take a shot at Palin? How does that nuance that you folks talk about a lot come into play?

sonicfrog said...

Candle is leaving????

NOOOOOOO!!!

We need you here, my eternal flame!

Candle said...

...I am leaving...sorry...never to return...urn...urn...urn.......(urn...)....

Unknown said...

Levi, does appear to be under the influence of others.
The next Cindy Sheehan waiting to happen...

use em up, kick em to the curb.

former law student said...

has never had any experience in any money making (make that profitable) business.

Yet another way Obama and GW Bush are alike!

Original Mike said...

You guys snuffed out Candle.

I hope you're happy now.

Meade said...

It seems to me Candle lived her commenting life here like a... well... you know.

elHombre said: (Although, as I recall, he's a pretty big kid.)

I know it's a cliche but: It's not the size of the rare clumber in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the rare clumber.

hombre said...

fls wrote: Yet another way Obama and GW Bush are alike!

Bush? GW Bush? Were we talking about him? Is this a history blog?

Never, ever talk about Obama's today when you can discuss Bush's yesterday.

Darcy said...

Candle will always burn brightly in our collective memories.

*sniffle*

LoafingOaf said...

Some of us started worrying about Levi back when he was first unveiled to the country, dragged to the Republican Party Convention, and pressured into a shotgun wedding (after Bristol and Levi rejected Sarah's idea of keeping Bristol's pregnancy a secret and letting her adopt the baby -- see Vanity Fair).

I don't know how concerned some of the Palin worshippers are about Levi. Ever since he stopped being used by the Palins and started being his own man, the Palin crowd has wanted him silenced. It's probably more like they want him to keep his mouth shut about anything that might make Saint Sarah look bad.

Shouting Thomas said...

I don't know how concerned some of the Palin worshippers are about Levi. Ever since he stopped being used by the Palins and started being his own man, the Palin crowd has wanted him silenced. It's probably more like they want him to keep his mouth shut about anything that might make Saint Sarah look bad.

Here's the difference between a liberal and a conservative. I think Sarah Palin would be a good candidate, but I don't worship her, nor do I think she's a saint.

Quit the opposite. I think she's better than some really awful alternatives and I think she's undoubtedly subject to the same temptations to corruption as any other human.

The tendency to invest oneself in the cult of the individual is particular to liberalism. One only need to take a look at the cult of Obama to see this clearly.

Methinks, LoafingOaf, that you said a lot more about yourself than you said about Sarah Palin. You need somebody to worship. That's what happens when the state becomes God.

Quasimodo said...

Levi announces his intention to try acting in

10. 9. 8. 7...

Andrea said...

I was feeling all sad about Candle leaving us when Loafing Oaf stepped in with his two cents. Now I feel better. That's a hilarious, spot-on imitation of a rabid lefty Obamadrone!

Oh. You were serious? Um... never mind. (Looks away from the embarrassing mess Loafing Oaf has trod all about the place.)

wv: pulaul -- RuPaul's younger brosister?

amba said...

The book proposal: brilliant!! Meade seems to be good for your brain!

Anonymous said...

I am definitely putting Candle on my blog roll.

Titus said...

Levi has already stated that he is looking at some acting "projects".

Gee, that was so last month. Keep up man.

Michael Haz said...

Levi Johnston is the new Cindy Sheehan. He will be left at the curb when his usefulness has ended.

traditionalguy said...

Before too many years everyone will see clearly whether Levi fell in with the wrong crowd of diabolical politicians, or whether his Levi IS the wrong crowd and the Palin's daughter fell in with him.

Penny said...

Was Candle the chick from the "Leave Britney Alone" video?

I hate to put a sorry face *hers* to what is sheer enjoyment *ours*, but, I'm like that sometimes. Especially as it gets closer to Halloween.

Bruce Hayden said...

If I were in Sarah Palin's position there, with my daughter's boyfriend troubled and unprotected by his own family, I would have tried to be a mother to him — especially if he was the father of my grandchild.

Now, Palin had to scramble to meet the demands of the campaign she jumped at the chance to participate in. That made her unavailable to some people who may now face a lifetime of troubles. If I had done that to my grandchild's father, my daughter's young love, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life
.

Let me humbly suggest that this may possibly be sexist. We have someone asked to be the VP candidate of their party, and they are supposed to beg off so they can take time to mother the father of their soon to be grandchild. Would we think that if it had been a man, instead of a woman, he should have begged off so that he could be a father to that father of his grandchild? Or, are you suggesting that there is some sort of deeper duty owed by women to their children and grandchildren, than is owed by men?

Besides, at that age, Levi didn't need a mother, he needed a father to kick him in the ass and get him to do what is right. He didn't have one, so he didn't do what was right. Todd was there, and he did appear to be trying to do the right thing with Levi. Who do you think probably got him the apprenticeship? I would suggest that it was more likely Todd. He was the one who was a union leader, and so likely had the right connections. And that is the type of thing that a surrogate father would do for the father of his grandchild.

In a lot of ancient societies, male children were taken away from their mothers and given into the care of their fathers or the men in the tribe as they approached puberty, or maybe a bit before. I think that our female centric society these days tries to pretend that this wasn't an almost universal practice, and that women are as good as men at raising adolescent boys. They aren't (on average - yes, I know women can succeed, but they are much less likely to than men are). This is one of the big reasons that most guys in prison were raised without fathers.

Unfortunately for all concerned, Levi was apparently raised by a single mother, who also happened to be a drug addict. Two strikes against him to start with. So, by the time he knocked up the Palin girl, it was really too late for him. Instead of doing the right thing, that the Palins appear to have offered him, he took the route that you would expect from a guy raised without a father. He bailed when the going got tough.

careen said...

Look at his eyes flash as he does the interviews. He knows what he's doing and he knows they are using him. He doesn't care. He's getting paid. What he can't see is 20 years down the road, but I don't see that it's any more shortsighted than say, dealing meth or getting your gf pregnant.

He's taking his opportunities - such as they are.

Penny said...

Levi is quoted as saying "abstinence is a great idea, but I also think you need to enforce, you know, condoms and birth control..."

Government condom and birth control czar? Nickname: The Enforcer!

Don't snip his budget, or he just might snip you!

Ralph L said...

It seems to me Candle lived her commenting life here like a...
starlet passing wind.

Guess the Palins are glad that Playgirl is online only. Levi's Johnson won't be at your local newsstand.

Opus #6 said...

Candle's gender is a closely guarded secret.

Unknown said...

Ann Althouse --

"If I had done that to my grandchild's father, my daughter's young love, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life."

Apparently you believe the Palins "owe" this grown man "parental care" because you would feel guilty if you behaved as you assumed they have.

That is the crux of left thought.
\That one feels a hypothetical guilt for a hypothetical set of actions that someone else is presumed to have done, they (and others) are required to behave as you would wish them to.

JAL said...

edutcher 11:04 I'd also add that the story of Bristol Palin's pregnancy probably put off a lot of conservatives' view of her mother's fitness for the office.

Alex 11:06 AM I have to say that Bristol's pregnancy was very off-putting for me, I know it caused many familiy-values conservatives to stay home.

Interesting comments earlier today -- The pregnancy of a VP candidate's teenage daughter "caused many family-values conservatives to stay home."

What?

The sterotypical caricature of "conservatives" demonstrates how poorly the liberal left and other important culture watchers know conservatives.

Kensington 1:58 In the normal course of things, he [Levi Johnston] might never even learn of this [his father's slander of his in-laws]. Every now and then I learn something about my parents' past that surprises me and makes me wonder how it took X decades for that to come up.

Kensington -- this is the age of Bissage's INTERTUBES (!) and youtubes, too!

Also, I think Bristol Palin has earned her high school diploma. How is it that Johnston didn't do the same?

My advice -- as a mom who recognizes that when "kids" are his age, that is all it can be -- is, when this cools down, he should finish his high school -- get his GED -- whatever. He should head back home. A letter of apology to the Palins would be in order, but I somehow doubt that will be forthcoming for a while.

The oil fields pay well (if he was a good worker when he was there) he will have skill and competence. And he is, after all, an Alaskan. Something tells me that's a bit different than being from Pennsylvania.

Oh, a nitpick on the article. Palin called his attacks mean spirited.

wv ostop
attacking Sarah Palin

Penny said...

Johnston is now laughing all the way to the Citizen's Bank of Wassila. His donnybrook will come coincident with the transfer of those funds to the Hollywood & Vine branch.

In the words of a great American novelist, "You can't go home again", Levi.

knox said...

Loafing, Don't take Vanity Fair seriously if you want to be taken seriously.

JAL said...

As for Levi Johnston's father -- didn't he get mentioned as being the one to explain why he wasn't working as an apprentice on the North Slope? (No high school diploma.) So I guess there is a father somewhere.

It would be nice if Levi's boy had a father. Seems to work well for those that do, and not so well for those who don't.

Maybe one of his new friends will share the article with him.

LoafingOaf said...

Shouting Thomas said... Here's the difference between a liberal and a conservative.

The tendency to invest oneself in the cult of the individual is particular to liberalism.

No it isn't. The conservative wing of the GOP is VERY invested in this crazy cult of Sarah Palin. I actually don't have a national-level poltician at the moment whom I support. I am an independant without a party and without a candidate. But you can go on about your theories of the differences between liberals and conservatives all you like, and apply them to people you know nothing about all you like as well. I don't label myself either.

I tried to support George W. Bush for much of his two terms, until I just could not stomach it anymore. And I remember when I could respect conservatives, when they backed candidates such as Ronald Reagan.

Methinks, LoafingOaf, that you said a lot more about yourself than you said about Sarah Palin. You need somebody to worship. That's what happens when the state becomes God.

LOL! Where you get that the state is my God from my saying that I was concerned for Levi Johnston from when I saw the Palin crowd using him at the GOP convention is beyond me.

And it's impossible that anyone supports Sarah Palin for high national office based on anything substantive, as she revealed that she didn't know a damn thing about anything during the campaign. I realize that the PAlin crowd keeps insisting that the rest of America respect her, but she ran for Vice President and could not even answer basic questions on the issues facing our nations. I found that offensive. An insult to my intelligence to be asked to vote for such a person who was such a joke of a candidate.

The main reason the religious right was into Palin was because she didn't abort her down syndrome baby. That is just a fact. I heard them say so on their creepy radio shows during the campaign.

LoafingOaf said...

Loafing, Don't take Vanity Fair seriously if you want to be taken seriously.

The Vanity Fair link I provided has quotes from Levi Johnston, who was an intimate member of the Palin household for about two years. I tend to believe him that Sarah and Todd Palin weren't the best parents, since I know from other press reports that the Palin children were on drugs.

LoafingOaf said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
LoafingOaf said...

BTW, Vanity Fair is the best magazine going, IMO. Well, outside of The Economist. I look forward to every issue. It's up to you whether you take Levi Johnston's quotes in the magazine seriously or not. I don't see why you fault the magazine for publishing them. Oh, I get it -- Levi is supposed to shit up now, and go away, after the Palins used him. And we're supposed to believe everything Sarah Palin says -- even though she is the proven liar, not Levi.

Anonymous said...

If Palin wasn't governor of Alaska at the time, conservative, and on the ticket with McCain, this thread wouldn't even be up on this blog.

Otherwise, this tragedy occurs to many young men and women on a daily basis.

knox said...

BTW, Vanity Fair is the best magazine going, IMO.

Never mind!

traditionalguy said...

Levi is no more a victim from his relationship with the Palin family than John Wilkes Booth was a victim of the mean Lincoln family. He came, he saw, he screwed, he lived for free on the implied promise that after school he would be a man and work for a living to take care of a new family that he and Bristol would start in Alaska. Instead he chose to grab the center of attention like John Wilkes Booth did by "attacking the tyrant" to become an instant celebrity. He deserves the same as Booth got for his insanity, and sympathy is not on that list.

Unknown said...

LoafingOaf --

"Oh, I get it -- Levi is supposed to shit up..."

He is shitting up.

AlphaLiberal said...

"Sarah Palin is a grifter."

- From John Cole.

I agree! She's shaking down the Republicans, wanting $100,000 for a speech in Iowa.

It's all about Sarah.

AlphaLiberal said...

Idiotic statement of the day:

Levi is no more a victim from his relationship with the Palin family than John Wilkes Booth was a victim of the mean Lincoln family .

Yeah, because getting a little nookie is the exact same thing as shooting someone in the head.

The kid fell in with a bad crowd - the Palins - and is trying to make the best of it.

AlphaLiberal said...

Sarah Palin is a quitter who became a grifter.

PALIN 2012!

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