US election: Palin under intense scrutiny upon acknowledging teen daughter's pregnancy

Ewen MacAskill
London Guardian
Tuesday, Sept 2, 2008

Sarah Palin today came face-to-face with the hard reality of the media examination she will undergo as John McCain's running mate when she was forced to confirm that her unmarried school-age daughter was pregnant.

The revelation immediately renewed questions about the extent to which Palin, Alaska's governor, and relatively unknown before McCain announced her as his vice-presidential choice on Friday, had been vetted.

Other disclosures today included that her husband, Todd, was arrested for alleged drunk driving 20 years ago and, more recently, she hired a lawyer to represent her in a state ethics probe.

The investigation is over when she dismissed the public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, after he refused to fire her brother-in-law, a state trooper, who divorced Palin's sister.

Palin, the vice-presidential candidate and new star of the Republican party, was in St Paul, Minnesota, today to rally Republican convention delegates after being dispatched by McCain last night. The Republicans are trying to salvage their convention, which has been disrupted by media attention switching to Hurricane Gustav. All convention activities were cancelled for Monday except for essential business.

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