Save Levi Johnston!

What do we know about Levi Johnston? We saw him up on the podium at the Republican Convention chewing gum and looking adorable. If I was seventeen and living in Wassila, Alaska, he would certainly be on my list of possible boyfriends. Handsome, hockey playing jock... oh yeah! But look where he is today. Holding a Downs syndrome four month old -- in front of the country, for the cameras, and holding the hand of his childhood beloved (and lest we not forget, they are children), to make a point about how wonderful a father and husband he will be.

Let’s just say that Levi Johnston has no choice but to marry the mother of his unborn child. We’re assuming this, but he obviously doesn’t have a choice. The good Governor and the Republican party took the kid’s “My Space” page down because it said he didn’t ever want to have children. Now isn’t that a surprise? This eighteen year old baby doesn’t want to have a baby – let me rephrase. This eighteen year old baby didn’t want to have a baby, until his soon to be mother-in-law was selected to be the Vice Presidential candidate on the Republican ticket.

When our pit bull – and that is what she calls herself—made the announcement about how she and Todd were delighted to be grandparents (they were also high school sweethearts), she failed to mention that, as Governor she line-item vetoed funding that would help other young single women support their unborn children. But when it comes to funding and legislation the McCain/Palin team seem to forget about individual needs. They talk in the greater scheme of things. (It’s so much easier when it’s not personal or rather inconvenient). Like we want clean air and water but we won’t fund it, just drill, drill, drill. We want a better education for our kids—if only those selfish teachers would sacrifice some salary. We want the veterans to be cared for—but not enough to pay for it. And in this case, we want women to choose to give birth rather than have an abortion, but we can’t be responsible for those kids. After all, the pregnancy was about their irresponsible immoral behavior. Oh, but not our kids. Our kids are different. They made a choice to get pregnant, have the baby, and marry. Or was it hot love in the backseat, no thought of consequences, uh oh a baby, what to do now that it is a national scandal. And by the way, we have the means to take care of our kids. We are happy, happy, happy -- so screw those other people (who we insisted carry those babies to term even in the case of rape or incest). But I digress—which we all know I am prone to do when I’m on a tear.

Levi, poor gum-chewing, adorable, obviously virile, Levi. When I watched this young man twitching on the stage it took me back to a time when marrying the pregnant girlfriend, was the right thing to do – unless the girl was a whore. And really, most of “those” girls were “bad” girls. They grew up with little supervision and absolutely no morals. But time marched on and things changed. “Good” girls got pregnant, school systems accommodated the pregnancies, boys, and I mean boys, were not forced into marriages that were short term (in this case my guess is until the ticket is defeated or the baby is born), and would make everyone miserable.

They have been “seeing” each other, “going out” for about a year. I remember when Jordan would say, “Tony (high school boyfriend) and I are going out” and I would ask where they were going. It was not, in her mind or mine, as much about the person as the actual place. We all go out – for a bite, to a movie, to the bowling alley, or to a place where we can make out. We do not expect to have to marry anyone as a consequence of doing any of these things. I’m sure getting married, and certainly having a baby were not in his present time life plan. But now he is saddled with these serious responsibilities that will play out on a national stage.

So here’s what we should do. We need to start a Free Levi Johnston campaign. We all need to vote for Obama so that there will be no need for him to marry Bristol Palin. The grandparents will take care of the baby and Levi can go play hockey, drop by for visiting privileges, and have a normal life. At some point if he chooses to marry Bristol, so be it. But right now, let’s help free this kid from the clutches of the pit bull, the Party, and all the pundits. Please, save Levi Johnston! We’re just sayin... Iris