I think it’s different spheres, that’s all. In the entertainment world, there’s not the same sense of respectful distance: the Spears girls are famous as entertainers. But the Palins are famous as politicians, which has a certain veneer of respectability (bloody though the field can get).
I think you’re also onto something with the point that in the Palin case, Sarah Palin is the one at issue in the public eye, not her daughter. Bristol Palin is mostly collateral damage, but Jamie Lynn Spears is an actual celebrity in her own right.

Jamie Lynn had a children’s show. Jamie Lynn was looked up to by little girls all over America. Little Girls have no clue who Bristol Palin is, they do not care that she’s pregnant. It’s the example that Jamie Lynn set. It’s the influence that Jamie Lynn has on society and little girls. With her influence came responsibility, and she did not follow through… that’s why she was “crucified.” Bristol Palin does not have any of the influence Jamie Lynn does/did.

Let’s also not forget the dysfunction of the Spears family vs. the stable family provided by the Palins.

“Stable Family”????? I think not. Once Bristol got pregnanct, the stability part was out! Seems to me that Mom should more closely watch over her family than Alaska.

Stable vs. pushing your young children through the entertainment industry and letting your 17 year old become a sex symbol.

Why is she treated differently? Politics, maybe?
Just asking?

Bristol had the benefit of the Republican spin machine. She was the daughter of the Republican vp candidate and therefore had to be made to look good. The spin machine can take any situation and and turn it from bad to good. This is known as hypocrisy and propaganda.

Way to go, suzie. What else if not hypocrisy and propaganda, and perhaps double standards? We know how the right wing views the entertainment industry whereas Bristol is one of their own. To extend the comparison further, can you imagine the uproar if it had been a teen-aged daughter of Obama? We’d hear the condemnation of liberal morals and ethics ad infinitum.
P.S. – a fine example of the abstinence doctrine. The state with the biggest expense teaching abstinence (TX) has the highest incidence of teen-aged pregnancies. The lowest incidence? Try MA.

Hate to state the obvious, but in the words of McCain/Palin (can anyone tell which is which?); ‘same old business’. I tendto agree with a former writer- if this had been OBAMA’S kid, it would have hit the fan! I, personally, am not affiliated with either Political Party; I vote my conscience. But if the conscience of the Republican party differentiates between class structure, cicumstance, or occupation…I hope I am not the only Observer. “Woe to they that judge…”

I would HARDLY say that Palin’s daughter has not been treated harshly. The pro-Obama people have had a field day with Palin as well as Sarak Palin’s newest child with Down Syndrome. So I do not know where Ms. Spears is getting her information. Or is she trying to profit, once again, off her daughters?
However, I think if there WERE any difference in how these girls were treated, it could be attributed to the parents of these children having children. Jamie Lynn’s mother is the “poster child” for bad parenting skills and therefore it was expected that this could happen to Jamie Lynn. Sarah Palin has raised her children to be morally sound and it was not expected for her daughter to get pregnant.
What I will say is getting pregnant is not a mistake. Having sex outside of marriage is the mistake. No child is a mistake. Perhaps the results of bad choices, but certainly not a mistake. I just hope both girls have learned their lessons and are prepared to grow up way quicker than they should.

For the record, for both of these girls – and I call them girls because they are still children – keeping these babies is not the responsible course of action. And abortion isn’t the only CHOICE. Neither one of these two girls are able to be good parents. Witness the train wreck of Jamie Lynn’s big sister Britney. And I suspect that soon after the Presidential race is over, Ms. Palin’s daughter will find herself a single mom. Nothing like pressuring an 18-year-old into a shotgun marriage to insure it’s success.
And my vote is for the Repuglican spin, and the fact that Obama told his people that the daughter was off limits. He has class. I still don’t think he’s ready to be President, but better him than McSame.

The media is responsible for the way the news of Jamie and Bristol’s pregnancies were handled. In both cases, I applaud the fact that both young women are choosing life for their child and not convenience. One thing to remember is that Jamie has sought attention from the media through her career choice; however, that’s no excuse for the behavior of the paparazzi and media pundits. The question of whether or not they’re ready to be parents is not a judgment to be made by the general public, or the media, or political candidates.

If Mrs. Palin is such an exemplary mother, why did her 17-year old daughter end
up pregnant by some knucklehead self-proclaimed redneck?
And further, what example does it set for the kids of this country that a possible
Vice President has a slut for a daughter?
Just wondering…
By the way, I certainly don’t have any particular sympathy for the whole Spears clan, either. People should just behave themselves and everything would go much
more smoothly.

Dear Kim: what do you mean saying “Pro-Obama people” having a “field day” about Sarah Palin’s young child who is afflicted with Down’s Syndrome? I’m not sure what you mean by field day, but I get the impression you are somehow accusing Obama supporters of referencing the child with DS in a negative light (which I havent seen). But I will let you give examples of what the hell you are talking about rather than try and decipher it further myself.