Biden says Palin family is off limits to critics

Published: Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008 8:58 a.m. MDT
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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republican presidential nominee John McCain began his final drive for the White House on Thursday with a boost from running mate Sarah Palin while Democratic opponent Joe Biden declared her family "off limits" and suggested that some news media coverage of her had been sexist.

Palin and her husband, Todd, announced this week that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter was pregnant and would be marrying her boyfriend, saying they were making a private matter public because of Internet rumors. Biden said the Democratic campaign was not attacking Palin over her family.

"It is off limits to talk about her family," Biden said in an interview with "Fox and Friends" on Fox News Channel. "Every family has difficulty as they're raising their children. I think the way she's handled it has been absolutely exemplary."

The Palins have five children, including a 4-month-old son with Down syndrome, which has sparked widespread discussion over whether Sarah Palin could balance her family responsibilities with the duties of vice president.

Asked if some of the criticism aimed at Palin has been sexist, Biden said: "Yes, by you guys in the media. ... When I heard that media response, you know, this coming from some of the right-wing guys, saying that, 'Well, how can you be a mother and a vice president at the same time?' ... I mean, millions of women in America are going through exactly what she (is going) through. And guess what? They can handle it."

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Meanwhile, McCain's wife, Cindy, said she doesn't agree with Palin's opposition to abortion in cases of rape and incest. She also parts ways with Palin on sex education.

Palin opposes abortion and rejects the view that pregnancies caused by rape and incest should be exceptions.

"I don't agree with that aspect, but I do respect her for her views," Cindy McCain told ABC's "Good Morning America" in an interview taped for broadcast Thursday.

Palin has opposed funding sex-education programs in Alaska. However, Cindy McCain told ABC that she advocated abstinence as a part of sex education at her children's school. "I believe that it's twofold and I think all of it should be taught," she said.

In a prime-time acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, McCain was expected to review his career in public service — first as a Naval Academy midshipman and wartime pilot and then as a 26-year veteran of Congress — while drawing stark policy differences with Democratic candidate Barack Obama.

Democratic critics have questioned Palin's political experience as a small-town mayor and her brief tenure as Alaska's governor, but she turned the tables Wednesday night by offering a searing, sometimes sarcastic attack on the opposing ticket.

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