I went to NYC yesterday because my boss, Sarah Brown, was one of the panelists at a National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy event. Bristol Palin was also a panelist.

Bristol is a parenting teenager - like hundreds of thousands of other girls in this country, she got pregnant and had a baby last year. She and her boyfriend have broken up (as is usually the case in these situations) and she is urging other teens to avoid what she's been through. She loves her son, as most moms do, but she says she wishes she had waited. Waited to have sex, waited to have a baby, waited a little longer before growing up this way. And people are attacking her for it.

I don't get it. She's a kid who made some mistakes and she's warning others not to make the same ones. If she were a recovering addict urging young people not to use drugs no one would call her a hypocrite. If she had killed someone (killed someone!) while driving under the influence and was warning other teens about drinking and driving she'd be hailed as courageous. If she had a history of disordered eating and was reaching out to young girls about forming healthy relationships with food she'd be a hero. Why is this any different? I think more of us who have learned from past experiences should work to save others from the heartache we've had.

Like most Americans, I am profoundly moved by the election of Barack Obama. The reasons are numerous and I have little to add to the outpouring of eloquence within the U.S. and around the world. 

My modest addition is this: imagine our nation finding common ground centered on a simple thought: getting pregnant is one of the most important life events that occurs to any of us, with profound effects reaching into future generations.  It requires thought, care, support, communication and open discussion.  We need to develop better systems of education and services to support this critical decision and life stage, and we need to foster a deeper sense of personal responsibility attached to getting pregnant and raising families.  President-elect Obama has spoken to this combination of responsible policies and responsible behavior in general AND in relationship to the matters that concern us at this National Campaign.  I am luxuriating today in my hope that by the singular act of electing him President, America might be poised to make progress on "our" profoundly important, consequential issues.