Episode 11: Sarah Palin and her Daughter Bristol
Oprah says that Time Magazine ran a story asking if Palin is abandoning her aspirations to become President. Palin says she’s not closing any door that she may find open in the future. Maybe politics is in her future, but she’s looking forward to putting her journalism degree to good work. During the campaign, she criticised the media, and now she is part of that. She says she will rachet her coverage down to the basics of journalism, giving the bare facts; the who, what, where and why. Oprah agrees that was what she learned at journalism school. Palin says everyone is engaged in a challenge, a battle, and there are so many good stories out there to give hope and inspiration to others. She wants her kids and everyone else to be inspired by these Americana stories, to make our culture a better place.
Bristol Palin is 19 years old and her name is all over the headlines, she joins us with her mom in their kitchen. Bristol’s son Trip just turned one and Oprah wants to know what’s been the most eye-opening experience of motherhood? Bristol is surprised by the lack of sleep and how hard the daily grind is. A typical day starts at 4am, bathing Trip, going to work, working, coming back, giving him another bath and putting him to bed. Oprah asks why he gets bathed so much- he’s messy apparently. She lives at home so the babies get to grow up together. In In Touch magazine she shared a moment when she sat bawling her eyes out rocking Trip to sleep after he screamed for hours; she felt so alone, when the reality set in that she has a kid, that this is her full-time job. And then her grandmother walked in and said everything will be ok- it’s hard now, but it will be ok. Oprah asks if she has greater respect for her own mom. She does, and while she sometimes wishes she could be with her friends at college, she has a beautiful baby boy.
Oprah says we all have a dream for our kids, and that dream doesn’t usually involve teenage pregnancy. She asks Sarah if she regrets not talking about sex education more with her daughter, does she feel disappointed that her daughter isn’t living the life she could be? Sarah says yes, such lessons they have learned- she wished they’d talked more about unprotected sex, about sex before marriage. She’d assumed that everyone else was doing it, but not her kid. It was a shock to find out Bristol was pregnant- she was an athlete and a great student, the picture of someone who wasn’t supposed to get pregnant in high school. But she’s doing a great job and she is educating others very honestly. Sarah is so proud that Bristol has chosen life, and she has a beautiful baby. Candidly she says Bristol wishes that this would have happened 10 years from now. Oprah tells that she has 336 daughters in her school in South Africa and she constantly tells them to make the decision before the moment arrives, because when the guy is licking on your ear, it’s tough to make the decision. Oprah says she bristled when she read that Bristol won’t have sex until she’s married. Why not make the decision only your own business? It’s Bristol’s goal, and she thinks others should have that goal. Oprah asks if she thinks she’s setting herself up for failure, and Bristol says no.
Sarah says she is pragmatic and practical, and is so proud of Bristol and others who are saying that the only sure-fire way to not get pregnant or get an STD is to be abstinent. Bristol is strong and Sarah says she believes in her, she’s proud of her goal. Rather than conceding that she’ll be haphazard about it all. Oprah interrupts to say 1 in 3 teenagers have sex by age 18, and obviously Bristol’s had sex. Teaching responsibility , teaching judgement is one thing, but Oprah asks, is this a realistic position? The Palin’s think it is a realistic role for Bristol. Oprah says she was going to give Bristol a chance to backtrack, but if Bristol holds to her point of view, more power to her. Sarah asks her daughter if that means that she will get married pretty young, and Bristol shrugs and says she doesn’t know. Sarah says she is constantly telling Bristol that she doesn’t have to go find a man, she’s making good decisions now and she can pursue her education and career and other opportunities. She says the issue is on a backburner for now, and Oprah reminds her that it is not on a backburner when you have a child with you every day.
Oprah asks what they’re having for dinner tonight, Sarah says they had popcorn chicken last night, but don’t tell anyone, she asks Bristol what they should eat tonight, and she says she doesn’t know. Sarah says she thinks she’ll make stew, moose stew sounds good. Oprah thanks them, it’s 9am in Chicago, so 6am in Alaska, so someone had to get up at 3am to start Sarah’s hair. Sarah says no, they always get up at 3am and look just like this. Everyone laughs.
Jeff Bridges got the Golden Globe last week, he dedicated it to his wife of 33 years. His performance in Crazy Heart is being called crazy great; he won the best actor award for his portrayal of addiction and destruction through the life of a washed-up country star. Jeff is live by satellite from rainy California. He turned the role down first time as there was no music attached to it. He ran into T-bone Burnett a year later and they decided to do it together. Has he always been a singer asks Oprah? Jeff says the birth of this movie goes back 30 years ago to Heaven’s Gate. Oprah and Jeff are neighbors and she heard about the film from one of their neighbors who said, hey have you seen Jeff. She said it’s like they’re all rooting for him because they’re in the neighborhood, and it was amazing. When he got a standing ovation from all his colleagues at the Golden Globes it wiped his mind clear, like an Etch-a-Sketch. He could feel the love, it was so strong and powerfull and seeing his wife there brought him back, brought him home. Oprah says we could feel 33 years of sincerity when he spoke to his wife- he says she looked so beautiful that night. His wife told him the other night that they’d been apart for 11 of the last 14 months. Oprah asks what the secret is to having an authentic connection with his wife? Jeff’s folks were a great role model, they were deeply in love despite their struggles. The bumps can be opportunities to make you stronger, then the relationship gets too precious for anything else to get in the way. Talking about the Oscars, he says it’s a double-edged sword; there is the risk of getting on stage and forgetting to thank people, but getting the nod from his peers is wonderful, bringing attention to the movie is great. He says the film was a dream come true- to work with his old friends, they had a wonderful time making it. Oprah wishes him all the best and thanks Jeff Bridges.
Oprah is determined to end the deadly craze of texting on the phone. After Monday’s show, so many responded; they play voiceovers of viewers who are promising never to play texting roulette again, with images of accidents showing behind. Oprah has banned all employees of her company from doing work on cell phones or Blackberries while driving. The executive producer, Sherri, says it’s been hard. One employee puts her phone in the back of the car so she is not tempted to answer the phone or check email. Oprah says she thinks everyone is addicted to checking their cell phones.
Lori, from Canada joins us via Skype, she was the victim of a drunk-driving accident ten years ago. She admitted she would text and drive in an email, then she made the connection. She was sickened by the guests on the show, than realised she texts while driving and is no better than the drunk driver. She says that an in impairment is an impairment- she wants to be proactive not reactive. Oprah thanks Lori for getting it. 40% of the emails they received were from people wanting the show to be re-aired so they can show it to their kids or students. It will be available for viewing on Oprah.com.
Actress Holly Robinson Peete saw the show and said it was an epiphany for the whole family. Her daughter Ryan made her mom sign the pledge because she texts all the time. Holly was judging the people on the show, but Ryan told her that it was her, and Holly realised she has to stop. Holly has an iPhone and a Blackberry and she was on them constantly. So now she realises she had a problem and they printed out the pledge. They are going to make it into an air freshener for the car. They also made a bumber sticker “Honk if you love Jesus. Text if you want to meet him”. Everyone laughs. Oprah says she loves that. Holly says that major reprogramming has to happen in the face of our addiction, just as we once had to get used to wearing seatbelts. She loves that Ryan is so socially conscious- she sent the pledge to the whole family. Holly has an assistant, and we all have to do our part – we have to realise we shouldn’t talk or text other people when they are in their cars. Oprah is teeming up with Progressive Insurance to take this campaign to the next level. There will be more on that soon. Holly and Ryan wrote a book together called”My Brother Charlie” about Ryan’s twin Charlie and living with autism in their family. They, and Scholastic, hope that this book will be in all schools and libraries in the near future. Autism is on the rise, 1 in 50 boys have autism. Oprah says Holly has a highly evolved child. Holly says she’ll keep her.
On saturday one of the producers of the Oprah Show flew to Haiti. 27 year old Madeline has a 7 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. Their father was killed in the earthquake. They are living in a field with other familes, it’s cold and hard to sleep. The kids sleep under her at night. She has a constant struggle for food, she can’t find anything. She relies on leftovers from strangers. She has no money, no way out which makes her really sad. They go to her former home which is rubble. She says her room was not affected, but the rest of the house and the foundation were gone. Her neighbor is surprised to see her alive. She says she has to keep smiling for the kids- she has hope because she has family and she’s still alive. Back in the studio, Oprah talks to the producer, Chris, who gave Madeline as much as she had in her pocket when they had to leave, which may be of use to her in the future. 11 water trucks did come to the area as a result of the media coverage.
There’s only one place to be tonight, in front of your television watching the benefit tonight on MTV at 8pm. It’s your opportunity to give to the people of Haiti. Thanks everyone.
WHAT WE LEARNED TODAY:
Journalism should be about the who, what, where and why, from which the viewer can make their own judgements
Don’t close any doors which you may find open in the future
If you don’t want people to know what you ate for dinner last night, don’t announce it on the Oprah Winfrey Show
Oprah and Jeff Bridges are neighbors
An impairment is an impairment, be proactive not reactive
A VERY QUICK SUMMARY:
Just because you are a teenage single parent, doesn’t mean you can’t be the poster child for abstinence