Reply #19: I have not commented on this or weighed in in any way...

[CitizenLeft]

...but... come on. Her abdomen, in that bottom photo, is almost flat. That's a high-waisted skirt, too, nearly an A-line.

I don't know what was going on with her alleged pregnancy, don't pretend to have any knowledge whatsoever, and have never been pregnant, nor been around enough women during their pregnancies to have any kind of medical opinion or even anecdoctal knowledge. But the conflicting stories, and the photos and the whole water-breaking-plane-hopping thing just does not add up. Sorry to those who want people to shut up about it, but, clearly, this is not cut and dried.

If she lied and covered-up her daughter's pregnancy, the fact that she's using the "mother of five" aspect to boost her political attractiveness justifies any investigation into the matter, period. As many people have said, this is not tiddlywinks, it's the most important election in our lifetime. As long as the Obama campaign stays the hell away from it, let Arianna Huffington drop all the hints she wants. It's up to the media to dig this out, and I hope they either expose it or let it die as completely untrue and/or unsubstantiated gossip.

And don't show me that photo where she suddenly looks "clearly pregnant" as evidence that she's clearly pregnant. I don't buy the PhotoShop angle, though - it's much simpler than that. If an actress in a film can easily pad her belly to look pregnant, so can a governor determined to protect her daughter's reputation (admirable in a 50's kind of way, but disturbing in a VP candidate or even a govermor). Her face fleshed out? If she was covering up, how difficult would it be to binge on ice cream to put on some pounds to augment the padding? Easy as (eating) pie.