CNN

Hey you Lefties..........

If everything was by the book, Bill and Hillary would each would have criminal records, Bill probably jail time also, Ted Kennedy would have rotted behind bars.

Be careful who you criticize.

The majority of the six comments posted do not seem charitable.

I think it's time that the media back the hell off. Sarah Palin deserves all the media scrutiny out there, but her children, and her grandchild's father..... do Not.

Maybe the media needs to work on finding stories of survival in these desperate times... something to lift the American People up, instead of going after a fairly innocent young man and young woman who just had their baby, and are trying to figure things out.

Joe...where is Joe? Is Joe here with us today?

They both need to AT LEAST get their GED

This is absurd!!! The Palin clan continuously wonders why they are scrutinized & make headline news. Ummm maybe because you do stupid things & LIE! Your lives are a train wreck in slow motion ... we can't turn away.

Note to Governor Palin, in the "real world" candidates for employment (& apprenticeships) usually undergo BACKGROUND checks. That's where they determine if you lied or embellished facts about your background ... you know, like saying you have foreign policy experience just because you live close to Russia. I know it's kinda silly but some people would try it.

The kid didn't graduate from high school but somehow this is a "political potshot" ... duh Sarah, it's not about you! The father complains that his son now has to do "everything by the book" ... that'll be tough to do with a role model like Mrs. Palin.

I think dropping out of High School can "destroy a young man's opportunity for work."

Ironic that I worked hard and sacrificed so much to become educated and the drop out is getting $300K for baby pictures.

What a shame that the son of the drug dealer actually has to follow some rules! Sarah, go RIGHT NOW and stop this madness! Good heavens! Do not shrink from your task, the Lawerd is WITH YOU!

Can I get an Amen?

Who cares?

Who cares?

WHO CARES?

Why is this woman and her brood STILL creeping into the news?

THis is not news and I love how loving some Democrats can be.

Everything by the book now. So the father is confirming that he does not go by the books. Levi said on his my space page that he did not want kids and that he was a red neck it was taken down by Palin after she began her run for VP.

WAAAAAA!!!! The rules say my son can't get this job without a high school diploma! WAAAAA!!! Now he has quit and get a GED! WAAAAA!!!!! Why does my son have to play by the rules? WAAAA!!!!!!

Get over it dad. Rules are rules. You should teach your son to follow them.

Levi ain't got no use for no book learnin'

I think it's really sad that they would spoon feed a young man who should be school. If he can't complete high school then not only is his future tougher but so is his child. If his parents were real parents they would grab him by his collar and walk right through the door of the school and drop him off. He will would find something from graduating that his Parents or no one else could give him, personal satisfaction. Display the ability to learn.

Is this a worthy news? This belong to gossip magazine.To Journalist get real news. Tired of covering Paris Hilton?

if he shouldn't have the job then he shouldn't have the job, not qualified, palin wanted a favor and got that boy a job he was not qualified for, she is a work of art.

I thought we were rid of Palin. Why won't she just shut up? It's like she thinks she's important or something.

There is nothing political in breaking the rules. Alaska is under the viewing glass of the rest of the country. Political leaders and popular people in Alaska have been so used to breaking the rules. Not anymore.

As for Levi and Bristol, Palin and Levi's dad should have taught their kids how to hold constraint and how to get an education first before bringing a child into this world. They have no one to blame but themselves.

Palin, stop talking about running for President if you do not want the media attention.

Hey civility, wherefore art thou? Certainly not in America.

I have a real solution for ya Levi....GO BACK TO SCHOOL AND GET YOUR DIPLOMA!!!! Then reapply for the apprenticeship for which you will be eagerly accepted because your soon to be mother-in-law got you in there in the first place!!!

But glad to see that he was caught and had to withdraw just like any other kid would have to. I wonder if everyone wasn't looking at him if they would have kept him on??

Not worth commenting. OOps I just did.

That boy is trapped and just wants to escape in general. Bill Maher is comedic genius with freelevi.org.

The pot calling the Kettle Black – Well, if Palin wasn't so into herself; We would not have ever heard of this story in the first place. I guess it's the gotcha media that she insist on calling to keep herself in the spotlight. Palin go away, and he does need to finish HS. period. Palin is an idiot and needs to go way! Leave those kids alone – it's your vanity that's got this going Palin! CNN please stop reporting on this ding bat!

Sarah, just go away.

Poor Levi...he NOW has to play by the book. That's what the rest of us have been doing all along. It's not political...it's the real world. Get over it! Of course he's going to be treated differently than your average 18 year old. He's the Governor's soon to be son-in-law.

The report said he didn't have a diploma which he needed in order to be qualified to do a job.

So if some other person comes along who is qualified, they won't get a job because some drop-out was there first and got the job - how?

Give me a break. The report isn't keeping this kid from working; it's the fact that he doesn't even have a diploma. Instead of griping about this, Palin should be encouraging the kid to finish school!

Is something wrong with the book? Maybe thats how things work up there do whatever you can until you get caught and then blame the media. Ted Stevens can testify to that

Another crap-gossip story, brought to you by CNN.

This guy is a deadbeat. His soon to be mother-in-law is an airhead. And the news media outlet that put this story on their "ticker/gossip page" is feeding her oversized head more attention than she deserves.

Sad to think that he was trying to support his child and do the right thing and people cannot praise him for it. Guess it would be better if he just lived off the state. Are we as a society so hard that we cannot give a kid a break? This has nothing to do with democrat or republican, it is two kids trying to make the best of a difficult situation. I applaud them for being responsible and not take the "easy" way out.

Levi is a father and integrity is an important part of being a role model for twick .... twig.... twart.... Levi is not above the rules nor is SP.

Sarah the world doesn't revolve around you. The fact is Levi was not qualified for the position, plain and simple. What "destroyed the young man's opportunity" was the fact he does not have a high school diploma. Please don't forget Sarah you are the ones who put Levi and the rest of your children in the national, whoops I mean international spotlight when you paraded them across the stage. You are the one Sarah who posts news releases about them on your official website, YOU are the reason they are being treated differently than other kids.

Keith Johnston you are a sad excuse for a father........."He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now." NOW he has to follow the rules........oh no not that! Pathetic!

Did I miss something?
When i was 18, i had people checking my educational record if i so much as sneezed. When i was 23 and in grad school, i had to submit my college transcript several times before it had the right combination of information (graduation date, etc.) to placate the school.
Pretty much ANY time i have applied for ANY job, with the exception of working in fast food restaurants, people have needed to verify my education.
Mr. Johnston, Levi _is_being treated like a normal 18 year old.

Palin herself called the report a "a political potshot taken at me," that could "destroy a young man's opportunity for work."

He needs a GED at the minimum, Palin. Quit calling in political favors. I guess being away from the rest of us means you're allowed to do things differently, ie: payola.

Parents have to realize that when BABY's are having BABY's They (the parents ) cannot make exceptions............no matter how you look at it...it is immature behavior that lacks any long term planning. The parent's themselves are responsibile to both of these young folks. They need to make sure that these YOUNGSTERS have a foundation for parenthood...including education and the principles of finances. They also need to bite the bullet and offer the dollars and quidance to achieve these goals. These young folks need to get where they need to be the HARD way...........they need to WORK and earn it. The Parents of these children cannot frosting over THIER lack of direction and adult responsibility by giving a fast track to security. This is not a cheap shot GOV.....This is what nobody has had the guts to tell you. You are not a leader if you can not handle the basics in your own home first.

YES SARAH PALIN--YOU CON WOMAN--BRISTOL AND LEVI ARE WORKING THEIR BUTTS OFF. IT MUST BE IN BED ONLY. LEVI HAS QUIT HIS JOB.THE NEXT THING HE WILL QUIT ON IS YOUR DAUGHTER. ENCOURAGE YOUR DAUGHTERS TO STAY AWAY SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE AND DRUGS. YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO YOUR CHILDREN.

Shouldn't EVERYONE have to do things by the book? Isn't that the whole point of rules and laws, and all that stuff that politicians are supposed to support and uphold? And considering he was in the wrong, shouldn't they have said yes, it was a mistake and it's been taken care of, rather than whining about it.
If a job requires a certain level of education, there's a reason. And this alone is certainly not going to "destroy" his chances to work. He just needs to get his diploma or GED and follow the rules, like anyone else would have to.

Typical Palin-related hillbilly life. How did these people ever get to be in the spotlight?? Thanks John McCain for injecting these people into our national dialogue. Yechh

WHO CARES , ONLY THE PRESS SO THEY CAN HAVE A STORY

Palin is always "blasting" or "shooting down" something, but has the woman ever stopped to consider that she's the cause of her own problems? She has had an amazing career based on her good looks and aggressive personality, but enough is enough. At the core, she's undereducated, grabby, and self-righteous. I'm sick and tired of hearing about her, her family, and any potential in-laws because the news just keeps getting worse.

How did he get this job anyway? Were the qualifications 'waived' in the first place? Perhaps because of his relationship to the govenor, or did the hiring folks just 'miss' that little bit of info? Is it a 'pay for play' issue?

ALL OF YOU BASHERS OF KIDS THAT MAKE MISTAKES HAVE FOR-
GOTEN ALL YOUR FOLIES IN YOUR YOUTH. LET THEM GET ON
WITH THEIR LIVES.

NAM VET NH

Get off this family, the same people that are critizing them,
are probably low lives, that skipped out on the BABY'S MOTHER.
Get a life, and a job, yourself, before you demonize another
human being.

Sarah first things first, send the young man to school, thank God you didn't win

According to other media reports, young Johnston is working to complete his highschool degree in an online HS program, concurrent with his work as an elelctrical apprentice.

Welcome to the world of deranged, jealous Americans and mean-spirited press. This is news? Sounds more like liberal derangement.

Poor Levi I think Levi need to get his High School diploma he is no different than any other person beside he need to complete school and I hope he go to college.Sarah Palin underage daughter will have stay at home and get her education so suck it up take responability for your action.

Well, It's know doubt that you put your big mouth in it again. You open the subject up about his educationand job what did you expect the press to do.Now you fix the problem, Next, we will here about your daughter and her baby who care.We have a country to worred about,did you forget that ?????
There are a lot of Alaskas up-set with you. Clean up your act and stop blaineing ever body else. You,wanted to be in the White House !!!!!
THANK GOD!!!!!!!!! you're not. Stay home and be a hockey mom if you still rembember.

OK, so he held a job for which he was not qualified by the company's requirements, which came from the fact that he didn't use good judgment with regard to birth control, got a girl pregnant, and dropped out of school to earn money due to the pregnancy that should never have happened because teenagers without high school diplomas are clearly not ready to be parents and thus should keep their trousers zipped and/or their legs crossed. And all of this came to light in the national media because the mother of his pregnant girlfriend threw herself into the limelight without regard to the effect it would have on her family, who are supposedly the most important component of her existence. And the voting public are supposed to have sympathy because...? As someone else wrote, "welcome to the real world" of politics, little boy. You made your bed, literally lay in it, and now expect to "wake up" with no repercussions? Sorry, life rarely works out that prettily. With luck the "Palin" effect will fade, but as it appears that the Gov. has ambitions, don't hold your breath, just prepare to constantly have the light shine through your life's windows. Best bet? try to keep those window panes as clean as you can and carry on.

Levi tried to get an apprenticeship or one was 'given to him" wink wink even though he did not have the proper qualifications. Guess he better get back into school and finish his at least high school. As a new father that is the best example he can set for his son. As a new public figure that is the least he can do for his country.

How much we know about Caroline Kennedy's Kids? Regarding the Lev's job, it is up to the company employing the kid. So, now we should all feel good that he resigned the apprentice.

STOP REPORTING ON SARAH PALIN.

STOP REPORTING ON SARAH PALIN.

STOP REPORTING ON SARAH PALIN.

Yeah, this is ridiculous. It just shows you all about privelege. People crack me up when they talk down about affirmative action. What the heck is this then? How about George Bush, and all the other kids with rich and famous daddies who get the job because their parents "know" someone?

This is not really a great news story, but it is quite sickening to be honest.

Expecting someone to do "everything by the book"??? What a concept and welcome to the real world. Levi could always really go out on a limb and go back to high school, get his diploma, and struggle like the rest of us. This is no "political pot shot". Sounds to me as if Levi was given some kind of special opportunity to begin with in order to get that job, and now that the truth has come to light, somebody's mad.

OK OK I get it now. If you are a Republican, evangelical, radical, divisive, paranoid lunatic, you're an "average Joe" a "hockey mom" a "Joe Six-Pack" or a "'Joe' the 'Plumber'" and it's unfair to call you out for not being qualified for a job, not following the law, etc., because you are just "workin' your butt off." If however you are someone who worked their way through school, are brilliant and accomplished, got where you are by following the rules, and hold other people to the same standard you've held yourself, then you're unqualified, a "fake American" and someone who hates democracy.

"He has to do everything by the book now".

Pure comedy gold.

While I'm sure this kids lack of qualifications were noticed because of who he is, shouldn't they look into this company's other apprentices qualifications? Those requirements are there for a reason. The media didn't destroy his chance to work: he did when he failed to protect against an unplanned pregnancy.

POLITICAL POTHOT?

She set herself up to be a beacon of morality! NOW! Let's see this single father finish high school under the pressure of a baby – as a NORMAL father would have to do (if he were not standing, advertising himself, at self-righteous republican convention)! Let's see the Palin family really walk the walk! AND WHEN IS THE WEDDING GOING TO HAPPEN?

Good Grief! Levi has to do things by the book now vs getting away with what he can? Stop! Why isn't he just concentrating on finishing High School and doing it right? Next question is why doesn't Palin concentrate on Alaska and stop annoying the rest of us with her, It's all about me attitude.
Denying Levi a job opportunity, opened the door for someone who qualified for that job.

I'm not at all a fan of Sarah Palin (YES WE DID!!!), but even I have to say, she's right. If it's not a political pot shot at her, why would this even have been reported? And given that it IS a pot shot at her, even then, why is it news?

For god's sake, leave the kid alone already. He didn't ask for media infamy. He's got enough on his plate, being a father at 18.

Everything by the book NOW?

We all need to do things by the book. The fact he actually got the job brings up a question – was a political favor called in?

Jeez! If the press held Obama under the same microscopic scrutiny they hold Palin and her associates to, he'd be sent packing back to Chicago! Oh, yeah, but that's assuming there was no bias in the media.
My bad.

Free Levi!

Levi, dude! It's totally cool to be an underachieving slacker! Free Levi!

I wish this lady would keep her mouth shut. Rules are the rules. If they let him stay, people would apply for the job without a high school education because he set the standard. It is not a political pot shot woman – get over yourself and get your kids to finish high school.

Mrs. Palin– it's not about you!!

It's about a kid learning to follow the rules. Requirements have to be met before entering training programs. Thousands of American's go through this everyday, he needs to realize that education comes first and rules have to be followed!

Gods children dont need no stinkin edumication! We have de bible n stuffs!

OK Sarah, this is proof positive that you are truly a self-absorbed Diva. You parade this young man around the campaign along with your then pregnant teenage daughter, and now expect them to be 'hands-off' to the press. The work force needing Levi to have a high school Diploma is in now way a 'potshot'.Stop wasting energy blaming the media for everything that doesn't go your family's way every chance you get, and focus on EDUCATING your children and your ignorant self.

"doing everything by the book" is NOT being treated differently than the average 18 year old. It's the right thing to do. His missing educational qualification was "just something that fell through the cracks"???!!! What kind of apprentice program does this union have ? And only "now" he has to do everything by the book? Thank God Palin didn't become Pres. She sure does "pal around" with the kind of people that are suspect.

That Levi....such a maverick don't cha know.... trying to go it without that silly education thingy....

Just somethong that slipped thru the cracks huh???? The people of Alaska need to see what else is slipping thru the cracks up there. Mr. johnston don't make excuses for Levi, make him stand on his feet and go to school. At some point in life Levi will have to hang in there and complete something. Don't miss the point in this. There are plenty of kids out there having kids, that don't have a governor for help circumventing the system. Try this one.... Drafted to Vietnam. Like the military. Not allowed to stay in military until diploma obtained. Get it done now.

Either get a high school diploma and get a job, or start a methamphetamine lab (like so many others in that town).

The news media as a whole is hurting for news worthy stories. It is getting really old.

Moral of the story: dropping out of high school is not a good career move in the 21st century, information-age economy - regardless of your political connections. Dude – get a diploma or a GED, then go to college - and keep your pants zipped in the meantime.

Levi should have finished high school out. It's more likely that he would have been able to finish it out than Bristol being that she was pregnant in all. Its the struggle of being teenage parents!

WHY SHOULD HE BE ANY DIFFERSNT THAN I AM? IF MY QUALAFICATIONS WEREN'T UP TO PAR, I CERTAILY WOULDN'T GET THE JOB!

Just think, this may have been the first family.

Oh my gosh......Poor Levi.......he has to start doing things by the book. now. Gee.....I wonder if he got into that apprentice program after someone got a phone call from the Governor's office. Surely not.....

Levi tried to get an apprenticeship or one was "given to him" wink wink even though he did not have all the qualifications. So I guess he had better get back in school. As a new father that is the best example he can be to his son.

This is just another ploy by Palin to keep herself in the media limelight. Please stop reporting on her, there are so many other things going on in the world today!!
And if Levi truly wanted to do what was best for his child, he would finish school. There is not much he or Bristol can do for their child without a high school diploma!!

Hang in there Levi hand outs are coming for those who do not work, are uneducated and have children they can not afford. They are called the Democrats

Wow, some of you people are bitter. It is a shame that some people have no life of their own that they have to gossip about an 18 year old kid.

maybe if he graduated highschool this wouldn't be an issue? The test to get your GED isn't very hard, and can be taken pretty easily.

Since does having to "play by the book" mean that you're being singled out for unfair treatment? Welcome to real life, man.

Why doesn't the 'Palins' go away. Who cares about the 'air heads' the media just should ignore them.

"He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now."

Umm.. as a mother of 2, I can say that my kids have ALWAYS been expected to "do things by the book"... even though they're not under a microscope, and they're not the son-in-law of Sarah Palin.

I think this comment by Levi's father shows exactly what kind of upbringing this kid has had... if now, only because he's "under the microscope" is he expected to do things by the book. How in the heck was he doing things before??

Well... I think we know the answer to that question.. the same way Palin was doing things. As needed, until scrutny was pushed her way.. so NOW she's also trying to do things "by the book". But not because of her moral obligations.. only because she's being "watched". That's not someone i'd want as my kids teacher, let alone a govenor, VP or god forbid a President.

I totally agree with turnabout and mb and thanks to the reporters who brought this to light.
He's being treated different....yea right he is ...that is why he got a job with no proper qualification...pls acknowledge that something wrong was done here by the ppl involved
Hey kid...get off ur butt and start reading....u cant even get a high school diploma?...thats sad...
Some ppl might get thru unnoticed but u have to remember there are consequences when u get caught.
I dont want to be hard on u but it takes some effort kid and ur in a land of opportunity.Please dont tell me its hard especially in America.Do u even know hows it outside....well u dont bcos u dont read.
and Palin..please shut up.

Wow... GO AWAY PALIN..... Jeez..................

Hello, earth calling Sarah, wecome to the real world.
If a requirement for Tripp's job is to have a diploma why should he receive special consideration? Is it just because you ran for President? It seems to me you should be teaching your family rules, responsibilities and values instead of claiming people are trying to persecute YOU. Sarah, this wasn't about YOU but apparently you are going to use everything and anything that happens to keep your name in the news.
You are sickening.

Oooops – blame others for lying to your employer. Pathetic. Welcome to a world where you do NOT get special treatment.

let the palin/johnston clan show continue. I get more laughs from this bunch than ANY show on TV right now. they are a joke. sarah pals around with drug dealers, daughter and daughter' s baby daddy both high school drop outs, now baby's daddy, daddy is saying "his son's missing educational qualification was "just something that slipped through the cracks." and NOW he has to do things by the book? Why not. We have to do things by the book. Once again it just shows how repubs think they are ABOVE the rules, regulations and laws that the rest of the county live by.

He should be doing things by the book anyway. Yes, Sarah Palin you thrust your family into the national spotlight and you knew you had a lot of family problems, but no you wanted to be VP when you knew you did not have a snowball chance in hell. Your kids will have to suffer in the future because of your decisions. Now go figure out how to make things right at home or at least half normal again.

His lack of education cost him an opportunity for a good job...

Aww, no fair! Just because he had unprotected pre-marital sex with the daughter of a vice-presidential candidate who ran a slash and burn campaign based on 'values' and the premise of her party's moral superiority, that's no reason why poor young Levi should have to obey the law like an ordinary citizen. This is just another example of liberals being hell bent on dragging our nation into a godless pit of depravity while caving in to terrorists.

Levi needs to get his GED.Then go back to the oil slopes. It will
work out but Levi & Bristol will have a rough time because of the
reporters lurking around the corner looking for something juicy to
report.Leave the the kids along and let them work out their
lives.Palin needs to shut her mouth and do her job.Where is her husband nothing out of him.

Why are these people still talking? Isn't there any better news in Moosejaw?

"Rules don't apply to Republicans". What??? Let's see, Blago, Spitzer, Sharpton, Jefferson, Mahoney, Franken...I'm tired of typing...and these are just the ones from the past year!

Who among us would not find it incredulous to hear a parent say their child's education is something that "slipped through the cracks"? Is the spotlight on the young man fair? Absolutely not! Should he be allowed special treatment when he lacks the educational qualifications for the job? Yes!

Rules are Rules! Time to learn that simple lesson!
Too bad....soooooooo sad.........

'just slipped through the cracks"?? Imagine that. Only in Alaska under the Palins, his would-be in-laws. If he is under public scrutiny, it is only because the Palins chose to make him and their daughter political pawns in her pro-life, 'family values' failed campaign. He certainly does need to get his high school diploma. I do wish this young couple well. They have a hard way to go.

Ignorance of the law (rules) is no excuse for violating them.

Stupid Republican ways of thinking are hard to die.

PLZ No More Palin and Family .......This Lady Should realize that lies always catch up with you .......Senator McCain is a honarable Man was running for Prez and he's not in the news every week ......Palin because of you he lost the election ...Wink! Wink ! Ya Betcha!
Levi proably didn't have a job,(WORKING THEIR BUTS OFF) another Palin lie ...most employers get a background check before hiring ...Father speaking out wonder if wife still in jail ......Go away PLZ****

Johnston has done absolutely nothing to warrant a break of sort he and the Palin hillbilly gang sought. Jobs have essential candidate requirements for a reason, not to be there to be ignored. Greasing his skids was not an oversight, it was deliberate, just as it was deliberate to ignore Palin's lack of qualification for the job she recently failed to win. With respect to the press scrutiny, well that just comes with the spotlight territory Palin demanded.

He was hired initially...how? Don't they check references? In a small town and with the press – they knew and hired him anyway yet the admin office goes by scott free. They broke the hiring rules, not the kid.

While I think that he should go back and get his high school diploma, I find it amusing that a New Jersey voter–a state that re-nominated a Democrat Senator under massive investigations, and then changed the rules when he was trailing in the polls, is talking trash about rules only applying to Republicans

She has no one to blame but herself. She invited the world into her house, so now everyone knows their business.

That boy needs to get his butt a diploma or something. His and his child's life will be a huge struggle without his basic education completed.

Palin should be complaining that the boy dropped out! She should be URGING him to complete his education, so life may be a little easier for his new family.

The Palin and Johnston families have a lot of work to do when it comes to raising children. Their children can't succeed in life if the parents continue to blame everyone else for their lack of responsibility. It appears these two young adults have been off track for a long time and their parents aren't taking any responsibility to make sure they get back on track. You don't slip through the cracks when you lie about your education or anything else, you just get caught lying and that's exactly what happened to Levi and Bristol.

Yo Jerseyv oter, Do the "rules" apply to ILLEGAL immigrants?

Everyone else has to play by the rules, why not him? It will be a better example to set for his son and maybe he won't wind up like his Grandma!! Either one!!!

Can't we just let go of all this white trash??? These guys will eventually show up on Jerry Springer and show their true colors. They have had enough of a pass on the national scene. All of them, including Sarah, are the lowest of low lifes. Let them stew in their juices and good riddence.

"You guys are watching him so tightly," Johnston told the paper. "He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now."

Wouldn't he be treated differently if he didn't have to do everything by the book? What an idiot!

Maybe he should have spent a little more time in HS, graduated and then knocked up Palin.

Palin is an incredible hypocrite. Her entire campaign consisted of making false statements and taking "political potshots" at Barack Obama.

What is it exactly that Republicans have against "doing everything by the book"? Guidelines, rules and laws apparently only apply to the rest of us.

13 days till the end of the Bush administration.

So had he not been the son in law of the governor he could have gotten away with breaking the law? What kind of idiot father does this kid have? Oh yeah...his mom was just busted for drugs...

great choice in men Bristol. Good luck with that.

Will we never be free of news on the dysfunctional Palin clan? Palin has revealed her ineptitude in so many ways that it is mind-boggling. Hypocrisy fits right in there too! Stop giving us reports on Bristol and her "fiance." What a joke. If they are such Christians, why didn't they get married earlier and put the whole scandal to rest??? Why are they STILL unmarried? As for the lack of a high school degree, why is everyone so surprised? This clan is the poster family for the "dumbing-down" of America and the lack of goals and accountability on which it is based. What a great example for the public: incomplete education, lack of legal family status via no marriage certificate, and poor priorities in putting campaigning ahead of finishing school. Shame on you, Palins! What a disgrace.

she's got nobody to blame but herself. she's the one who trotted her family out for every photo op. when is doing something by the book and following rules and guidlines a bad thing?

Get off this family it seems like all everyone wants to do is bash them !!! People can be just so stupid and immature get a life , go back to your jobs and take care of your own business !!!

The job requires a high school diploma. Sounds like Levi needs to hit the books rather than Palin making this about her.

Levi's father should be ashamed. He is teaching his son that he is above the rules and is somehow deserving of special treatment because he got on the governor's daughter. Why would any parent want to encourage career decisions that disregard education anyway? All those auto workers who left school for one of those "good" factory jobs are sure wringing their hands now. Levi's path, if he abandons high school, will lead him into the same situation. Just another example of how these clowns scoff at intellectual endeavors. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I thought these guys believed in "values". Is'nt education part of "values"?

Fiance' is just another word for BABY DADDY.........This is the first of what he will be walking out on...............

Very telling that the "compasionate" liberals take out thier anger for Republicans on a young man whom never sought the limelight just was trying to improve his life with a good paying job. There is no evidence, nevermind proof, that governor Palin interceeded to get him this job but the loony left believes this must be the case without question. They will defend those on welfare saying they are somehow shutout of the american dream but a man enrolled in a apprenticeship to ensure he never is on the state dole is to be condemned. The illegal immigrants are just trying to provide for their families and should be given amnesty for breaking the law but an 18 yr old American citizen should be outcast and kicked to the curb because he was in an apprenticeship without having his "papers" in order. If any of you libs took a moment to listen to yourselves you just might come to your senses. It is precisely this attitude which is dividing and tearing down our once great nation.

Oh, no! He has to play by the rules like everyone else! That's just not fair!

So, in other words, before the press was watching young Mr. Johnston didn't have to do everything by the book?
What kind of a message is that sending out to kids?
We all know that if Levi & Bristol had been members of Barack Obama's family the right wing Republicians would have been all over them..uneducated, unmarried and pregnant. Come, ON..McCain and Palin lost, in part, beacuse they we such dishonest hypocrites.

"He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now."

Awwwww, really? No more special dispensation for the popular, small town, "real America," hockey player, high school jock, who dates the mayor's daughter? To paraphrase the angel in Grease, "electrical school drop out, go back to high-school."

Get educated...simple as that.

I really hope that he puts education first, something his future mother in law had a problem with. He could be a future Presidential candidate, ill informed and lacking a lot of class, but then he can probably see Russia from his back porch. Bet he can't name the fifty states. Poor guy.

Welcome to the Big Leagues, Sarah.
Why is it that you seem to think that a "do as I say; not as I do" attitude will work in the long run? If her Democratic opponents had impregnated their current wives prior to marriage, you would have considered the subject fair game, but any criticism of "Out of his Levis" Johnston for impregnating your daughter seems to spark a hissy fit. A proper parent would decide, I think, that this guy isn't a good choice for inclusion in your family.

A. This not national newsworthy
B. As this young man is the "fiancee" of the governor's daughter, any stories related to him (ie. mom's drug bust) will be reported, fairly or unfairly.
C. As long as Sarah Palin keeps taking EVERY opportunity to thrust her name into the national spotlight, she and her family/extended family will be fair game (Sorry, couldn't resist!) for the national press. If she really wants to maintain a low profile and just do her job, that's what she should actually do!

Only way she can keep herself in the limelight so no one will forget about her....as if we could be so lucky.....

Obama supporter who cant stand Palin here BUT totally agree w/ her on this. LEAVE THE KID ALONE.

The kid needs to get his high school diploma.

Gee, another uneducated father.

Just what this country needs.

how the world did they not know he didnt have a high school diploma! LOL we knew that about the boy during the campaign! poor excuse! was he even going to night school....... lol... well repubs... cant say anything about illegal immigrants working!....at least some of them have high school diplomas!

God forbid Johnston should have to "do everything by the book."

If he and the parents around him had any intelligence someone would come up with the idea that maybe he should just go back to furthur his education, and no he isn't being treated any differently then any other in his position, but I guess since there is the real world and then the world Sara Palin lives in she would be a bit confused, but just to let her know. People who don't further their education in any way usually don't end up with the best of jobs, and you can't expect that anyone should try to hire him for a job that he is not qualified for just because McCain did .

Sarah... join us over here in reality where we obey rules. Then you can quit all your whining and pathetic accusations.

Please folks – are the Democrats so desperate to disparage that they need to attack the fiance of the ex-Vice Presidential candidate, who already lost!?!?!? Get a life

So he shouldn't have to operate "by the book?" Isn't this what the rest of us have had to do? This has little to do with Gov. Palin, and more to do with a lazy young man clearly not ready for the responsibility of raising a child.
He's 18, but no diploma? No job? Does he at least have prospects?

Fortunately, not all young men are this useless to society.

More comments from the bimbo..who is working on her

"six Pack" of kids..!!!

She forgot all the potshots she aimed at Barak Obama. Her and McCain paraded these kids around and now they can't deal with the attention.

Had Palin really been thinking, she would have said "NO" when McCain asked her about being VP.

I hope that both the young man and her daughter will get their education and do well, but they will have to learn just like all other teenagers, that life is not easy and everything can't be handed to you or you can get things underhandedly because of who your inlaws or parents are.

Sarah who?????????????

Democrats are pathetic.

Liberals can be such haters. Leave the boy alone. Republicans don't behave this way. Look how violent the protests can be at any Bush event...Let's try to be adults and civil.

I don't see anyone looking at the other side of this story. It is not Levi's "fault" if he got a job that required a degree of education that he did not have. It would be the employer's fault. That is why there are interviews and investigations. He would not be the first to get a job he was not qualified for. Some people that you and I trust have lied on their resumes to get positions that they should have been disqualified for.
The trouble is, how do you or anyone else outside of the people he worked for, really know if he could or was doing the job as required. There is nothing wrong with OJT (on-the-job training). It is how MOST people actually learn how to do what they do. Education only gets you so far. Experience takes you the rest of the way.

heres a prediction. Levi will take the GED test and pass. It will be signed off by education officials in Alaska and the document will carry equal weight to that of a high school diploma BUT the msm will insist that the GED is worthless thereby calling into question the value of a GED and the value of those that have aquired one in the past. just watch. msm is now in the business of ruining lives. Too bad but typical liberal activity.

Perhaps Levi believes his life was ruined the day he and Bristol 'conceived'. What a dysfunctional family – yet typical.

Hey Palin – we'll be bashing you for the rest of your life. You asked for it and now you're getting it. Good riddance to bad rubbage.

Truth: Bristol, a high school drop-out, has a baby-daddy who makes more money than most people in an apprentice program where you must have a high school diplima or a GED to qualify. He had neither, which means he shouldn't be there. Guess what Sarah? Any other teenage mother or father without a high school diplimia or a GED can't get a job like that, either. If you hadn't plastered them all over television and let us know what a rotten mother you were, this wouldn't be happening.

If Obama's daughters had done this stuff, he would have never been nominated, and his daughters would be every welfare queen in the book.

They were more than happy to parade the kids around in public as a poster couple for the religious right. That means that they lose the chance to suddenly say that it's off bounds to bring them up in public.

George W. Bush made a point to shelter his kids from the public spotlight and they were never used as political tools for his popularity. That meant that he could legitimately say that they were not to be brought up by the media.

Were Sarah Palin so concerned for their well-being, why did she run for political office?

Levi - you should have used a rubber (prophylactic for you high brow types) buddy!

is Sarah serious??? she needs to get off her high horse and accept that rules apply to EVERYONE
so glad this women did not win and I hope she NEVER comes back to the public eye

The guy tries to earn a living and others try to drag him down. Maybe he should become a Democrat and stick his hand out!

More great entertainment from this helpless clan. I love the quote from the father "You guys are watchng him so tightly," because maybe if the Dad had done a little watching, his kid wouldn't have gotten a girl pregnant! Levi seems to have plent of time to "boink,' and less time to go to class.

We can only hope Sarah comes back for 2012. Her complete inability to take responsibility for absolutely anything, makes her a good bet to do significant political damage to the Republicans for years to come.

That's right Sarah and Dad, Levi doesn't need a high school diploma to be an electrician. There's really not much science or math involved, and it's really not that dangerous a job. Let him be.

Sarah Palin is the Queen of De-Nial! If she thinks that her daughter and future son-in-law are not high school drop outs, then she's been paling around with too many Meth cooking Moms. It has gotten to her brain, if she ever had one.

Just Shut the Heck Up, Sarah!

I agree that this is not news but Tripp?? Seriously, Tripp?? What makes you want to name someone after a vacation or even worse, a clumsy verb?

Very telling...

"He has to do everything by the book now."

Just like everybody else.

"He has to do everything by the book now."

Well shouldn't everyone???

Palin is such an egomaniac! NO ONE LIKES YOU SARAH! Go away!

Our so called "news media" is a pathetic shell of what reporting the news should be about. They need to leave these young people alone. It seems that the reporters only care about making a big scandal out of peoples' personal lives, it doesn't matter who or when or where. All the lies and insinuations used to be for rags like the Enquirer, but no more. So called mainstream news reporters neglect the important news and work on the next "big event".

Besides, when in "fall" did he start working? Before or after Palin hit the media? I bet he got this because he was the big hockey star, and one of the good 'ole boys.

With so many people looking for work, how did high-school-dropout Levi land an electrical apprentice position without meeting the minimum requirement – a high school diploma? Could it be that Sarah Palin, known for cronyism and corruption, arranged the position to get Levi out of town? Despite all the claims during Sarah's vice-presidential campaign that Levi would marry Bristol, Sarah already knew that Levi's mother was to be arrested for narcotic sales. How would it look for Bristol's mother-in-law to be a convicted felon? Levi may not be the marrying type, but he'll probably be set for life if he elopes with the governor's daughter. There's no end in sight to the misadventures of this dysfunctional family.

I bet he doesn't depend on "others" to pay for it when he does go. Shameful! If he is good at what he does, what is the big deal...

Jeewhiz. Give the kid a break.

Oh brother! She is the one who started this by her talking to People magazine. Is she going to be in the Tabloids every second? I feel sorry for the kids but they are trailer trash. Palin is a narcissist wanting her name in the press every day no matter what it is about!!

Palin herself called the report a "a political potshot taken at me," that could "destroy a young man's opportunity for work."

Does she have any concern for any of the qualified young men who did not get an apprenticeship because Levi was given the opportunity instead, even though unqualified?

It's unfortunate that these kids are now in the lime light. As for Palin, . she must have forgotten when she said Obama was palling around with terrorist. So Yes Levi should do things by the book. It's called you reap what you sow.

I expect my children to "do everything by the book" Don't see any reason to teach them to cheat.

This family is a joke. Leave them alone and maybe we won't have to hear about them any more.

Dave
Iowa City, Iowa

If the public would let these people be, they could lead a normal life. Maybe with Obama's new plan for redistribution he can live better than all of you and me. Wonder what a family of three and no one working can bring in under Obama's plan? Hell, let them buy a house and Obama will pay the mortgage on that also. (so his supporters seem to think)

So Palin WANTS the father of her grandchild(ren) to be uneducated? She must be grooming him to take over her office someday.

Sarah Palin brought this on herself. She should have declined McCain offer since I'm sure she knew she wasn't ready and she also knew about her daughter's pregnancy. She should have known the press would have made a spectacle of her family. That's what happens when you choose fame over family. She left herself and family wide open for scrutiny. It's really nobody's business but this is what happens when you want to be a star

"You need to know that both Levi and Bristol are working their butts off to parent and going to school and working at the same time," Palin told PEOPLE in a phone message Wednesday. "They are certainly not high school dropouts."

Palin the Bimbo is a compulsive liar. Enough said.

too bad his apprenticeship fell through.. he might not have a high school education, but the boy sure can lay pipe.. (just ask Bristol)

No different from whats going on everywhere else.
This week his job.
Next week your neighbors.
Next month Yours....

When she announced the whole situation to the press, Palin used the press and her daughter's personal life to try to keep her name in the news. This one back fired on her and she is crying foul. She should want the same for her future son-in-law that she is providing for her daughter, which is to stay at home and finish her education as quickly as possible. She was probably hoping that this separation would break them up and she could maintain control, all the while his life is ruined. What a loser she is.

Reality bites right? Who would have thought that a pre-requisite for employment would be a high school education? Doesn't Mrs. Palin realize that there are college graduates with masters degrees unable to work in their field of study? This issue is a primary problem with "high profile" people. There is a sense of entitlement and an ideology that the rules that are applied for "common folk" don't apply to them. it's called the "good ol boy" network and has been in existence since the days of Jim Crow. Get over yourself Mrs. Palin, Levi's crap (and yours) stinks just like everyone else. Welcome to America 101.

"Being treated different (ly)?" So no one follows rules and regulations in Alaska? No one is taking away good (immature) Levi's "opportunity for work;" he did that himself by dropping out of high school. I realize Palin, with her 6 year Journalism BA, was thrust into a potential job she had no academic qualifications for, but we pray that was an anomaly that will not be repeated. She should know that, even in Alaska, a high school diploma is the key to unlocking good jobs. A college degree unlocks even more, should he and his girlfriend be inclined to actually get an education. This has nothing to do with Sarah Palin, nor is poor, dropout Levi being singled out...he should have never received this apprenticeship, and I do not for a moment believe his getting it had nothing to do with the girl he impregnated.

How can this boy possibly think he doesn't have to qualify for a position?
There are people that work so hard in school for those positions, yet Levi thinks he can walk in and take a job he has not earned the right to have. Thus, Qualifications!
This family disaster needs some counseling.
Palin ruining more lives, why not teach Levi the rules. Can you just imagine the ruin of the country if this women Palin were in power, sorry Alaska that you have her for a governor!

Levi and Bristol's private lives should not be "news." And, no Sarah, this is not about you. The kids need to get an education if they want to make it on their own. Everyone in this country is entitled to 12 years of a FREE education. If you don't take advantage of this, then flipping hamburgers at a fast food place will be your career. You will also be the ones demanding that the government give you health care along with welfare and when you are 65, you will demand social security and every benefit known to man because the system failed you and you did not get a proper education.

Levi – why did you quit school in the first place?

Who really cares? We have more important things to worry about now!!

...and if saying that ONLY people with high school diplomas can become employed, then good luck to whoever wants to take on the task of forcing ALL teenagers to graduate from school (because its good for the economy right?) and I wish that person well when they have to fire those that do not have a diploma.

The guy tries to earn a living and others work to bring him down. Maybe he should just become a Democrat and stick his hand out!

Stop covering this idiot.

Palin is the one whom put her family on front street. She did not think
about that only thought about herself. She needed to take care of home first before she wanted Prime Time but her wants came before her needs. She did not care about her family or anyone else when she put it out there. He can go but to school and she can go with him !

Sarah Palin:

Did you think your family life would not be an open book???

Oops! You don't think!

Why work or finish school, people magazine gave them 300K for the kids pictures.

Maybe he can sell those clothes that they "so call" gave back to the Republican party.

No only do you need a high school dipolma in this country but a college degree to get any kind of a job.

Sounds like Palin was playing a "pay to play" game.

No doubt there good kids but, were all in the same boat and they shouldn't get special treatment just because Palin can see Russia from her house.

Would this even be news if he was any other kid in the US??
I'm waiting for some of these commenters to say global warming is Palin's fault too. Get real.
Give us some real news. Start worrying about the Russians escalating presence in the former Soviet block countries.

Sarah Palin he lacks a high school dipolma you twit! if he did not drop out of high school maybe he could get the job. Some jobs by the way require a college degree.
No one cares abymore about you and your whinning ways! I feel for the baby.
Please stay in Alaska and out of the lower 48.

I don't know about all this Palin is not running any more. I have a suggestion for CNN, as a public service can you start a section describing how to get in on government aid and checks? Obama is supposed to be sending checks but we need instructions on how to get in on all this

What was that Newspaper? Oh, the Anchorage Daily 'Toilet" Paper? Ok, got it.

"He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now."

As opposed to......?

Funny, I thought everyone was supposed to follow the rules. I'm not against the kid having a job, but a lot of people need jobs. He's not exempt from having an education anymore than anyone else in this country.

So now following the rules is considered a 'potshot' by Ms. Backyard Russia. Following the rules could 'destroy a young man's life'. The sheer arrogance and elitist attitude exhibited by Sarah Palin is apphalling. And to think she could have held one of the highest offices in the world. If her personal standards are any inidcation of how she would have affected American policy, I breath a wonderful sigh of relief that we defeated her handily in the election. The best thing she could do is go lock herself in an icebox, even if that icebox is called Alaska.

"He has to do everything by the book now"?
You ignorant moron!
We "all" have to do everything by the book.
It is bad enough that Palin was and is uneducated, and simply more ignorant than a fallen tree but to make excuses for your stupidity because a teenager who quit high school does not receive special treatment because he got the Govenor's daughter pregnant?
Too bad these "kids" were not told about birth control? Too bad this kids Mom was selling illegal drugs to kids? Too bad none of them ever heard about staying in school to get the minimal High School diploma. Talk about poor parenting!

Is there just one picture anywhere that shows these two actually looking each other in the face? Is it just me or does Bristol's body language always scream, "I was drunk. It was a one-night stand, I'm sorry, but get this creep away from me and please don't force me to marry him...".

Palin in 2012! ====> end of the GOP – Go GURL!

Leave the kid alone. If he was performing the job whats the big deal. I thought apprentice positions were where you learned on the job training anyway.

Turnabout, what the heck does having a high-school diploma have to do with good ol' fashioned hard work? Don't kid yourself. Formal education has little to do with success depending upon the field you choose. I started as a grunt laborer sitting a corner cube (half a cube at that) and worked my way up to become an executive at the company I work for in 7 years. I dropped out of high-school at 16 and had only held 1 other job and that was at a pizza joint. Never underestimate sheer will-power and desire to be successful to compensate for lack of education. The rules are simple. Surround yourself with people more successful that yourself and learn from them. Don't lie, don't steal, and don't compromise your ethics. Work harder and work smarter than everyone else around you. Do what you can to make your superior look good to his superior. The beautiful thing about capitalism is it rewards those who work hard and work smart! Formal education is a side-show for those with no discipline to learn on their own.

Not a Palin fan but enough is enough. Election is over and with these crises going over US and around the world; our press is still obsessed with Palin’s daughter boyfriend. How low can US media and press go?

Good for the press for this story. It goes to show who can go through the system and not get caught on things that should be important in life. Levi should go back to school and earn his credential the right way and why did he and his baby mama drop out of school. What is wrong with these parent and their kids not going to school. Why should some childern who drop out of school think that they can get on top of the world with a pass.

This came from an Anchorage Daily News article which has stated that his dad, who works for the same company, was the one who got him the job. Also, the ADN article debunked much of what was printed from a Sunday opinion piece in the paper that was a pot shot job on Governor Palin about this job.

If CNN is going to use parts of an article, please try to get both sides of the story, because many of us would like to READ both sides of the story and make our own opinions.

If you get the 17 year old daughter of the pro-life governor of Alaska and ex-VP candidate pregnant, guess what? You get to live your life under a microscope. Get used to it.

Levi,
You dipped your pen into the wrong ink, buddy.

How many high school drop outs are there in the USA? I heard that Chicago has a VERY high rate of drop outs. yes people without diplomas DO get jobs and actually retire from said jobs. Having a high school diploma guarantees NOTHING! Hell having college degrees do not guarantee anything. If he dropped out of school it was a decision made by him and no one else. If he chooses to go back, good for him but if he chooses not to then again its his choice. Going to school does not equate to being responsible so do not imply that only responsible people have high school diplomas or that once one graduates they automatically become responsible people. At least hes not afraid to work and hes not afraid to learn a trade. try finding that among teenagers in Chicago and other big cities.

Wow, I didn't think it was that slow of a news day. Why don't you transfer your reporters to somewhere other than nowhere and cover some real news. Her 15 min. of fame is over folks.

I detest Palin, but she's right. It's totally unecessary to intrude into the lives of her daughter and her baby-daddy. I don't see CNN exposes on how many other 18-year olds might have lied about their educational status or been grandfathered into a position. This guy (Levi) just had the misfortune of becoming a fringe player in something that, frankly, has nothing to do with him.

The election is over and done with. Let Palin and her ilk fade back into the obscurity from whence she came.

How terrible, someone having to do things "by the book" now! I guess he didn't think the rules applied to his son!

Actually, from reading a few past articles, Levi has done this to himself, Mr. Johnston. It has nothing to do with Sarah. Your son shot himself in his own foot by some of the comments he has made. Once it's out there, like a bullet, you can not take it back...nor is it going to go away.

For all those who complain that this is not news....remember who is reporting it....CNN....duhhhh! Okay, you can all go back into your liberal trance and continue praying to your "Messiah" to deliver you from the Republicans. LOL

I just wonder if the moderator will allow my "opinion" to be posted this time or will it be censored like most other times because I don't agree with their liberal left stance! Freedom of the press means freedom to censor at will and post BS

When you are asking $300,000 for your baby's pictures to be in People's magazine, then it is your choice to be exposed to the media and the public. You can't have it both ways. Also if your mother in law choosed to bring her kids into the limelight, then that is what you get.
Also if Bristol and Sarah Palin are giving interviews, then that is what you get.
Plus, if 18 years are old enough to die for this country, then Levi is not a kid, but an adult!

What a whiner! High school is just some technical requirement that "slipped through the cracks?" Great family values!

And Palin's comment? He destroyed his own opportunity to work by knocking up Bristol and NOT GOING TO SCHOOL. Why should he get a break just because of his relations?

He has to do things by the book now?!? God forbid!

The egos of these people are astounding. So, you should only do things by the book when people are watching? Yep, this boy is definitely cut out to be part of the Palin family.

He's a bum. So is his mother.

I voted for Obama and I thought Sara was grossly under qualified as a candidate for Vice President. That said, my feelings about the press hounding politians families is this: Leave them alone.

That is right, Gov. Palin.

Maybe we all need to "play by the books" a bit more and get this country back on track..

It sounds like young Levi was getting a bit of "special" treatment to me.

He's not qualified for the job becasue he's a high school dropout. What is that loon of a washed-up celebrity candidate yammering about?

Just go back to school and get your diploma. It seems like your doing everything out of order...baby first and marriage second. Job first and schooling maybe never.

MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, SOMEONE "THAT IS SOMEWHAT EDUCATED" SHOULD HAVE TOLD THIS YOUNG MAN TO STAY IN SCHOOL AND FINISH HIS 12TH GRADE EDUCATION INSTEAD OF DROPPING OUT 'TO GET A JOB" WHEN THE WORLD FOUND OUT THE PALIN DAUGHTER WAS PREGNANT......NO POTSHOTS HERE.....JUST BAD ADVISE FROM ALOT OF STUPID PEOPLE....................

..and that his son's missing educational qualification was "just something that slipped through the cracks." <– you mean no one remembered he might need a high school diploma for this?

"He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now." <– shouldn't he be doing everything by the book anyways?

Palin herself called the report a "a political potshot taken at me," that could "destroy a young man's opportunity for work." <– no, i think his lack of a high school education destroyed his opportunity for work.

god if i read about the palin's anymore my head is gonna explode.

Even with the election over, it's nice that Sarah Palin continues to display her idiocy for our collective amusement and entertainment. With her typical hypocrisy she deflects responsibility away from Levi, whose choice it was to drop out of school, which of course is ultimately HER fault for being such a mediocre parent that her daughter became the poster-child for the failure of abstinence-only sex education. To think, it all could've been avoided if Palin had only told her daughter about a simple piece of latex...

Seriously, why does anyone consider her a contender for 2012?

Palin could have avoided the political potshots in the first place if she avoided parading her family around on stage for all the world to see. She opened her own can worms and has nobody to blame but herself. Palin was a prop to McCain's campaign and went further by making her family props as well. Don't worry Barracuda, the world will soon enough forget you and your family and you can go back to living in irrelevancy. That can't come soon enough.

Better to be "working their butts off" than...you know...

What a bunch of crap! Everyone does whatever it takes to get a good job. People use their connections and even lie on their resumes – its routine. This poor guy is being forced out of a job he was doing well just because he didn't have a diploma? The loons on the left just love to punish conservatives – especially White ones. Sure give free tuition to illegal aliens and create all kinds of minority programs that discriminate against Whites – thats a sure way to get votes for the democrats until they realize that – hey guess what? – those people don't support your gay rights or abortion clinics etc. etc. HA!

Wait a minute! He quit a job he shouldn't have had in the first place. HE QUIT. He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid when he should not have got the job to begin with. And to say he has to do everything by the book now sounds as its normal to do thing in a underhanded fashion.

Welcome to a little place called EARTH!

If being a drop out, and a teen father is " average", then we ARE in trouble. He could join his future brother inlaw and join the military.

YES, Palin's baby Daddy has to get an education! He should not be allowed to jump ahead of every other high school graduate just because he has connections!!

Palin needs to get over herself - she supports him now because she think he will marry her daughter. When that does not happen Palin will be over him like her sister's husband, the police office!!

Palin, we are all concerned with who you are hanging out with!

Fitzgerald needs to investigate this woman and her criminal ways!

Palin seems to exist in a world of patronage and favor. Make her mad, you lose your job. Make her happy, you get a job. Impregnate her daughter, the rules get "fixed" for you.

We don't need Conservatism and we don't need crooked politicians. Run Palin out of office and we have one less Conservative and one less crook to worry about.

Cnn this is old news you always bringing Gov.Palin to get ratings.Get over it your guy won.You are just mad because Palin supporters blasted you on that stupid article you had on her with John Edwards.

Levi SHOULD be doing everything by the book. The majority of people I know did things by the book at his age. In order to get a job sometimes, you have to have the right educational requirements. As far as being watched so tightly...I'm sure no one forced him to knock up the governor of Alaska's daughter. So that would be his own doing.

And of course Sarah tries to make everything about her again.

Rules were established for the appretice program – a high school diploma was required – Levi didn't have one. Therefore, he did not belong in that program. He should get his GED, then re-apply.

I sounds like Caribou Barbie wanted the kid to get preferential treatemnt because of whose daughter he got pregnant.

What a parallel process this is?!

Palin isn't qualified to run for Vice President, but insists that she is.

Keith Johnston expresses shock that his 18 yo son is unqualified for an apprenticeship when he doesn't have sufficient education.

And both blame the media that they will have to "do everything by the book now"!

Good riddance to this nonsense.

hehehe yes welcome to the real world.Now it is our fault that he didn't finish high school.They are well what is the saying trailer people what do you expect.

"You guys are watching him so tightly," Johnston told the paper. "He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now."

He was supposed to be able to not 'do everything by the book'?

I guess if you're under the protection of Malibu Barbie, the rules don't apply.

I guess she would have upheld Cheney's position.

"He has to do everything by the book now."....so he was above the law or something beforehand? Instead of going back to finish school and possibly be a good role model for his child, they are whining and complaining about his not being able to keep a job?

Welcome to life!!! Most people who don't finish high school have no future at all..he's leading a pretty charmed life for a drop out!!!

Rules are rules. Live by them or else. Same as all other 18 year olds.

Silly Sarah got Levi the job - even though he did not meet the job qualifications and even though he was moved ahead of a hundred or so applicants already on a waiting list for the apprenticeship - isn't that just like her? Seems any rules the rest of us must follow don't apply to the governor and her family.

So is Palin suggesting that cutting corners and bending/breaking rules is preferred over doing it right? Is she going to run a campaign one day that it's ok to do things 'slight of hand' or 'under the table'?

Perhaps this is the 'Real America' that Palin likes so much. This woman is a joke to politics. It's not tougher in Alaska...because you can cheat to win there. Even the governor says so.

My mother always say Education is the key out of poverty. She was right. Stay in school Levi. you are still young and you have family support. So focus on school first.

Did his father just say that??? He has to do everything by the book now..... shouldn't everyone be held to that standard????

This is the problem with the republican hypocracy.... you are supposed to pull yourself up by your bootstraps.... but people like Levi, who just happens to be the baby father, can get preferential treatment. And his father is turnoff by the fact he has to do things by the book. What is going on in Alaska??? I am republican... I will never vote Sarah Palin.... She is a disgrace....

High School "just slipped through the cracks"...??? How does anyone take these people seriously?

I am not sure what was supposed to happen here. If he was unqualified to hold a job then it was going to happen at some point anyway. I am not sure how he got that far most jobs require written proof of you educational background before they even send you to H.R., then they run a background check to make sure everything is on the up and up. So she can blame the press but odds were unless she put in the good word for him they were going to do a background check and this would be the end result.

The Anchorage Hillbillies. Thank goodness they didn't become the Capitol Hillbillies!!!!!

Palin is certainly endearing herself with the press these days, NOT! Looks like we'll have to put up with the Palin nonsense for another couple of years at least. When Levi paraded himself across the stage of politics he should have expected this. And yes he needs to abide by the rules of life like everyone else. This family is pathetic. His mother is in jail on a drug charge. And these are the kind of people the republicans support? That is even more pathetic.

'Palin herself called the report a "a political potshot taken at me," that could "destroy a young man's opportunity for work."

As opposed to him thinking he could get a pass because his pregnant 17 year old girl friend is the daughter of a narcissistic and ambitious politician.

Whose influence got Levi into the apprentice program without a diploma or GED? Why hasn't he taken the GED exam?

The Palins ought to take all that per diem she collected and help this young man- and their daughter get educations so they won't be facing
the next sixty years as high school dropouts.

OH POOR THING.... he has to do everything by the book..... AWWWWWWW

If the dolt wasn't qualified for the apprentice job he should have been fired.... maybe he should have stayed in school.... DUH

Who is this Palin woman? *YAWN*

No education, underage pregnant girl....this is who Republicans wanted to be Vice President? We are already a laughing stock in the world, don't make it worse with white trash......

It's a problem that he has to do things by the book?

He should changed party affiliations he is right in line with what a democrat stands for Uneducated, No Job, and having kids. Do not worry kid the free hand outs will be coming soon hang in there Obama is on the way

i am just sittnig here sooooooo relieved that this lady isnt our VP. Wow- we really dodged a bullet on that one, huh???

While I agree that children of politicians should be "off limits", it is also true that they should not receive special treatment. I find it hard to fathom that not having a high school diploma could "slip through the cracks". And as a parent shouldn't his father have encouraged him to "do everything by the book"? Trying to work the system, so to speak, could very well lead to more difficulties down the road. Look at what happened at WVU when someone tried to work the system. Go bakc to high school or get your GED......that will take care of the problem.

Perhaps he should have thought about finishing school and then having a career before getting someone pregnant.

The responsible thing is to finish school and then get a job because infants are not cheap... except I guess for a 1 million dollar hockey mom.

Dave

or, maybe, he got the job originally because of palin, but now that she is not the VP, his credentials are being closely examined...! what a hypocrite palin is, all the rights, none of the responsibilities of being in the public eye.

WHAT IS THIS .

NOTHING MORE THAN DISTRACTION FOR THE MESS THAT THE DEMOCRATS ARE MULLING IN .

THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA IS COVER THERE DARLING , ONE DAY THE BAG IS GOING TO OVER FLOW. THEN THE WHOLE MESS WILL BE SEEN BY ALL. WRIGHT !!!

the kid needs to go back to school....duh?

"he has to do things by the book now" WTF? Gee, you mean like the rest of the world? Palin is so corrupt that she feels everyone around her deserves the same blind eye treatment. Typical Republican elitist – "the rules are for you plebes and don't apply to us!"

Come on, Sarah! You just keep showing your ignorance! If the boy needs a HS diploma (or degree as you previously stated) to do the job, then that's the RULES. Why isn't he back in school or at least taking the GED? You'd think you would want that for your future son-in-law. The media isn't making life difficult for you, darlin'. Your daughter and Mr. Johnson did that when they decided to have unprotected sex. Quit placing blame everywhere else except your lack of parenting skills due to your greed for power and Rep glory!

Turnabout, you hit the nail on the head! Sarah we don't give a hoot anymore!

What a joke.

Sarah and her influence peddling is so typical.

I'm sure God will forgive her as he is on her
side.

Maybe Levi will write a book now and "tell-all".

Why not start playing by tt he rules? Unless the rules somehow are not required in Palin World.

Lay off guys, what did he ever do to you? You all know how the news media like to ruin lives so they can make money. It's what they do.

Why does anyone care about any of this? The only story here is how reporters are still 'asking question' about the boyfriend of the daughter of a former vice presidential candidate... get over it and get a life children.

Well they both should have finished high school, kids do it all the time. Sorry if it is tough to be pregnant and attend school but there are government programs that would help in the interim, while finishing school if not longer. I know of far too many high school girls who have kept up their school work and graduated with their class. Maybe the kids should have been in school rather than missing a semester to campaign. Life is about making choices and living and learning from them, so take your complaints elsewhere.

YAWWWWWWNNNNNNNN~~~

He can always take up drug dealing like his mother.

Well, I lack a High School diploma and am now getting Master's Degree in Library Science. How is this possible? It's called GED. The G is for Governor, Mrs. Palin. It took me 30 mins. to take the test. Sorry to hear he didn't get automatic pass because of who he is marrying.

Levi – acknowledge your mistake, go back to school, and wait at least 5 years before walking down the aisle. It's okay to change your mind. ....And DON'T listen to Bristol's mom!

Wow, NOW he has to do 'everything by the book'? That was a stupid statement!

Poor poor Levi, he has to go by the rules even if he is ALMOST related to Sarah Palin? Unlike others related to her who get away with circumventing the rules?

Unbelievable!

High School Droputs. Palin is still a joke. BTW. When are these good republican "good christian" kids going to get married?

Gee. I really am sorry that this 18-year-old kid needs to learn about "ethics", and about "getting something for free" at such a tender age. "By the book" work ethic (or any other kind of ethic) is not something Levi's father understands? Probably not, since the mother isn't doing much ethical study lately. So, kid gets a job that, by rights, he should not have gotten, probably (let's say definitely) because he is "related" to Sarah Palin, and everyone is UPSET? Excuse me, but I need to stop writing now – I am laughing too hard. God. Have him get a job, any job, get his GED, and marry her and support the child. Or not.

Wow, Republicans sure do get cranky if you don't let them cheat.

It's all McCain's fault

Yeah, it feels different when it's your own people, doesn't it, Palin?
What about an immigrant who lacks the proper documentation? Should he be given a break because of missed opportunity?
Plenty of them have a complete education and work experience too. Maybe you should start campaigning to let them slide, so as not to destroy their opportunity for work!
Oh, I forgot – it only applies if you are a member of the Palin Family.

Nobody cares about Sarah Palin, CNN.

LET IT GO. God, all of the important news going on in the world and you're busy "reporting" on someone whose name nobody is going to remember in 6 months.

I think the Governor is making it worse. Why the media really cares about this 18 year old kid, I am not sure.....but if it gets her going and she calls in to voice her words....they are getting what they want. If everyone just kept their mouths shut...this wouldn't be interesting news!

Sarah,

Dropping out of School destroyed a young mans opportunity to work, not anything a political opponent of yours said. Of course you are a Republican so you do not believe in any standards or regulations for business. It is people like you who got the country in the mess it is in. I am sure Alaska has a McDonalds Levi can work at.

Gov. Palin,

Don't like the heat, then you should NEVER, EVER have stepped up into the kitchen.

You are not, and never will be ready for the big stage. Sit in your frozen section of this country and disappear, again.

"He has to do everything by the book now." – in other words, "He has to do everything like a normal person now."

What a shame, he has to follow the same rules as everyone else.

"You guys are watching him so tightly," Johnston told the paper. "He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now."

Are you freaking kidding me? He has to do everything by the book NOW? So are you telling me he expected this kid not go by the book? Unbelievable. If you feel he's being treated any different sir then you guys need to blame his future mother-in-law. She is the one who decided to put her family in the spotlight

Ummmm, like the potshots she was taking at Obama and Biden???? Welcome to the real world and get over it.

Welcome to the REAL WORLD Levi, you are NOT the exception to the rule even is Ms. "Caribou Barbie" wants to BLAME everyone else but her ignorant self. Sarah Palin is truly remarkable in that she continues to point the finger at everyone else but herself and her dysfunctional family!!

THE NUT JOB FAMILY AT IT'S BEST!!

THE NUT JOB FAMILY AT IT'S BEST!!

THE NUT JOB FAMILY AT IT'S BEST!!

When you are a Politician everyone in your Life is living in the same glass bowl as you are!

I feel sorry for these two teenagers who have become so famous.

Rules don't apply to Republicans.

If Palin thinks this is a "political potshot taken at her" she has only herself to blame. Once his relationship was brought into her political sphere all bets were off. Hopefully he will now take the time to "take care of business". If not...well then he's not as responsible has she should have hoped.

Please – is this news?

There is nothing wrong with Levi doing things by the book. He is no different than any other child. He needs to get his education the same as everyone else. Get over it Dad, your son is no different than any other 18 year old. If you care so much for him, get him back in school.

What did poor Levi get himself into?

Welcome to the real world where the rest of us wouldn't be able to get a job if we didn't have a high school diploma. Just because he is the "boyfriend" NOT husband of Palin's underage daughter does not make him special or above the rest of us. Of course, leave it to Palin to try to make this about her..