Torie Clarke also worked in the Pentagon as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs during President George W. Bush’s first term in office, under Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. Clarke currently serves as the Senior Advisor of Communications and Government Relations for Comcast Corporation.

“We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that, as parents, we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We’re proud of Bristol’s decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.
“Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi’s privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates.”

Sarah Palin made the announcement in order to stop bloggers from writing about the rumors that Palin’s fifth baby, born in June, was actually her daughter Bristol Palin’s son .
When asked to comment on the matter Barack Obama said:

“Back off these kinds of stories.”"I have said before and I will repeat again: People’s families are off limits,” “And people’s children are especially off-limits. This shouldn’t be part of our politics. It has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president. So I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories. You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and teenage children, that shouldn’t be a topic of our politics.”