Bristol Palin, the obnoxious daughter of an obnoxious mother. The news now is that she has taken papers to trademark her name (the kid follows the parent in this and other self-aggrandizing matters). It is impossible for the professional media to avoid Sara Palin’s strange existence, but there is no journalistic reason to endlessly cover the offspring. Not many years from now, the mother will be a graying has-been and the daughter a desperate never-was, and most gossip reporters will feel somewhat ratty for having advanced the pair’s money-making endeavors.
TOM TIEDE