RKMBs Forums .::Important::. Politics and Current Events Sarah Palin for VP

The Republican backlash against coverage of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s family came on full display Tuesday, as the audience at a breakfast panel discussion groaned loudly in reaction to a question about 17-year-old Bristol Palin’s pregnancy.

“Lay off the kid,” said former Republican strategist and NBC news analyst Mike Murphy, responding to an audience member who asked how conservatives would respond if similar information arose about a Democratic candidate’s child.

Idaho Lt. Gov. Jim Risch, another panelist, dismissed the subject, tersely saying: “Next question.”

Panelists defended Palin at a discussion hosted by Politico, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Yahoo News. Joining Murphy and Risch at the event were California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Ohio Rep. Deborah Pryce and Michigan Rep. Candace Miller.

Pryce suggested that Bristol Palin’s pregnancy could help her mother’s political prospects.

“It just makes her more real,” she said.

But even as panelists swatted down speculation about the Palin family’s personal lives, they acknowledged there were risks in tapping the Alaska governor to be the Republican vice presidential candidate.

Murphy argued that the next few weeks will be crucial in determining whether Palin would be an appealing figure to swing voters, or whether she would ultimately be “only a base pick” who appeals mostly to conservative Republicans.

“Will she be someone who helps us grow the pie or only helps us reinforce the pie we have?” Murphy asked. “We don’t know yet.”

While the shock factor in Palin’s nomination has drawn attention to the Republican ticket, Republicans said there’s still a lot for the public to learn about the 44-year-old Alaska governor.

“She’s unknown,” Miller conceded. “So the risk really is: Is there something out there that might not play particularly well?”

When McCain announced Palin as his running mate Friday, the pick drew almost universal applause from conservatives. Over the weekend and on Monday, questions began to arise about the thoroughness of the McCain campaign’s vice presidential vetting process as new information surfaced about Palin’s term as governor and past political affiliations.

“If there are a few more things [that] pop up,” Murphy predicted, “the question won’t be her, it’ll be the McCain vetting process.”

Palin, who on Friday presented herself as an opponent of the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” earmark, turns out to have originally supported that project. On Monday, the public learned that Palin had hired an attorney to help her navigate a state ethics probe related to the firing of Alaska’s public safety commissioner.

“It’ll be about McCain’s judgment” if more damaging information emerges, Murphy said. “That’s a story McCain’s ultimately got to fight through and win, otherwise it’ll be a problem.”

And in addition to whatever currently unknown information might arise, Palin’s short time in the national spotlight could also be a problem, according to the panelists.

“I think the greatest risk is going to be experience on national and foreign policy,” McCarthy said.

Several panelists even suggested McCain might not have selected Palin if not for her gender.

“I think probably not,” McCarthy said. “There would’ve been other people that would’ve met the criteria.”

“I don’t think she would’ve been picked if she’d been Sam instead of Sarah,” Risch said. “But then, Sam wouldn’t bring to the ticket what Sarah brings to the ticket.”

Still, despite the rocky start to Palin’s first week as her party’s vice presidential candidate, Republicans are as charged up as ever about McCain’s running mate.

“I’m a pro-choice, Republican, moderate woman. Sarah Palin and I probably have very different opinions on many issues,” said Pryce, “but I have never been more excited in my entire political career than the day she was announced.”

Miller was similarly enthusiastic, predicting Palin would win support from women in her Macomb County congressional district, long considered a bellweather of national political sentiment.

“I did not really plan on coming to this convention,” she said. “I came because of her pick.”

McCarthy, who is chairing the Republican platform committee in St. Paul, emphasized Palin’s background as a reform-minded politician in Alaska.

“She took out an incumbent governor and she did it in Alaska, which is the biggest good old boy system you could ever have.” he said. “She’s not going to be weak in the face of aggression from somebody else.”

Recalling a meeting with Palin during a recent trip to Alaska, McCarthy praised her authenticity: “You walk away just liking her, she’s just a genuine, genuine person.”

“She doesn’t have to be perfect, she doesn’t have to be glitzy,” Miller agreed. “She has to be real.”