Back Channels: 'Non-story, a non-issue'

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The news of Sarah Palin's pregnant 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, doesn't seem likely to affect her standing with Pennsylvania delegates.

Joseph "Skip" Brion, Chester County party chairman, said, "It's a private matter . . . I understand she's going to marry the gentleman and keep the baby."

State party chair Robert A. Gleason Jr. agreed: "It's a non-story, a non-issue with our delegation. We don't think it affects her candidacy at all."

As far as Brion and Gleason are concerned, the news does not affect Palin's ability to run for vice president.

"We would be angry if she stepped aside," Gleason said. "The campaign is not about Sarah's children, it's not about her husband. It's about her and John McCain."

And the news won't keep her from being a high-profile candidate, Gleason says.

"I can't wait," he says, "to get her into Pennsylvania to campaign."