Palin Wasn't Protecting Levi, But Herself !

A few days ago, I wrote a post about Levi Johnston being a high school drop-out. Johnston is the father of Sarah Palin's grandchild. He had quit high school and got a job in the Alaskan oilfields. Palin was upset because the news media were referring to Johnston as a drop-out. She was adamant that he was not a drop-out because he was taking correspondence courses.

It did seem rather silly at the time that she would be so upset about Johnston being publicly called a drop-out by the media, but I just figured it was vanity on her part. However, it may have been more than that. In fact, she may have been more worried about herself than young Mr. Johnston.

Think Progress has the story. It seems that Johnston didn't just get a job as an oil field laborer. He was accepted into an apprentice program to become an electrician in the North Slope oilfields. The only problem with that is that federal regulations say you cannot enter that kind of apprentice program without a high school diploma.

This brings up some interesting questions. How did a high school drop-out get into an apprentice program that requires a high school diploma? Wouldn't such a program require the submission of a diploma or high school transcript?

Perhaps the real question is this: Would the Governor of Alaska ask one of her oil contacts to ignore the federal regulations and find a position for her future son-in-law? It's not like she doesn't have a history of using her position to reward her friends and supporters.

It's beginning to look like Palin wasn't as concerned about poor Levi being called a drop-out, as she was worried that it might be discovered that rules were broken to get him the position. The young man has since quit the job in an effort to "calm the waters".

It seems a little late for that.