CNN/HLN Anchor A.J. Hammer 'Dares to Ask' If Bristol Palin's 'Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy'

CNN’s Headline News (or HLN) figured out a liberal angle as it replayed clips of the Fox News interview with Bristol Palin: she’s "glamorizing teen pregnancy." Anchor A.J. Hammer repeatedly promoted this assertion during his show Showbiz Tonight on February 17, including this boast: "Also, new tonight: Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter, Bristol, giving her very first TV interview since becoming a teen mom. But Showbiz Tonight dares to ask, is Bristol Palin glamorizing teen pregnancy?"

Hammer’s two guests, CNN and CBS legal analyst Lisa Bloom and Tanika Ray of the syndicated show Extra, both hammered the Palin points from the left:

HAMMER: Some people might say that by going on television to talk about being a teen mom, 18-year-old Bristol Palin is somehow glamorizing teen pregnancy. Lisa, is that how you see it? Or do you think perhaps she is giving teens a well-needed reality check on what it is like to be a teen mom?

BLOOM: Well, I love that she says that abstinence-only education isn’t realistic. I wonder what her first clue was. You know, maybe when she started giving birth, she started to notice that abstinence education -- you know, what you call people who do abstinence-only education? Parents.

And that’s what happened to Bristol Palin. I think it is great that she is out there telling everyone, "Hey, don’t do what I did." Even better would be to advocate for contraception in schools, God forbid. You go, Bristol. I`m behind you.

HAMMER: Tanika, you see it that way as well? Are you behind her?

RAY: No, I`m not behind her. I thought it was ridiculous when Sarah Palin was on the road saying, "Yes, my daughter is pregnant. But you know, we’re making sure that she’s going to have the baby," as if that was OK.

I just feel like, she missed something along the way parenting her daughter. Yes, abstinence is not really realistic today. But she also - Bristol also didn`t want to talk about why - how she got pregnant in the first place. Was it the lack of contraception? Was it - and she didn`t want to talk about it. So I think that is very interesting. There`s definitely something amiss here.

HAMMER: Yes. She said abstinence is unrealistic, totally against what Sarah Palin went on the road saying. So Lisa, very quickly, five seconds, do you think that, you know, Sarah and Bristol having a little chat today about that?

BLOOM: Oh, I think probably they are. But Bristol, you stand by your guns because you`re right on this one.

RAY: Long overdue. Long overdue.

HAMMER: Lisa Bloom, Tanika Ray, I thank you both.

Ray’s comments at least addressed the real exchange in the interview about abstinence. Hammer displayed a different clip about how Bristol was enjoying teen motherhood. Bristol clearly stammered and stumbled through the abstinence-or-contraception segment of the interview:

VAN SUSTEREN: Does he have any sort of -- does he feel the same way you feel about teen pregnancy and have some sort of -- Well, maybe a good idea to wait usually, unless things happen?

BRISTOL: Yes. He feels the same way I do. We both just -- kids should just wait. It's -- I don't know. It's not glamorous at all.

VAN SUSTEREN: I don't want to pry to personally, but I mean, actually, contraception is an issue here. Is that something that you were just lazy about or not interested, or do you have a philosophical or religious opposition to it or...

BRISTOL: No. I don't want to get into detail about that. But I think abstinence is, like -- like, the -- I don't know how to put it -- like, the main -- everyone should be abstinent or whatever, but it's not realistic at all.

VAN SUSTEREN: Why?

BRISTOL: Because -- I don't want to get into details on this.

VAN SUSTEREN: Well, no, I don't mean personally, just big picture, not -- not necessarily about you, but...

BRISTOL: Because it's more and more accepted now.

VAN SUSTEREN: Among your classmates and kids your age?

BRISTOL: Among -- yes, among kids my age.

VAN SUSTEREN: How do you change that?

BRISTOL: To see stories like this and to see other stories of teen moms and just -- it's something that's -- I don't know, just -- you should just wait 10 years and it'd just be so much easier.