Is Levi fair game?

We’ve noted the Levi Johnston saga, especially his post-breakup appearance on Tyra Banks, here at Hot Air.  Normally, the kind of celebrity-dish interviews Banks offers would not create much of a stir with political writers, but Levi Johnston isn’t your average celebrity, and his tell-all about the Palins has some of her supporters mightily annoyed.  Erick Erickson got some flack for writing this as a criticism of Levi:

Below is the actual Levi — no preppy clothes. No polish. Just good old boy who knocked up the Governor’s daughter. Not exactly the image Tyra Banks and he would like you to think about.

What’s even more creepy is that the other person in the picture is his sister. And, as if lifted from the pages of Deliverance, she has his name tattooed on her back finger. Think about that one for a minute.

That prompted return fire from Tommy Christopher, who most recently took on the Daily Kos for smearing conservatives, for leaving a strong implication of an incestuous relationship:

This is not some anonymous, black helicopter freeper accusing Levi Johnston.  It’s the managing editor of Redstate, as identifiable on the right as Daily Kos is on the left.  The irresponsibility here is extreme.

I really don’t get it, there’s plenty of legit garbage to throw at Levi and company.  Why risk this kind of loose talk?  Are there any Redstate readers who are unsure whether to hate Levi?  And why demonize guns?  That seems highly counter-intuitive.

I e-mailed Erick this morning, and he said he was aiming for an Angelina Jolie vibe.  I’ll take Erick’s word for that, but even so, he miscalculated.  All of us whiff from time to time, and I know Erick wants to help defend the Palins from the media’s attacks, but this was the wrong execution of the idea.

In fact, I think a lot of people miss the point with Levi.  Both sides seem to have forgotten that these are very young people who obviously have little experience in interpersonal relationships.  The Left forgot that during the election when they pilloried Bristol (and her mother) for not getting an abortion and demanding to know whether Bristol used birth control — which was really none of anyone else’s business.  Some of us are missing it now when we attack Levi personally, rather than just criticize his caddish “kiss and tell” appearances for what they are.

Maybe we should just let the Palins and the Johnstons work out this family feud, and both sides should refrain from calling Levi a redneck and Bristol a slut.  They’re neither; they’re just two young adults who are obviously in over their heads.  Maybe the families should stop feeding the media and let the two work this out quietly, and maybe we can help by tuning out Tyra and the rest of the gossip-mongers.

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