patheos.comWhether she likes it or not, Bristol Palin's second child will be born at a time when Barack Obama is still President of the United States. In a series of Patheos blog posts Tuesday, she celebrated her pregnancy and also criticized the commander-in-chief over his decision to rename Mt. McKinley in her home state of Alaska. In one of the entries, Bristol dressed her baby bump in all-black and posed for a picture outside. With her hair obscuring her face in the shot, Sarah Palin's daughter, 24, said, ""Start of my sixth month, feeling like a tannnkk already! Eek."
Earlier that day, the political scion focused on Barack's upcoming trip to the Alaskan Arctic in a blog post titled "Mr. President, Get Out of Alaska: You Have Bigger Mountains to Climb." Bristol said she would love for someone to "add up how much this trip costs the tax payers dollars," speculating that the administration "probably had to BARGE limousines here!!!!! They rented out an entire TOWER at our nicest hotel here? A TOWER!!!!!" Bristol noted that protesters were awaiting his arrival that morning, writing, "This is just a joke for us."
"I'm completely dumbfounded by his trip here. Why again?" the former Dancing With the Stars contestant and Lifetime reality star asked her readers. "And what does he seem most concerned about?" she wondered. "Renaming a mountain."
"He announced yesterday that he will be renaming Mt. McKinley, Denali, its 'traditional Native American name.' But renaming a mountain is not going to make up for all the other ways he has let down the Alaskan people," the conservative blogger argued Tuesday. "Why doesn't he check out our oil fields? Why doesn't he open our pipeline so we can supply our own natural gas instead of buying it from our enemies in the Middle East… This is just a joke…" Bristol said.
"The next election can't come any sooner," she added.
Bristol argued that Barack isn't focusing enough on ISIS, the economy, the immigration system and other pressing matters. "The list goes on and on," she blogged. "But instead he worries about renaming a mountain."
"Mr. President, stop playing political games and start doing your job," she blogged. "That's what Alaskans really care about." Before ending her blog post, Bristol once again questioned his decision to rename the landmark. "By the way, no one is buying the 'Denali is what the Alaskans have called it for years' line. I've never called the mountain Denali..and neither does anyone I know…It's Mt. Mckinley," she wrote. "It always has been and always will be to most of us…What a waste."
In returning Mt. McKinley to its native title, Obama said he is trying to undo what he sees as historical injustices. However, some lawmakers in Ohio see it as a slight against one of their state's political legends, President William McKinley, who was assassinated in 1901 while in office. House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican who represents western Ohio, said he was "deeply disappointed" in the decision. In a statement, he explained, "There is a reason President McKinley's name has served atop the highest peak in North America for more than 100 years, and that is because it is a testament to his great legacy."
Another Republican, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, tweeted his disappointment Sunday night. "I'm disappointed with the Administration's decision to change the name of Mt. McKinley in Alaska. President McKinley was a proud Ohioan, and the mountain was named after him, as a way to remember his rich legacy after his assassination. The naming of the mountain has been a topic of discussion in Congress for many years. This decision by the Administration is yet another example of the President going around Congress," he wrote. "I urge Admin 2 work w/ me 2 find alternative ways 2 preserve McKinley's legacy somewhere else in the natl park that once bore his name." Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump also weighed in Monday, tweeting, "President Obama wants to change the name of Mt. McKinley to Denali after more than 100 years. Great insult to Ohio. I will change back!"