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Bristol's Baby Daddy Quits Job

Palin denies helping him get past diploma requirement

By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 6, 2009 7:47 AM CST

(Newser) – Unwed teen dad, high school dropout, and future Palin in-law Levi Johnston can now add "unemployed" to his resume after a media kerfuffle over his lack of diploma led him to quit his job in an oil field. Johnston left to quell suspicions that Sarah Palin helped him land his electrical apprenticeship, which requires a high school diploma—a diploma Johnston famously lacks, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Palin denies having a hand in Johnston’s placement, but did write him a generic letter of recommendation.

“Sarah had nothing to do with him getting hired on the Slope. If there was any help getting him on up there, it was because of my associations and no one else’s,” said Johnston’s father, an engineer with the company running the apprenticeship program. The diploma requirement simply “slipped through the cracks,” and his son decided to quit so he can focus on earning his diploma online.

Levi Johnston kisses Trig, brother of his girlfriend Bristol Palin, as she holds him during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008.
Levi Johnston kisses Trig, brother of his girlfriend Bristol Palin, as she holds him during the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
In this Sept. 3, 2008 file photo, Levi Johnston, left, is seen with his girlfriend Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.
In this Sept. 3, 2008 file photo, Levi Johnston, left, is seen with his girlfriend Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya/file)
Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, and her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, wait for her mother to speak at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 3, 2008.
Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, and her boyfriend, Levi Johnston, wait for her mother to speak at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 3, 2008.   (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
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You guys are watching him so tightly. He's being treated different than an average 18-year-old kid. He has to do everything by the book now. - Keith Johnston, Levi's father

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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 7 comments
nick
Mar 12, 2009 6:39 AM CDT
Sarah Palin helped elect Barack Obama in 2008. I am grateful to her for that. If she is on the Republican ticket in 2012, that will ensure his re-election. Go Sarah, go!
Guest
Jan 12, 2009 5:59 AM CST
I thought Pain/McCain the commies number on speed-dial in October? That didn't pan out so well.....weird. A conspiracy to make Palin unable to run in the next election? She dug herself into that hole, so don't go pointing the finger incorrectly. Go have another Corona and we'll catch Sarah with the sports and weather after the jump.
Caps
Jan 7, 2009 5:41 AM CST
It's still scary to think she would have been only a heart-beat away from becoming President. I think John McCain is a honorable man, and why she was picked as VP is mind blogging. Lord help us if she runs in 2012, that will mean I will have to go to left again.

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