The New York Times reports:

In a brief press conference in Monroe, Mich., here to talk about Hurricane Gustav, Senator Barack Obama was asked about the suggestion by some Republicans that Democrats – particularly liberal bloggers – have pushed a story about the family of Ms. Palin, who was named last week as the running-mate for Senator John McCain. In a statement earlier Monday, Ms. Palin said her daughter was pregnant.

Mr. Obama, in his first remarks on the matter, raised his voiced when asked whether his campaign or other Democratic operatives were working to advance rumors surrounding the Palin family.

“Our people were not involved in any way in this and they will not be,” Mr. Obama snapped. “And if I ever thought there was somebody in my campaign that was involved in something like that, they’d be fired, OK?”

Mr. Obama said the pregnancy “has no relevance to Governor Palin’s performance as a governor or her potential performance as a vice president.” He added that, “my mother had me when she was 18. How family deals with issues and teen-age children – that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics.”

“So,” he added, “I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories.”

Credit where it's due - Obama's decency stands in stark contrast to the thoroughgoing indecency of some of his supporters.