Biden: Children not campaign fodder

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday candidates' children are off-limits, saying it's "common decency."

Biden, during a town hall meeting in Deerfield Beach, Fla., was asked about what he knew about his Republican counterpart, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and about her 17-year-old daughter's pregnancy.

"I have a simple proposition. Children are off limits," the Delaware senator said.

Saying most adults have "been through things with our children," Biden said giving Bristol Palin privacy was the right thing to do.

"Just treat people with common decency," he said. "That's all I know that I can say, and I don't know anymore."

Biden said he doesn't know Palin but, "(everything) I know about her, there's no reason not to respect her and believe she's qualified to be the vice president."

"But the truth is I simply don't know," he said. "And I take her on face value. She's a governor. That's no mean feat. And she seems to have a strong personal story."