Obama: Back off Palin's kids

MONROE, Mich., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. Sen. Barack Obama says he'd fire anyone in his campaign for president if they spread gossip about GOP running mate Sarah Palin's daughter being pregnant.

"We don't go after people's families. We don't get them involved in the politics. It's not appropriate and it's not relevant," Obama said Monday, advising reporters to "back off" stories about people's families, especially children.

Palin, 44, is expected to become a grandmother around Christmas when Bristol Palin, 17 and a high school senior, has her baby, the Palins and aides to U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Monday.

An aide to McCain said the campaign revealed the pregnancy because of Internet gossip that Bristol was the mother of Sarah Palin's 4-month-old baby, CNN reported Tuesday.

Obama, D-Ill., and his party's nominee for president, said he was certain his campaign didn't fuel rumors about the Palin children.

"There is no evidence at all that any of this involved us," Obama said, vowing to fire anyone who spread gossip about the Palin family.