[link to www.theaustralian.news.com.au]


Sarah Palin to unveil teen dad Levi Johnston at convention

THE teenager expecting a baby with the unmarried 17-year-old daughter of Sarah Palin is expected to be publicly unveiled at the Republican Party convention.

But Levi Johnston, 18, has created a further stir, describing himself on his MySpace page as a ``redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes".

The description appears in a profanity-laden entry posted by Johnston that was made private over the weekend, but not before several media outlets published parts of it.

Johnston, who is to marry Palin's pregnant daughter Bristol, is reportedly flying to the St Paul, Minnesota, convention after being outed by international media.

He played ice hockey at Bristol's high school and the Palin camp says the teenage couple will get married.

But in Johnston's MySpace entry, the teenager hints that fatherhood was not in his immediate plans.

Johnston says he is ``in a relationship,'' but on the question about how he feels about children he said: ``I don't want kids.'' He also says his true love is ice hockey.

Here's part of his entry before it was made private: 'I'm a f--kin' redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s--t and just f--kin' chillin' I guess. Ya f--k with me I'll kick ass.''

Republican presidential candidate John McCain says he is satisfied that Palin's background was properly checked before the Alaska Governor became his vice-presidential running-mate.

“The vetting process was completely thorough and I'm grateful for the results,” McCain said.

Questions about the review came up after news surfaced that Bristol was pregnant and that the Alaska Governor has retained a private lawyer to represent her in an investigation into the firing of the state public safety commissioner.