A former colleague of mine took me to task recently for some critical remarks I made about Sarah Palin, who endorsed Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination on the same day her son, Track, was arrested for domestic abuse.

I won’t respond to what he said, but I want to post these remarks from Kevin Drum, writing for Mother Jones magazine’s website:

“I know I said that last night’s Palin-palooza would ‘hold me for a year,’ but I guess I was wrong. Palin’s son Track was arrested Monday on domestic violence charges, and today Palin addressed this:

“‘My own family, my son, a combat vet having served in the Stryker brigade … my son like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened, they come back wondering if there is that respect … and that starts right at the top.’

“I’m not happy with liberals who use Track’s problems as a way of snickering at Sarah. Yes, when you use your kids as campaign props, you open yourself up to some of this. But parents do their best, and kids sometimes have problems. Whatever Track’s problems are, he and his family should be allowed to deal with them in their own way.

“That said, if you decide to use your son’s problems as a political cudgel, you can hardly expect to others to hold back forever. Palin should be ashamed of herself.'”

Indeed, this is the steep price any politician pays by dragging private, personal family grief into the public arena.