London, Mar 13 : Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's political career in the Republican Party is still going strong despite there being so many upheavals in her family life.

While her selection as the Republican vice-presidential choice late last summer came as a big surprise, the news about Palin's 17-year-old daughter Bristol being five months pregnant by her boyfriend from school astonished most.

The news did not hamper Palin's political career in any way as the young couple were in love and committed to having the baby, which worked perfectly for the Governor's stand against abortion.

Now six months down the line, the marriage between the two teenagers is over, with Levi Johnston revealing that it had ended a "while ago".

Johnston's sister Mercede is reported to have told a magazine that on top of the break-up Bristol was making it difficult for Levi to visit their baby, Tripp, on the grounds that "she doesn''t want [the baby] around ''white trash''!"

Bristol lashed back, saying in a statement that "unfortunately my family has seen many people say and do many things to cash in on the Palin name. Sometimes greed clouds good judgment."

Even with so much family problems, Palin has managed to attract supporters, even with her stand for an abstinence-only approach to sex, and opposition to abortion.

Michael Tanner, senior fellow at the conservative think-tank the Cato Institute, thinks that even seemingly negative stories about her family work to her benefit.

"The Bristol story will inevitably draw snide comments from media figures like Jon Stewart who will have something nasty to say about this; and every time that happens her followers get that much tighter around her," the Guardian quoted her as saying.

Tanner has been struck in the four months since the presidential election by how loyal and fervent Palin''s core support of small-town conservatives has remained.

He wrote a recent blob gently chiding Palin for her stance on the economy and he was inundated with angry emails.

"I was amazed by how passionate they were, they really believe she shouldn''t be attacked," he added. (ANI)