Sarah Palin and her husband Todd gave a lengthy interview on October 15, to appear in the upcoming issue of People Magazine. The interview covers everything from what Sarah reads to how their kids keep up with school while on the campaign trail with her. Todd and Sarah talk about when he’s the boss and when she’s the boss and Todd talks about how it’s hard not to feel protective of his wife, but he knows she’s tough, too.

Another thing that the parents of five seem to agree on is the hope that now that eldest daughter Bristol has turned 18 she won’t wait until next summer to get married. Bristol, due in December with her first child with fiancé Levi Johnston, has had a summer wedding in mind for some time, but the Governor and First Dude are hoping she’ll move the date up a bit.

Now that Gov. Sarah Palin’s daughter has celebrated her 18th birthday, the GOP vice-presidential candidate says she’s hoping Bristol and fiancé Levi Johnston – who are expecting a baby in December – will tie the knot well before the date next summer the young couple had been eyeing.

“Hopefully before that,” Sarah Palin tells PEOPLE in an Oct. 15 interview for the issue on newsstands this Friday. “Bristol turns 18 in a few days [Oct. 18]. That’s what we wanted her to wait for: 18, and a decision on her own about how she’s going to go forward, her and Levi, at this point.”

[From People]

It sounds to me like Bristol and Levi have already decided on a summer wedding. Even though Bristol is 18 now, she hardly has time to marry before the baby is born, and at that point, what difference does it really make whether they marry in January or June? Isn’t having a baby at 18 enough to deal with right away without adding in a new, young husband and a household of your own to learn how to manage? I just think it’s setting the kids up to fail. The first year of marriage is hard, but the first months after your first baby would make it even harder.

I do actually understand the Palin’s feelings as conservative, Christian parents. I grew up around a lot of those same kind of parents and they were loving, wonderful parents. Wanting their daughter to marry and provide what would be seen as a stable, family home for their grandchild is important to them, and that’s great. But I think it’s important to think about Bristol just as much right now and let her settle into motherhood for a little while before she has to settle into being a wife, too. Summer isn’t that far away, and an Alaska wedding would be much more comfortable in the warmer months.

Sarah and Todd Palin are shown at a rally in Scranton, PA on 10/15/08, Credit: Bauergriffinonline