John McCain's chief economic policy adviser was one of the first campaign operatives to meet the press in the moments after the announcement that 17-year-old Bristol Palin, daughter of McCain's vice presidential candidate, is pregnant.

It did not appear to be a comfortable moment for Douglas Holtz-Eakin when he was asked at a lunch meeting whether the campaign had been aware of the young woman's out-of-wedlock pregnancy when her mother, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was selected as McCain's running mate.

Holtz-Eakin, a former director of the Office of Management and Budget, did not give a direct answer to that question. He said the particulars of the Palins' family life are "best left to them.''

When another reporter asked about the McCain campaign's reaction to the news, Holtz-Eakin again sought to deflect the question. Governor Palin "has a family, she loves the family, and this is their business,'' he said.