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High school students get a laugh as they describe how they pull a Palin on their parents.

Palin's Non-Answer Strategy A Hit With Teens

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (CAP) - When 16-year-old Mandy Atkinson came home two hours past her curfew last Friday, her parents were not happy. But when mom and dad started grilling Mandy with the usual questions - where have you been, who were you with, what were you doing - the crafty high school junior leaned on the hottest new teen trend to keep herself out of trouble.

Mandy employed a strategy that's been dubbed, Pulling A Palin.

"Once my parents started in with the questions, I just told them I don't want to answer your questions about why I'm coming home late, I want to talk about a different topic," recalled Atkinson. "Let's talk about the Jonas Brothers. I think that Kevin could beat Nick in an arm-wrestling match.

"I pulled a Palin on them," Atkinson said.

Pulling A Palin, or refusing to answer direct questions by stating one does not wish to talk about that topic and then offering an opinion on a totally different and often unrelated topic, is the new "thing to do" among America's teens.

"Oh yeah, I pull about three or four Palins a day," said Evan Berell, a 15-year-old high school sophomore from Anaheim. "My math teacher asked me if I did my homework, and I said I wasn't going to talk about homework, I'd rather talk about the TV show Scrubs. I'm not sure why everyone hates Zack Braff - I find him delightfully witty, kind of like our generation's Alan Alda.

"It was awesome, my teacher was like, uhh, okay?" added Berell. "Totally Palined her."

"Teens have been employing this and similar strategies for generations," said San Diego State University psychology professor Antwan Olemari. "Today's teens are just finding more legitimacy in this strategy because they're seeing it played out on TV by a famous politician."

In response, Republican leaders would say only that Palin "is doing pretty good, especially since she's going up against a guy with 35 years of experience, right? How can you expect her to know as much as that guy, you know?"

Democratic party officials called the ploy "baloney" and said a difference in experience levels shouldn't dictate what questions Palin decides she should or shouldn't answer.

"If she becomes the vice president, and then is in a meeting with other world leaders, and they ask her a question, what is she gonna say?" asked Democratic party spokesperson Geri Knox. "I can't really answer that question because I don't have as much experience as Joe Biden?"

Knox then stifled a giggle and walked away shaking her head.