From an article by Lisa de Moraes at the Washington Post:
Bristol Palin agreed to join ABC’s dance competition series “Dancing With the Stars” to get out of Alaska and to get in shape, she said during a whirlwind of interviews Monday night and Tuesday morning.
“When you got the phone call . . . what were you thinking?” Robin Roberts of “Good Morning America” gushed at Bristol Tuesday morning, as though she were talking to a convenience store clerk who’d just won a $10 million Publishers Clearinghouse sweepstakes, instead of the daughter of the woman who ran for vice president of the United States in 2008 on the GOP ticket and is the subject of rampant speculation about her interest in a 2012 presidential bid.
Bristol responded coolly that she was “excited” to “be part of something that’s positive and fun.”
“Did you ask your parents’ advice? Or did you tell them, ‘Hey, Mom, Dad, I’m going to be on “Dancing with the Stars” ‘?” Roberts asked.
Bristol revealed she gave Sarah and Todd Palin “a little bit of a heads-up: ‘Hey, Mom, Dad, I signed a contract with “Dancing With the Stars” and I’m going down there in a few weeks.’ ”
[…]
“What made you decide to do this?” Bergeron asked Palin.
“I wanted to get out of Alaska for a few weeks,” Bristol said, adding, “I just wanted to get in shape and have a good time.”
[…]
“I want to get in shape. I want to learn these dance moves, and I want to step out of my comfort zone,” Bristol told RadarOnline.com, ticking off her non-fame-seeking reasons for going on the reality-competition series, which is attracting “American Idol”-size crowds.