Bristol Palin's star fades in TV dance contest

NEW YORK: A surprisingly successful run on "Dancing With The Stars" by Bristol Palin, daughter of Republican star Sarah Palin, petered out Tuesday when she took third place in the hit TV dance contest.

She was no match for winner Jennifer Grey, a fleet-footed actress, or the crowd-pleasing runner up, actor Kyle Massey.

Bristol Palin had been handicapped consistently by low scores from the three judges, who found her dancing skills lacking.

However, viewer voting, championed by conservative bloggers, helped push her total score up during the three-month contest, propelling her into the hugely hyped finale on television.

On Tuesday, however, there was no viewer voting to help carry her along.

Bristol Palin's unlikely rise in one of dancing's most visible arenas coincided with a publicity blitz for her mother, the former Alaskan governor, ex-vice presidential candidate and much-touted possible White House contender in 2012.

A new book by Sarah Palin hit the bookstores Tuesday. The Palin family is also featuring in a reality show called "Sarah Palin's Alaska" that has received a decidedly mixed reception.

Showing the same combativeness that endears many to her mother, Bristol Palin has likened her "Dancing With The Stars" career to being in a confrontation with opponents far beyond the dance stage.

"Going out there and winning this would mean a lot," she said Tuesday. "It would be like a big middle finger to all the people out there that hate my mom and hate me."

Not all the public fervently supported Bristol Palin.

One man in rural Wisconsin was arrested after he fired a shotgun at his television, which had been showing her latest performance.

Aged 20, Bristol Palin has had plenty of experience with celebrity status.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, news that she had had an unplanned pregnancy with her hockey-playing boyfriend Levi Johnston made her America's most famous teenage mother.