Sarah Palin Scares Me.

In today's CNN "Poll of Polls" McCain has pulled in front of Obama, 47% to 45%. While it's no question that McCain got a bounce coming out of the RNC, how much can he attribute his current poll figures to his vice presidential pick?

This week Sarah Palin is literally on every cover: from US Weekly to Time, she's everywhere. She will undoubtedly provide water cooler fodder for the months to come. She hunts moose, she has a pregnant teenage daughter, she doesn't have a masters degree, she has blue collar roots, she goes to church, she has five children. She, for the first time in a long time, is a major candidate that embodies the American people. She didn't go to Harvard, she doesn't come from a political family or money. I think that resonates with middle America more than anything else...she's just like the rest of us. While I think it's encouraging that someone without an Ivy league education or a trust fund can possibly be Vice President, I don't think Sarah Palin is the right person for the job. In fact, she terrifies me.

She terrifies me first for purely political reasons. Her down home country bumpkin persona has ignited the Republican base. Even more so, her conservative religious beliefs have ignited a base that was otherwise apathetic to McCain. Consequently, she scares me. As an Obama supporter, right-wing conservative voters coming out in droves to vote for what they see as "one of their own" in November is more than a little frightening.

She also terrifies me for more ideological reasons. She is, at least from what I know about her, my ideological opposite. This is a person who opposed adding polar bears to the list of Endangered Species to protect Alaskan oil exploration. She believes creationism should be taught in public schools; supports off-shore, on-land, whenever, wherever drilling (was "Drill now" really chanted at the RNC?); and would take away a woman's right to choose in a heartbeat. I like the environment and think we should work to protect it and I think drilling will not only fail to solve any of our problems, it will create more. I think the Endangered Species Act is one of the strongest pieces of environmental protection legislation we have (well, it's surviving anyway...barely) and bypassing it for economic gain is so, so...George W. Bush. I also think teaching a particular religion's view of how the world began is completely contradictory with the separation of church and state, a pillar this country was founded on. The same country Palin fervently maintains she "puts first".

Finally, she terrifies me for purely practical reasons. Yes, Alaska is closer to Russia than any other part of the United States, but geographical proximity does not translate to experience! Furthermore, it's not like Russian immigrants are braving the Bering Sea on rafts to reach the promised land in Alaska. On that note, governors of Texas, Arizona, California, Florida, and New Mexico have more foreign relations experience than a governor from Alaska. Quebec is essentially French AND Canadian, so think of the foreign relations experience the Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine governors have! Yes, being a mayor and a governor provides administrative experience. However, 2 years as governor of Alaska is a far cry from governing one of the most powerful countries on the planet.

As McCain enjoys the bounce provided by the RNC and his VP choice, I only hope this new support in McCain support is short-lived...or limited to the red states.