August 29, 2008, 05:45 PM ET

Sarah Palin: Tina Fey Look-Alike, but Not Nearly As Smart?

My former student, Hanley, called me this afternoon and said “You’re not voting for McCain, are you?”

Hanley teaches tough kids in New Hampshire (yes, they exist) and is writing a novel. He’s a smart kid himself and we talk about his writing a couple of times a month even though he graduated from UConn a few years ago. He took several classes with me and knows me pretty well.

He knew, therefore, that asking if I intend to vote for McCain is like asking me whether I’m going to start teaching Jazzercise or learning to skydive. These are not reasonable questions. Certainly not for a person who is sober.

But I hadn’t heard the news about Sarah Palin, you see. I hadn’t heard that McCain threw his trackers off-scent and decided to appoint a 44-year-old woman as his v.p. candidate.

Hanley was afraid that I would find her gender more persuasive than her politics.

I told him the truth: 1. I’d never heard of Sarah Palin; 2. I doubted whether even the most amazing woman could convince me to change my party allegiance.

Then I watched Palin’s acceptance speech. Then I read about her background and her beliefs.

And now I’m really, really scared.

This is a politician who opposes a woman’s right to choose what happens to her body even if an act of rape or incest necessitate the termination of an unwanted pregnancy; this is a politician who supported Pat Buchanan when he ran for president (remember how Molly Ivins said Buchanan’s speeches were so much better in the original German?); this is a politician who thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.

This is the poster girl of the far-right Conservative frat party; this is NOT someone who will do anything about the glass ceiling except make it stained glass and make sure it is covered entirely by a church steeple.

This is exactly the kind of broad who could give women a bad name.

Hanley said he signed up to work for the Obama campaign. I’ll be the first to say yes when he asks for signatures.