Bearing a striking resemblance to Tina Fey, who was AfterEllen’s #1 Hottie of 2008, Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska, has been tapped by John McCain as candidate for VP. (And yes, I managed to use the words “Tina Fey,” “governor of Alaska,” “hottie” and “John McCain” in the same sentence, something you will probably never see again.) This is when I am thankful for the mute button on my remote, because despite her fresh-faced good looks (and her obvious intelligence and ambition), Palin’s politics are as abhorrent as any other conservative Republican’s.

She is anti-choice (even in cases of rape and incest). She supports teaching creationism in schools under the guise of “intelligent design.”

Well, maybe not quite as abhorrent. She did veto a bill to ban domestic-partner benefits for gay and lesbian public employees (albeit grudgingly), but don’t forget that she is now running for VP, and much of the (national) Republican base is comprised of religious conservatives. Even the gay friendly Rudy Giuliani took a sharp turn to the right and attempted to flee from his gay friendly past when he was running for President. The other exception is the gay friendly Schwarzenegger, but he is the governor of California, a blue blue state; his politics simply wouldn’t fly in Alabama or Mississippi. A Republican simply cannot afford to appear gay friendly on the national stage just yet, and that’s just the way things are. Do not be fooled!

At this point, I just want to make a side comment about something that has always irritated me about (some) other liberals. There has been too much squabbling over “firsts” this primary season. First woman. First African-American. The squabbling often deteriorated into tribalistic rants. Take this utterly embarrassing op-ed by Gloria Steinem, entitled “Women Are Never Front-Runners” – an op-ed that has just gotten even more embarrassing, considering Palin’s nomination. Well, if you really want a woman in the White House, you might as well check off McCain/Palin when you go to the polls. And what if John McCain had nominated Colin Powell… or Condoleezza Rice? See where that line of thinking gets you?

In any event, I will be voting for Barack Obama and Joe Biden on based their platform and their vision for America, not on the basis of their skin color, gender or any other irrelevant factor that people have historically used to divide rather than unite.