The XX Factor: What women really think.

PTA Mom Gone Haywire!!

And I thought I was a big deal for doing this post with a four-day-old baby in my arms! To me, Palin is a much more familiar type—one for whom I feel something more complicated than awe. She is obviously not a homeschooling mom but reminds me a lot of the Christian homeschooling moms I met when I was reporting my book about young evangelicals. Palin is Christian mom on steroids, what the best homeschooling mom could accomplish if she'd only had five kids instead of 10. She's peppy, hyperconfident, the ultimate multitasker. She registers voters with one hand while changing diapers with the other. She knocks down bridges and then gives birth.

Her pretty little eyes twinkle behind those librarian glasses as she repeats a string of American cliches with no irony ("heroes," "profiles in courage," "commander of the national guard"). So strong is her conviction, so unwavering her faith that she could take down the whole dark army on a Monday afternoon, if only her middle one weren't running a fever. So busy is she that she never stops to contemplate the obvious contradictions: that she believes in the patriarchy but doesn't live it, that she disdains feminism while taking full advantage.

In those moments when you are feeling awe, I just caution you all to remember where that limitless energy comes from: not uppers or Diet Coke but that same steady source that led Bush into Iraq and kept him from ever questioning his decision: Faith, Without a Doubt.