I’ll be honest; Sarah Palin scares me.

I am petrified that she and her antiquated beliefs might actually enter the White House one day, and I know that day will put an abrupt end to progress in this nation. What scares me most is that, with her as vice president, we as a nation would regress away from anything resembling forward thinking.

Two weeks ago, this column was about the strength of women and my belief in them. I applauded the ability of women to have both a career and a family. So if Palin fulfills both of those requirements, I should be all for her, right? Wrong.

I’m terrified of her stance on abortion and what it means for women in this country. Palin may be a woman, but she is, without a doubt, against women.

She opposes abortion, even in cases of rape and incest, and approves overturning Roe v. Wade. She also opposes stem cell research. Palin claims to want to go to Washington to serve the American people, but how many people would she really be serving with beliefs and ideals like these?

I’m afraid of the way that she flaunts her family to the world at times when it’s only beneficial to her.

Palin exploits the fact that she didn’t have an abortion after she found out her baby has Down syndrome, but wants the media to shy away from the fact that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant, even though the latter is especially relevant considering Palin’s stance on abstinence-only sex education.

I’m concerned that choosing Palin as a running mate is only a clever political ploy on the part of McCain. Such a staunch conservative viewpoint will no doubt appeal to the critics who accuse McCain of not being far enough to the right.

McCain is also seeking the support of those female voters who had previously backed Sen.. Hillary Clinton in her quest for the White House. But the fact of the matter is, Palin could drive away those same women McCain is trying to reel in.

Simply adding a woman to your ticket doesn’t mean that you’ll gain female voters. I’m offended that McCain would think women would vote for him and his running mate based solely on her sex.

Palin’s resume simply cannot live up to that of Clinton’s, who was (and still is), a true crusader for women. Furthermore, Palin stands completely on the opposite side of Clinton on most big-ticket issues, including health care and education.

I’m frightened by the fact that Palin is tied to various ethical violations and abuses of power and is currently under investigation for her involvement in political scandal while governor of Alaska.

In a scandal now referred to as “Troopergate,” Palin dismissed public safety commissioner Walt Monegan for refusing to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper, without grounds. At the time, her ex-brother-in-law was in a custody battle with her sister.

She is also tied to accepting campaign contributions of at least $4,500 in a scheme that resulted in a public scandal, which led to the indictment of Alaskan Sen. Ted Stevens by a federal grand jury.

I’m worried that if Palin excels at anything, it’s distracting the attention of the media and the public from the fact that she and McCain are still running on the Republican Party ticket. Everyone is forgetting that this same party has produced the less than stellar Bush administration, which McCain largely supported.

It’s far too soon to tell whether Palin’s celebrity will translate into any staying power, and whether that staying power translate into a place in the White House? I don’t know. I’m just scared that it will and hoping that it doesn’t.