Let's talk about feminism.

You can pick a woman for your VP candidate, but that doesn't make her a feminist. You can toss around words, like "glass ceiling," and post Palin's face on Rose the Riveter buttons, but you cannot call her a feminist.

A feminist is someone who's beliefs and behaviors are based in feminism. The dictionary defines feminism as "the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men." Now, can you assert or assume that any person, man or woman, is a feminist simply based on their job title?

Governor Palin is being painted as a "feminist" by the Republican Party (and the media) in an obvious attempt to pick up those Hillary supporters who they believe would elect any candidate, as long as the ticket includes a woman. It seems they failed to think of the oceans of difference between Hillary and Palin on every single issue. Palin is not, by any means, a suitable "replacement" for Hillary in the November election. She does not stand for any of the same platforms and quite frankly, it is disgusting that she is even being compared to Hillary--a woman who actually stood for feminist ideology. The only similarity between Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin is they're both women.

Now, why exactly can't we call Sarah Palin a feminist? The truth is, Palin is as anti-woman as the Bush administration. She believes the government should control a woman's body completely. In a case of rape or incest, she believes abortion is never the solution, and would work to make sure Roe vs Wade is overturned. She is a threat to women's autonomy and safety. In addition, she does not advocate for equality in any sense of the word. She is anti-human rights, anti-birth control, and believes in abstinence-only sex education (which turned out well in her own household). She stands for everything feminism works against, she just happens to be a woman.

Is Sarah Palin empowering women? Some, sure. Is she showing the country that a woman can do a man's job? Not quite. She's a yet another Republican pawn used to perpetuate right-wing religious ideals. She's only allowed to deliver her stump speech, written by the campaign coordinators, and unscripted interviews are off the table, unless it is a very special circumstance (take the one and only interview she has done for example--certainly showed how uninformed and ill-prepared she is). She's just another right-wing, gun slinging radical who is using cute slogans to lure voters to the McCain ticket.

So let's set the record straight: Sarah Palin is not a feminist.