Sam Harris, author of Letter to a Christian Nation, published an opinion piece on Sarah Palin in the Los Angeles Times today:

So let us ask the question that should be on the mind of every thinking person in the world at this moment: If becomes the 44th president of the United States, what are the odds that a blood clot or falling object will make the 45th?

…..McCain not only has thrown all sensible concerns about good governance aside merely to pander to a sliver of female and masses of conservative Christian voters, he has turned this period of American history into an episode of high-stakes reality television: Don’t look now, but our cousin Sarah just became leader of the free world! Tune in next week and watch her get sassy with Pakistan!

McCain has so little respect for the presidency of the United States that he is willing to put the girl next door (soon, too, to be a grandma) into office beside him. He has so little respect for the average American voter that he thinks this reckless and cynical ploy will work.

And it might. Palin’s nomination has clearly excited Christian conservatives, and it may entice a few million gender-obsessed fans of Hillary Clinton to vote entirely on the basis of chromosomes. Throw in a few million more average Americans who will just love how the nice lady smiles, and 2009 could be a very interesting year.

Tune in next week and watch cousin Sarah fuss with our nuclear arsenal

In less than a day, he’s been inundated with criticism for his piece.

So he put up a response on his own site, which I found to be much more entertaining than the original piece itself:

… Needless to say, I find Obama’s religious pandering repulsive. The suspicion that he is pandering, out of obvious necessity, and not quite as religious as he makes out, is somewhat comforting, however. But even if Obama were precisely as religious as he appears, he is not a Creationist, Rapture-Ready blockhead. Palin, by all appearances, seems to be one. This is a difference worth noting. Whatever you may think of his politics, Obama is very intelligent and reasonably well educated. Palin thinks the universe is 6000 years old. Unfortunately, I wrote my article before some of the most disturbing signs of her religious extremism came to my attention.

So, let me simply declare that I would be overjoyed to have a qualified woman in the White House. I would, likewise, be overjoyed to have a qualified African American in the White House. In fact, I would be overjoyed to have a qualified WASP man in the White House. I will be guardedly optimistic to have a very smart (and somewhat qualified) Barack Obama in the White House. And I would be frankly terrified to have a religious bumpkin like Sarah Palin in the White House. I think you should share this last conviction. Hence my latest opinion piece.

I know there’s been a lot of talk about her on this site and others, but atheists should be very concerned about this. A Sarah Palin presidency (which is not unlikely) means we would have a conservative Christian — much more “fundamental” in her thinking than even George W. Bush — in power.

If that doesn’t worry you, nothing will.

AROUND the BLOGOSPHERE:

Sarah Palin - Creationism, God and Country - Pt.2 - Sarah Palin - creationism, God and Country: separating fact from fiction. Just what does sarah palin believe and if elected, how will those beliefs impact America and its citizens. First of all, does she wants creationism taught in …

The Palin file (keeps growing) - "The volatile issue of teaching creation science in public schools popped up in the Alaska governor’s race this week when Republican Sarah Palin said she thinks creationism should be taught alongside evolution in the state’s public …

Sarah Palin shows her daughter how to kill a caribou - ‘The simple yet elegantly awkward moose proves God’s creation and not evolution is the source of all life. How could something as oddly shaped and silly looking as a moose evolve through so-called "natural selection? …

Palin in Her Own Words - The Palin selection has created so much noise over these last few days that we thought it’d be a good idea to take a quick step back and run through some of her choicest statements. Here goes. On Creationism vs. Evolution: …