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Even though Sarah Palin doesn't have the author's vote, she has her support. As a female assistant professor, the author appreciates the difficulty with which women wield authority in society. Political junkies dissect her every word as though she were the vanguard of conservatism, but the popular discourse about Palin is vulgar and crass. As the mainstream media either criticize or defend her, the popular media, particularly on the Web, have dehumanized her by reducing her to her sexuality and fertility. The author teaches 19-year-olds, who are a far tougher crowd than the talking heads on cable news, and she recognizes this bipolar reaction from those unable to accept female authority on its own merits. In this article, the author contends that whether running for the vice presidency or delivering a lecture, women in positions of authority are "damned if they do and damned if they don't." No matter how prepared and professional they are, they remain easy targets in a culture where power's relationship to pretty is more highly contested than any presidential race.