We all know there’s been a lot of talk in recent days about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. She’s basically stolen the show and if Karl Rove et al. have their wish, she’ll steal the election. Palin poses a serious challenge to the Democratic ticket and her radical views on everything from climate change to abortion are chilling. Despite—or perhaps because of—her extreme views Palin’s presence is having its desired effect. Witness McCain’s bounce in the polls since the convention.

So how should Obama/Biden respond to Sarah Palin? Tonight on GRITtv we are joined by Mimi Abramovitz, a professor at Hunter College and the author of Taxes are a Woman’s Issue: Reframing the Debate, Amy Richards co-author of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future, Gloria Feldt author of The War on Choice: The Right-Wing Attack on Women’s Rights and How to Fight Back, and Liza Sabater publisher and blogger at culturekitchen.com. Anne Kilkenny, a resident of Wasilla whose recent email about the real Sarah Palin has made the rounds on the internet, joins us on the phone.

Religion is front and center again this election season. Larry Beinhart the author of Salvation Boulevard, says that the fact that the United States is a moderately disguised theocratic state should be the number one political question this year. He talks with Laura about his new book and about the role of religion in American politics.   

Republicans lampooned community organizing at their convention in St. Paul, pissing off a lot of people. Here to offer a rebuttal is Jesus Gonzalez, a community organizer in Bushwick, NY who works with Make the Road. 

Finally a clip from the film "A Single Woman" about a Republican woman we can get behind: Jeannette Rankin. Never heard of her? She was the first woman to hold a seat in Congress and voted against both WWI and WWII. She was not only a Republican, but also a life-long pacifist.

Be sure to join us tomorrow at 12 pm eastern for a live panel with Jeremy Scahill, Roberto Lovato, Arun Gupta, and Malia Lazu.  

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