Students of American politics and all things prickly — including the issues of teen pregnancy, family values, abortion and a woman’s right to choose — please clear your desks and take out a clean sheet of paper and a pencil. We are going to have a pop quiz on the latest chapter in the presidential campaign: The Palin Predicament.

Let’s start with some multiple choice questions.

n 1. When Michelle Obama heard that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter was five months pregnant, Ms. Obama:

A. Called to congratulate the happy family.

B. Lined her little girls up against the wall, wagged an index finger at them and said, “Now see here. …”

C. Was enormously relieved that her daughters are still shopping at GapKids.

D. Ordered a how-to-talk-to-your-children-about-sex book from Barnes & Noble.

n 2. When the Palins first learned of their daughter’s pregnancy, they:

A. Jumped for joy at the prospect of being grandparents so soon.

B. Said to the child, “You’re kidding, right?”

C. Called Sen. John McCain and asked him to be the godfather.

D. Called the spin doctors.

n 3. Shortly after the above conversation, Sarah Palin’s husband, Todd, who is a commercial fisherman, did the following:

A. Wondered how in the heck his life could’ve gotten so complicated so fast.

B. Laughed to think that he’d been worried about disclosure of his DUI ticket.

C. Wondered where the lucky father of his daughter’s baby was. And what he was going to do if he caught up with him.

D. Went fishing.

n Next, some true or false statements.

(T) (F) The daughter is between a rock and hard place unlike any kind of rock and hard place she has ever encountered in her life.

(T) (F) The wedding will be a small, private ceremony.

(T) (F) A tell-all book about the Palin Predicament will hit the bestseller list before you know it.

(T) (F) Those in John McCain’s campaign who suggested that it would be OK to have a running mate whose teen daughter was in a delicate way were brilliant.

n And finally, some discussion questions. Grapple with all five.

1. Should the Palin Predicament be treated as a private, family matter or a legitimate matter of public interest?

2. Is Sarah Palin the ultimate feminist? Has she chosen work over family?

3. Would we ask a man, in similar circumstances, the same question?

4. If the Palin daughter is having a baby and getting married so she won’t ruin her mother’s chances for the vice presidency, how will this decision affect her life?

5. If the Palin daughter is having a baby and getting married because she really wants to, how will this decision affect her life?

Salley M. McInerney can be reached by e-mailing salley@hartcom.net.