Take a look at the last 3 months. How hard was it to find a job? If it's been hard and the market up there sucks, I'd take this job and keep looking instead of making job hunting a full time thing. Not only is it better to have some income then none, you're building your network and bucket of references if you do a good job.

If you're gonna turn it down, just say so. Call him and say you appreciate the offer but because of the commute and different interest and how you didn't go to grad school to make the slave wage of $9/hr (ok maybe not this last part ), etc, you have to turn it down.

1.5-2 hour commute, for barely above minimum wage, for a job you don't even want? With the price of gas, you will burn through a good chunk of your paycheck just getting there and back. You could probably easily find some temp job that pays just as much, if not more, close to where you live while you look for a better job. 

Like Yang said, you didn't work your ass off at grad school to give tours to 5th graders for next to nothing. 

I'm going to be honest. This is actually the first job I've applied to since I left my holiday season temp job in January. So it's not like I've been searching for three months. This was kind of an "on the whim" job application.

It was worth it to go on the interview, either way. I hadn't been on a job interview since October, so it was good to refresh those skills.

Someone told me to think of it as like this- you don't come into a job interview with the implicit understanding that you're going to take the offer if it's given to you. Both sides need to realize it's a good fit.

Every bit of my gut instinct is telling me not to take the job. Even my mother doesn't think it's a good idea. A mother of a unemployed graduate. Telling him that it's not a good idea to take a job offer.

When it gets too much

My mom thinks the same way as your mom.  However, she seems to discourage me from taking every job I've been applying.  Mom tends to think, "you're better than that" and I am flattered by it.  However, if the person is willing to take a major hit on his dignity, I think it's a special situation that requires desperate measure.  Just from experience, the longer you're out of work, the more likely you'll become a discouraged worker.  I know some job doesn't sound like it's financial rewarding however, but many of things we do are not financial rewarding..., but may in the long run make you a better person.  Just keep searching, if this job is not what you want though.