McCain's VP pick is reckless

I was in disbelief when I heard the news this morning that John McCain has picked Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin is an extreme right-wing self-described "hockey mom" who is currently embroiled in a scandal and who is completely unqualified for VP. She doesn't even know what the VP does! Given that McCain is 72 years old and has had problems with cancer, this pick is truly reckless and a completely political ploy with obviously no consideration for actually governing.

I'll have a more detailed post soon about my thoughts on Palin, but for now here is Obama spokesman Bill Burton's initial statement, which Obama has since distanced himself from, but nonetheless sums up how I feel:

"Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency. Governor Palin shares John McCain's commitment to overturning Roe v. Wade, the agenda of Big Oil and continuing George Bush's failed economic policies -- that's not the change we need, it's just more of the same."

Cross-posted at Progressive Dispatches

~BT