An Irresponsible Choice

When most of us heard that John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate, most of us probably said: “Who?”

But after hearing more about Gov. Palin, I think for most of us “Who?” became “Why?”.

Robert Reich, Secretary of Labor during Bill Clinton’s administration and currently Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley, has said succinctly what we are now feeling as queasiness in the pits of our stomachs:

“Sarah Palin has been a governor of state inhabited by more moose than people for twenty months, and before that mayor of a town with a population smaller than two blocks of downtown Manhattan. Although she has barely exercised power, she is already under federal investigation for abuse of it. And while Ms. Palin is perfectly entitled to believe that evolution is a myth, that women should be barred from choosing to have abortions, and that global warming has yet to be proven, these views all run counter to the views of mainstream America.

“In choosing Sarah Palin, John McCain has subjected the nation to an unnecessary risk, at the very time when America can least afford to take unnecessary risks. His choice of vice president should not be mistaken for boldness. It is irresponsible.”

From Robert Reich’s personal blog.