This year's presidential campaign, which so far has been very unusual, has now taken a turn toward the absurd. By picking an obscure Alaskan politician to run as his vice president, John McCain has shown he can be unpredictable and unconventional. But at some point, you have to think he is just plain reckless.
Because McCain would be the oldest president at 72, one would think that his vice presidential pick would be much more seriously considered than a younger man. At a certain level I am relieved he didn't pick Mitt Romney, and at another level I am relieved he didn't pick another Dick Cheney-like character. There is a school of though that when you pick a vice president you want someone who won't burn you with a past, but this choice is ridiculous.
Super-conservatives are doing handsprings over the choice of Sarah Pallin, but Republicans have to consider that picking someone from the weird and wacky world of Alaska politics (and Sand Point, Idaho) may have a risk.