What a risky choice John McCain made in choosing Sarah Palin for vice president. Only minutes into her first speech to the nation she lied twice.

She told us that she said, “Thanks, but no thanks” to the $230 million for the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere.” Actually she was all for the pork until Congress killed the project. Then she said she was a reformer and would fight Washington lobbyists. Wrong! As mayor of Wasilla, a tiny town of 6,500, she hired her own Washington lobbyists to get $23 million worth of pork. That’s $3,538 worth of bacon per resident.

Before becoming the nominee she told a reporter that she didn’t know what the vice president did. Well, I know. Do you want the 18-month governor of the 48th least populated state breaking a tie vote in the Senate deciding to go to war with Russia or Iran? Do you want a far right conservative deciding to abolish a woman’s right to choose or whether sex education is taught in public schools?

Palin is currently embroiled in an ethics investigation in Alaska. And what kind of parent, wanting so badly her own 15 minutes of fame, exposes her 17-year-old child to the embarrassment of worldwide coverage of a very private and difficult time in her life? Instead of blaming the media, Sarah Palin should have said, “Thanks, but no thanks” to John McCain’s offer of vice president. That would have been real family values.

Vic Kraft

Bangor