Obama memo takes shot at Palin

MINNEAPOLIS — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign said Friday that Republican rival John McCain's decision for a running mate signaled that he is beholden to the right wing of the Republican Party and putting politics ahead of judgment.

In internal talking points for Obama surrogates, the campaign asked: "What does his selection of Gov. Sarah Palin say about the kind of President John McCain would be? "

{mosads}The memo, obtained by The Hill, lays out how Obama surrogates should attack Palin, noting that McCain had only met the governor once before tapping her as his running mate, emphasizing her inexperience and proclaiming the McCain picked Palin to placate the right wing of his party.

"John McCain made a political calculation and has chosen a candidate who will mollify the right and shares his view that the economic policies of George W. Bush are working and should continue," the memo read. "And that’s a risk America can’t afford."

While the Obama campaign released a statement Friday saying that Obama and running mate Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) hailed the pick, the internal talking points memo distributed to surrogates made it clear that Democrats plan to portray Palin as inexperienced and a politically expedient pick for McCain to mollify hardcore conservatives in his party.

"What does it say that he knuckled under to the right-wing of his party, who angrily threatened to veto McCain’s preferred candidates, Joe Lieberman and Tom Ridge, for their pro-choice views?," the memo reads. "What does it say that, in order to satisfy the right, he hastily selected someone he barely knew-and had only met once – to serve a heartbeat away from the presidency?"