Peter Torkildsen Reacts To McCain’s Selecting Sarah Palin As Running Mate

In response to the big news, MassGOP Chairman Peter Torkildsen said, “Sarah Palin is a terrific pick for John McCain and the entire country. Sarah Palin took on the old-boy network in Alaska and won. To change Washington, it’s going to take a team of Mavericks who have a record of accomplishment in shaking up the status quo. Sarah Palin is a tough executive who has demonstrated that she is ready to be president. She brought Republicans and Democrats together and delivered results. While the Obama-Biden ticket is big on talk, the McCain-Palin ticket is big on results. She alone has far more executive experience than Barack Obama and the McCain-Palin ticket will be a ticket to victory in November.”

The pick certain gained the praise of many, and blindsided the Obama campaign, which was actively preparing for McCain to pick Mitt Romney:

Ms. Palin came as a surprise not only to many Republicans and journalists, but also to the Obama team. The campaign has been busily preparing TV commercials to run against Mitt Romney — with aides gleefully watching hours of footage of Romney-McCain exchanges from the primary — but far little opposition research had been prepared about the Alaska governor. And aides said no commercials were ready to be immediately released, which the McCain campaign did when Mr. Biden was chosen.

D’oh.

Matt Margolis is co-author (with Mark Noonan) of Caucus of Corruption: The Truth About The New Democratic Majority. He also blogs at The Buffalo Bean. Follow Matt on Twitter.