Palin was high risk, high reward VP pick

One of McCain's VP pick advisors, A.B. Culvahouse, described the vetting process behind choosing Palin:

For McCain, R-Ariz., selecting a vice president came down to these questions, Politico reported Saturday. Why do you want to be vice president? Are you prepared to use nuclear weapons? And the CIA has pinpointed Osama bin Laden, but if you fire you will kill multiple civilians. Do you take the shot?

Palin knocked those questions "out of the park," Culvahouse Friday told a group of Republican lawyers in Washington.

When McCain asked him for the "bottom line" on Palin, Culvahouse said he replied, "High risk, high reward."

To which McCain replied, "You shouldn't have told me that. I've been a risk-taker all my life," Culvahouse said.