Mari Culver, wife of Democratic Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, held a campaign event for presidential candidate Barack Obama in Carroll Tuesday. (Photo: Jeff Storjohann of the Carroll Daily Times Herald)

Mari Culver, wife of Democratic Iowa Gov. Chet Culver, held a campaign event for presidential candidate Barack Obama in Carroll Tuesday. (Photo: Jeff Storjohann of the Carroll Daily Times Herald)

Iowa’s first lady Mari Culver says flatly that GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is woefully unprepared to lead the nation.

What’s more, Culver said, the selection of the first-term Alaska governor, who has been largely cocooned from serious questioning, reveals Republican presidential candidate John McCain to be a risk-taker at a time when the nation needs reason.

“To me, it’s further evidence of the gambling nature of McCain’s decision-making and his judgment. You’ve got to exercise the type of leadership and good decision-making and sound judgment in the selection of your vice presidential running mate which gives American voters an idea of the decision-making and the judgment you would exercise as president,” Mari Culver said. “I think frankly Sen. McCain failed miserably in that regard. I don’t think she’s ready to be vice president. I don’t think she’s ready to be president. That goes without saying.”

Culver, the wife of Democratic Gov. Chet Culver, spoke with Iowa Independent on Tuesday before a campaign event at Crossroads Bistro/Coffee World in Carroll. Culver held a similar event earlier in Fort Dodge.

While she thinks Palin is short on credentials, the long record McCain has of embracing trickle-down economics will be determinative in the election, Culver said.

“Well, it obviously hasn’t worked and we need change,” Culver said.

Culver said the last two weeks of market turmoil in the nation have shown that McCain lacks an understanding of the economy. He’s veered wildly with pronouncements on it, and in Mari Culver’s view, created a sideshow with a false claim last week that he was going to suspend his campaign and work solely on the crisis.

“It shows a lack of seasoned, reasoned, calm leadership that we need,” Culver said.

Culver said she thinks the McCain “gimmick” of a campaign suspension wasn’t that, at all, as the GOP standard-bearer had his staff people out all over the TV and the news.

The splintering of the GOP with President Bush calling for a $700 billion rescue plan for a raft of troubled financial organizations and rank-and-file House Republicans voting against the plan, didn’t help McCain either, Culver said.

“He couldn’t lead his own party frankly toward a rescue package,” Culver said. “If he can’t lead the members of his own party, I don’t know how he can lead the country.”

Culver said President Bush’s speech to the nation last week about the economy — in which he used words like “recession” and “panic” — had an alarming rather than calming effect.

“Good God, thank God we didn’t have a run on the banks after that address,” Culver said. “In order to bring stability we have to demonstrate some stability.”

Gov. Culver, while working on flooding issues in eastern Iowa, has said the state’s economy is generally in better shape than the nation’s.

This doesn’t mean there aren’t anxious moments for Iowans, though, Mari Culver said.

“Certainly everyone is extremely concerned about what has happened economically in this country,” Culver said.

She said the nation needs to change thinking in Washington and correct a flawed process in which significant legislation is written by big oil and pharmaceuticals.

“Frankly, I think this election is more important than any in my adult life,” Culver said. “This country cannot continue in the manner in which it has put Wall Street ahead of Maple Street.”