McCain Spokesperson Ben Porritt Can't Explain Palin's
First Amendment Comment

post from Crooks and Liars on 02 November 2008 04:00:00 PM. © Crooks and Liars

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David Shuster questions McCain spokesperson Ben Porritt about Sarah Palin's statement that she thought her First Amendment rights were under attack because the press said she was going "negative" on Obama.

Palin: ...Gov. Sarah Palin said she fears her First Amendment rights may be threatened by "attacks" from reporters who suggest she is engaging in a negative campaign against Barack Obama. Palin told WMAL-AM that her criticism of Obama's associations, like those with 1960s radical Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, should not be considered negative attacks. Rather, for reporters or columnists to suggest that it is going negative may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate's free speech rights under the Constitution, Palin said.

Shuster asks Porritt why Palin thinks the First Amendment protects her from the press rather than the other way around. When pinned down, all Porritt could do was say that she really didn't mean it, attack Barack Obama and Joe Biden, claim that he didn't hear the entire interview, and blame the press for playing "gotcha' games".