“If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations, then I don’t know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media.”
I’m glad we have a hockey mom to teach us civics. Not only didn’t I know that the Vice President runs the Senate, I didn’t even know that the First Amendment is there to protect officials from criticism by reporters.
Of course, I don’t feel too bad about my ignorance, since Jefferson (who said that he’d rather have newspaper but no government than government with no newspapers) seems to have shared it.
How do you think Sara Palin feels about her ignorance? More important, how do educated independent and Republican voters feel about it?
Clearly, Larry Eagleburger had it right the first time: not only is Palin not ready to be President now, she never will be ready. But, consistent with his political principles, Eagleburger decided to retract the truth and replace it with the politically correct lie.
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman