I have long been concerned about the First Amendment rights of public officials to say asinine things without being criticized by journalists

Thank goodness I'm not the only one.

"If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations," Palin told host Chris Plante, "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."
-- Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska and 45th President of the United States