"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."

Mike the Usurper wrote:

Sarah Palin has demonstrated not only has she no understanding of what the Constitutional protections mean, she uses them to push exactly their opposites.

Her statement also suggests that she has (or at any rate is projecting) a distorted, overloaded sense of "negative campaigning". From my point of view, unflattering comments are negative. Making negative comments about your opponents in a political campaign can be reasonably described as negative campaigning. It's really quite straightforward. She seems to be overthinking it. Never mind that the whole "associations" game is pointless drivel; recall the picture of Rumsfeld shaking hands with Saddam Hussein, back in the 1980s when we were allies. One wonders if Palin even knows this sort of thing.

Also note how she managed to work "fear of attacks" into her sound-bite. Did Palin just accuse the media of terrorism?

Finally, why does she direct her accusation specifically at "mainstream" media? Is this an effort to distinguish Fox News as an "extremist" media organization? Is she just more willing to be terrorized by extremist media?

RE: Political Radar: Palin Fears Media Threaten Her First Amendment Rights