Vote for the First Amendment

Which presidential candidate is most likely to be committed to First Amendment rights? No one knows exactly - but California First Amendment Coalition's Peter Scheer offers some insights. Scheer, who heads MTF-grantee CFAC, provides a teasing analysis of some of the top presidential candidates based on their past stances and actions around topics like government secrecy, FOIA and transparency.

A few speculations and questions from Scheer:

• Hillary Clinton: "...impresses as someone who has thought hard about the role of First Amendment rights."
• Barack Obama: "...would his relative lack of foreign policy experience cause him to defer to the judgments of advisers who inevitably undervalue First Amendment rights?"
• John McCain: "McCain's loathing for political doublespeak and pandering, his preference for candor over popularity, would suggest a predisposition as President to conduct government affairs with a high degree of openness and transparency."

For the "ratings," visit http://www.cfac.org/content/index.php/cfac-news/commentary21/.