What Sarah Palin should have told Katie Couric
Memo to all future vice presidential candidates:
OK, rest easy. There's no need to have a precise case name embedded in your memory bank if and when you confront the now-infamous query that Katie Couric pitched Sarah Palin -- name a Supreme Court decision (other than, depending on your viewpoint, Roe vs. Wade) with which you disagree.
Even if you have a case citation at the ready, don't use it, because almost always it's best not to sound like a lawyer (even if you are one).
Now, if you happen to be a social conservative like Palin, court decisions banning school prayer and protecting the burning of the U.S. flag as an expression of free speech might merit mention.
But here's an all-purpose answer for politicians of all stripes: the Dred Scott ruling.
True, it's not exactly contemporary; the case of a slave (Scott) who pursued a legal avenue to gain his freedom was decided in early 1857. But still, you won't go wrong decrying the majority opinion that declared that no black -- slave or free -- could be considered a U.S. citizen (and thus subject to its legal protections).
The decision was of no small consequence; most historians agree it helped hasten the Civil War.
-- Don Frederick
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Andrew Malcolm's immigrant parents repeatedly stressed the importance of active participation in a democracy. Early lessons included learning the alphabetical list of states by watching televised roll calls of national political conventions. That childhood exposure led to a lifelong fascination with politics, including 40-plus years of covering them and a brief stint practicing them as press secretary to Laura Bush in 1999-2000. A veteran foreign and national correspondent, Malcolm served on the Times Editorial Board and was a Pulitzer finalist in 2004. He is the author of 10 nonfiction books and father of four.
Johanna Neuman is a veteran Washington correspondent for both The Los Angeles Times and USA Today, having covered presidents and politics as far back as Ronald Reagan. A former president of the White House Correspondents Assn., she authored a book on media and foreign policy, “Lights, Camera, Wars.” Most recently she was co-author of the 
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she should have told Katie Couric that she does not know of any other Supreme Court cases because she has not been prepped by the McCain campaign and never thought about these issues before they "selected" her as VP. That would have been the truth.
Posted by: jurisdoctro | October 02, 2008 at 05:05 PM
Katic Couric interviewing Gov Palin was so evil as most liberals. They don't just disagree with someone. They actually hate that person. And it shows when Couric interviews someone she differs with. Interviews can be civil, which certainly is something new for liberals.
Posted by: MaryJo Bruce | October 03, 2008 at 07:28 AM
Dear Katie,
You're no Sarah Palin!!!!
Senator Loyd. Benson
Posted by: steve rodriguez | October 03, 2008 at 09:13 AM
The Palin interview was the first time I had watched Katie Couric in years. Know I remember why; she is a very poor journalist.
Posted by: morfin | October 03, 2008 at 05:00 PM