WASHINGTON — Presidential hopefuls Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) addressed attendees at separate events during last month’s Capital Conference where each talked about the press and the proposed shield law.

The Free Flow of Information Act’s fate rests in the hands of the Senate, having already won approval by the House of Representatives. Speaking ahead of Clinton, one of the leaders of the bill, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), urged attendees to put pressure on the Senate for a vote.

Photo: Mary L. Van Meter
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) addressed The Associated Press during its annual luncheon last month. Following his address, William Dean Singleton, vice chairman and chief executive officer of MediaNewsGroup (seated, left of Obama) asked Obama questions submitted by attendees.




Clinton, McCain photos: NAA

Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) also addressed attendees in separate events. All of the candidates discussed their reason for supporting the proposed shield law.                                              
 

Accountability urged

McCain addressed The Associated Press April 14, and talked about the role of the press in campaigns and some of the reasons behind his decision to remain accessible to reporters, acknowledging, “Occasionally the penalties a candidate suffers by granting widespread access can reinforce a campaign’s natural tendencies to avoid risk and closely control its message.”

McCain told attendees that after struggling with the decision of whether or not to back the shield law, he had ultimately decided to support it. He was quick to caution, however, on the perils of recklessness, saying he believes The New York Times decision to disclose surveillance programs “came too close to crossing that line.”

He said the law would give great license to reporters and their sources with few restrictions and without fear of personal consequence.

 

“It is frankly a license to do harm, perhaps serious harm, but it is also a license to do good,” he added.

McCain urged the press to be responsible and accountable in its use of the law should the legislation ultimately gain approval.

“There will be times again, I suspect, when I will wonder if I should have supported this measure, but I trust in your integrity and patriotism that those occasions won’t be so numerous that I will, in fact, regret my decision,” he said. “I would hope that when you do something controversial or something that many people find wrong and harmful, you would explain fully and honestly how and why you did it, and confess in a more noticeable way than afforded by the small, small print on a corrections page.”

Democrats want transparency

Obama, who like Clinton has sponsored the bill, addressed the shield law during The AP’s annual luncheon April 14th. It was the first time the event has sold out.

Both of the Democratic hopefuls told attendees they favor a more open and transparent administration.

Obama began his address with an apology to the press for keeping them busy recently, referring to comments he made in early April about frustrated middle-class Americans.

In addressing a question on the shield law following his speech, Obama said he favors leaving the decision of whether or not a source should be protected to a judge rather than an administration.

“An administration may be entirely justified in saying we have to give law enforcement the tools that are necessary in order to impede an attack,” he said. “But what we have to make sure of is that there is somebody watching over the administration to make sure that it’s not being abused. That simple principle that there’s somebody watching the watcher, that there is not simply someone at the White House making unilateral decisions about how we strike a balance between our civil liberties and our safety.”

He said he is confident in the courts’ ability to make those decisions.

“The courts, generally are pretty good at this stuff and if you present them with good evidence and there is a national security risk involved, they generally respond.”

Board acting properly

Obama referred to the formation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act board and said that since its inception, it has rejected only a handful of the requests it has received.

“It’s not as if FISA is going around saying, ‘boy, let’s really stick it to the administration.’”

Obama said he believes there has been “overage by the chief executive,” which he said needs to be changed and that sentiment to uphold the Constitution crosses party lines and demographics.

“When I talk about the need for us to protect and abide by the Constitution, people respond,” he said. “That is not a conservative or liberal issue — (although) ironically it is a very conservative issue in the sense that we are being true to the principles of our founding fathers and the essence of what makes us a free society.”

Clinton, who addressed attendees during the last day of the conference, began her talk by lightheartedly thanking the press for the infamous 1948 Chicago Tribune “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline, which she said has given her “great strength and encouragement over the last months.”

Clinton told attendees that her support of the shield law hinges on ensuring “whistle-blowers that they can blow the whistle.”

She said newspapering is a mission that predates our country.

“It is essential that we have you to inform and active citizenry,” she added.

Clinton said if she were elected president, she would empower the federal government to operate with openness.