http://michellemalkin.com/2010/10/19/chris-coons-cant-name-the-five-freedoms-in-the-first-amendment/ My guess is that Coons isn't any better or brighter than O'Donnell.

Not being able to quote the amendment directly and being completely ignorant of the most basic constitutional rights are two different stories entirely.

Maybe he can't answer the question the way it was asked, but he could probably tell you that we have freedom of the press in this country. He may even be able to answer that it comes from the 1st Amendment (again, just not the way it was asked).

Ignorance may be bliss, but it shouldn't be a trait in a senator. O'donell is ignorant.

The guy couldn't even bring up freedom of speech, the most fundamental freedom we have in this country...


It appears to me he was ignorant of the most basic constitutional right we have.

Was he asked if we have freedom of speech? No.

He was asked to list everything in the 1st Amendment. He did a bad job of that, but didn't prove he is ignorant of our basic rights.

O'donnell did. The rest is just a political smear campaign. The type you see on ads...."the other candidate sucks, but we won't say anything about our candidate because he/she is probably even worse."

He could have at least mentioned freedom of speech. That's a no brainer.



O'donnell correctly pointed out that the term separation of church and state does not exist anywhere in the Constitution. That a portion of the 1st Amendment addresses religion as it relates to the state is true, but like many things in the Constitution, it is open to interpretation. That's how the document was designed by the Founding Fathers.

To outline my point, Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Federalist Papers that he views the 1st Amendment as establishing a separation of church and state. That's where the term originated. However, Samual Adams had a viewpoint similar to the one O'Donnell was expressing.

Two founding fathers, two different views of what the intent was.

Welcome to the American constitutional legal system.