Should the Government Stop Political Candidates From Lying in Campaign Ads?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Free Press

The editor of a Colorado State University student newspaper which ran a profane editorial cursing President Bush — will not lose his job.

J.David McSwane approved the four—word editorial that said "Taser this — then the f-word — Bush." The expletive was fully printed out.

The school's Board of Student Communications could have suspended or fired McSwane, but Thursday voted only to admonish him — even though it ruled that he had violated standards prohibiting the use of profane and vulgar words in opinion writing.

The newspaper has paid a heavy financial price for the editorial though. Businesses have pulled about $50,000 in advertising — and staffers have been forced to take a 10 percent pay cut.

Truth or Consequences

The Washington state Supreme Court has ruled that the government cannot stop political candidates from lying in campaign ads. The court ruled five-to-four that a state law aimed at punishing political candidates for false advertising violates free speech rights.

Justice Jim Johnson wrote for the majority — "There can be no doubt that false personal attacks are too common in political campaigns, with wide-ranging detrimental consequences ... However, government censorship ... is not a constitutionally permitted remedy."

But Justice Barbara Madsen called the ruling — "An invitation to lie with impunity." And she added — "It is little wonder that so many view political campaigns with distrust and cynicism."

Personnel Decision

If John McCain wins the presidency next year — it could get interesting when it comes to at least one of his staffs' elections.

McCain Thursday told supporters in South Carolina that he would appoint former Federal Reserve Chief Alan Greenspan to lead a review of the nation's tax code — even if he is no longer with us.

Mccain said — "If he's alive or dead it doesn't matter. If he's dead, just prop him up and put some dark glasses on him, like "Weekend at Bernie's." Let's get the best minds in America together and fix this tax code."

Flight from Prosecution

And a West Virginia man tried to stage his own version of the O.J. Simpson slow speed chase earlier this week — but his ride just wasn't up to it.

Thirty-nine-year-old Michael Ginevan was driving his lawn mower on the street — when he was spotted by a Berkeley County Sheriff's Deputy — who then signaled for Ginevan to pull over. Ginevan instead sped up — trying to outrun the deputy with his riding lawnmower. The deputy tried using his lights and sirens but was eventually forced to run down the suspect on foot and pull him off the mower.

It didn't take a lot of investigation to figure out Ginevan's resistance. The deputy said he smelled alcohol on the suspect's breath — and even though he refused a field sobriety test — it wasn't hard to figure out. Ginevan had a case of beer strapped to the front of that riding lawn mower.

— FOX News Channel's Martin Hill contributed to this report.