"Show me where I have ever said that"

Reader-submitted question: Why try soooo hard to belittle Sarah Palin?

You know, I don't know if that was my exact quote.

Oh, it was?

Yes, that is something that I have said, or written, here on my blog on the Internet, that I write and that other people read also on their computers or on their personal, you know, reading devices. And that is something that I believe the American people also believe and I would hope that that would be the case, because as we all can agree, it is essential that people be allowed to, um, write on the Internet and be able to feel that they can actually say the things they believe and feel that freedom. Freedom of speech is so important to me and to John McCain. It is one of our biggest concerns and one of the things that really makes us different from our opponent. I have the readiness and the confidence to take on this challenge and ensure freedom for our country. I would never want people to, you know, think that they can't write on the Internet, and that is why I am out here working so hard to reach across the aisle. I have a long history of working with other people. That's the only way we get stuff done. Ultimately, what blogging does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to shore up our economy and ensure success in Iraq.

Now, I would not want you to think that I would, you know, say that anyone should be able to say ANYTHING on the Internet. That has to be considered also. I have been out there taking on the good old boys and working hard for the American people. And that is because we cannot have any hesitation at all when it comes to our freedoms. There are people out there. Bad people who would seek to destroy us and who have nucular weapons. They are not the good guys. They are the sort of people who with the terror and the hatred and want to destroy Israel, which is our friend and ally and I support them one hundred percent. And those people don't have the freedoms we have to write on the Internet. They hate us for our freedoms. And that is why John McCain and I feel so strongly about this.

But regardless of whether people should be writing on the Internet or should not be writing on the Internet, whether it is part of an overall trend of people writing more or writing less, and that may be what we are seeing, the fact remains that it is something that I have said. And let me be very clear about that.

Thanks for your question, and God bless America.