GOP campaign downplays Palin book-banning inquiry

McCain campaign seeks to downplay Palin's book incident, hoping to nip online controversy

GARANCE BURKE
AP News
Sep 12, 2008 04:21 EST

The McCain campaign is defending Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's much-criticized inquiry into banning books at her hometown library, saying her questions were only hypothetical.

Shortly after taking office in 1996 as mayor of Wasilla, a city of about 7,000 people, Palin asked the city's head librarian about banning books. Later, the librarian was notified by Palin that she was being fired, although Palin backed off under pressure.