Rathdrum 1, Benghazi 0

We salute the man on the Northwest Boulevard I-90 overpass who proudly bore two banners Wednesday morning. One said "Benghazi," and the other, "Impeach Obama." The gentleman was exercising his First Amendment rights, and it's long been said that exercise makes us stronger.

If his goal was to pronounce a sentiment shared by many passersby and to receive support for that sentiment, he probably had a very good morning. If his goal was to express an opinion that most people hadn't considered or, better still, to change minds, the gentleman's efforts were probably less constructive than he'd hoped.

First Amendment demonstrations show greater conviction and thus lead to deeper consideration when expressed as minority opinions or as majority opinions in less-than-friendly environments. You'd probably smile if you saw a Seahawks fan holding a big "Niners Suck" sign in downtown Seattle, and then you wouldn't give it another thought. But put that guy and his sign on a downtown San Francisco street corner and you've got something that'll stir both discussion and the triage unit in the local ER.

We know First Amendment demonstrations like the Obama critic's are favored instruments of people with deep convictions, but we'd have much more respect for messages with a direct local impact - say, advocating a stance on a hot local political issue or, better still, involvement in an important community project.

"Benghazi - Impeach Obama" is fair and free speech, but "Rathdrum - Help Saturday" might actually make a difference.