Image via WikipediaA couple more things on the fallout from Saturday's shootings in Tucson, Arizona:The memorial service at the University of Arizona's basketball arena for the six people who died was highlighted by President Barack Obama's nationally-televised condolences. He was widely praised by both Democrats and Republicans (as they tend to do in times like these) for his attempts to mourn the dead, unify the country, and to turn down the harsh political rhetoric that's been going on for some time, though no one really expects it to last.
What the President said that could be construed as objectionable was his description of the victims as "heroes" and "the fallen". What happened on Saturday was neither a war, nor an attack by terrorists. These people were not soldiers. They were ordinary people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They deserved better than what they got from the President.
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Sarah Palin, in a video on her Facebook page that might have been mistaken for an Oval Office address, absolved herself of any blame she and her conservative colleagues have been accused of in the wake of the Arizona shootings. But Palin really stepped into it when she used the term "blood libel", describing the way she believes journalists and pundits incite the violence they claim to condemn. Unless you're Jewish, chances are you've never heard of this phrase. It dates back to the Middle Ages, when Jews were falsely accused of coveting the blood of Christian children, and has become an excuse for anti-Semitic behavior since then.
Oh, by the way, Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is on the mend after the shooting. For what it's worth, she happens to be Jewish.
Whether Palin used the term in her remarks willingly or out of just plain ignorance, the former Alaska governor showed a side of herself that won't endear her to those people she hasn't already alienated. If Palin ever decides to run for President, this could be the big sticking point. Or not.
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