One or two instances could just be hyperbole, and you know I have no problem with hyperbole as rhetorical emphasis; that's its function. However, when we begin taking it literally, well, the danger of figurative imagery taken literally should be evident by now. Also, I hadn't dug into the incident or its background much then, deliberately avoided doing so, because I knew it would cost me any objectivity and run the risk of discovering there might actually BE reason to think the guy influenced by right wing demgaguery (as, indeed, I think there is). Bad enough that I had to debate whether Hitler was a liberal and deal with "how dare the left call this horrible man a conservative when he's CLEARLY a liberal!" (the US has many politicians more liberal than Gabrielle Giffords, but the home of Goldwater and McCain sure as hell doesn't).

Now it's different, because I know what, most people, including Palin, seemed to miss: The attack on Giffords and the other victims was linked to crosshairs used at Palins website not because of bias or unvetted reporting, but because BEFORE the shooting Giffords herself had referenced those images and the "consequences" they threatened. That means she originated the objections to those images, which in turn means calling it "blood libel" is an accusation against her directly. I don't think Palin intended to accuse one of the victims any more than she intended the shootings, but that's the problem with politicians "shooting from the hip" (if I may use the term): It's very endearing and humanizing to voters if you look natural rather than rehearsed, but it also risks looking like a fool when you opine about things nearly everyone knows more about than you do. Again, I don't think for a second she intended someone to go on a shooting spree, but I do think her language helped create an environment that incited an already unstable and violent man to do something awful. Likewise, I don't think she intended to accuse one of the victims of libel, but if she'd spent the four days between the shootings and her comments checking Giffords' history rather than just making sure there were no direct links between herself and Loughner she wouldn't have made that error as well. Taken together the two are just more in the growing list of reasons why Sarah Palin lacks the judgement to run a hotdog stand, let alone the most powerful nation on Earth.