Was some speculation about the shooting reasonable? Yes; the targeting map was certainly fair game for the news media. But THE MOMENT is came out that the shooter was actually crazy, the media changed their tone. Suddenly, the overall message about "civility" and such became the story.
Yes, the media needs to be more civil, but that's like saying the people of Iraq needed to be free, which is the argument the Bush Admin and GOP used to justify Iraq when the WMD's weren't found. It's flatly intellectually dishonest to suggest that crosshairs from ANYONE had something to do with this - we have nothing to suggest that, and taking advantage of the current situation to raise implicit connections between Palin and these deaths is bias, pure and simple. (Though it's not a "blood libel," a term Jewish groups have pushed against her for using)
We can and should have a conversation about civility and inciting violence in our politics, but having it now, in this time, isn't going to be a fair fight. The left is obviously counting on that, and some have sought to capitalize on this moment by talking about gun control or other such things. That's not justified, and its horribly unfair to the families.
But, on the other hand, the same voice inside me that is defending Palin right now thinks this as well:
