"What's
the correct tone to take when defending yourself against accusations of being
partly responsible for the Tucson attack? One wrong word could have unforeseen
consequences. Palin's not accustomed to that. Her future hangs in the balance."
Only a very small number of
people still believe that Sarah Palin bears any responsibility for the
shootings in Tucson. But she knows: right now, a single wrong word could end
her career.
Sarah Palin is used to
setting the tone when discussing the issues. Whether friend or foe, she’s
impossible to ignore. However, for three days now, the 46-year-old Republican
and the role she may have played in the tragedy that has touched the nation
have been the topic of discussion. And yet she hasn't been able to sound the
attack in the way she’s become accustomed. What's the correct tone to take when
defending yourself against accusations of being partly responsible for the
Tucson attack? One wrong word could have unforeseen consequences. She’s not
accustomed to that. Her future hangs in the balance, starting with a possible presidential
candidacy in 2012. These are the kind of unexpected and unplanned moments that,
in the American consciousness, are deciding factors in whether a person has the
makings of a leader - a true leader.
Palin conducted the campaign
for the 2010 congressional elections with symbols and words from the language
of hunting and war. She declared her opponents to be “targets” and selected 20
Democratic constituencies to be marked with crosshairs, among them Gabrielle
Giffords.’ When the Democrats voted for health reform, Giffords among them,
Palin called on her followers: “Don't retreat - RELOAD! Don't retreat,
RELOAD!” This inspired them and mobilized them to vote. For commentators on
the right, she was a heroine, equipped with a sure-fire recipe for electoral
victory.
Since the Tucson shootings,
these slogans are being viewed in a different light. Did this militaristic
language incite the perpetrator to shoot Democrat Giffords?
For three days, the question
of a causal relationship between Palin and the Tucson shootings has been
intensely debated by the American public, and the question has now been
answered with a clear “no.” If the shooter had emerged as a follower of the
radical Tea Party movement or of Palin, she would have been finished. But
investigators haven't found a single piece of evidence to prove that Jared
Loughner was influenced by the former Alaska governor's rhetoric. Instead they
submitted evidence showing that the shooter was a mentally deranged individual
perpetrator who wasn't motivated by party affiliation. As a result, only a
minority on the left of the political spectrum clings to the accusation that
Palin is partially responsible for the shootings because of her choice of
language.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
However, it’s too early for
the uncrowned queen of right-wing conservatives to heave a final sigh of relief
- and she knows it. For days she’s been weighing her words and treading
carefully. She’s removed the cards with the crosshairs from her Web site. Is
she actually retreating, rather than reloading? If so, she would be showing a
new side of herself.
For those who hope to rise to
the top in U.S. politics, sooner or later they will be confronted with such a
turning point. What was previously a reliable asset suddenly becomes a burden. Barack
Obama’s decision to join a Black church in Chicago, which served as a bridge to
White Americans, helped him win converts - until his competitors put his
pastor’s sermons under a microscope. America was shocked by their contents. The
future U.S. president liberated himself from the burden by delivering a speech on
the complex relationship between skin color and religion, which is still
considered a masterpiece.
Sarah Palin is attempting to
do something similar. Immediately after the shooting, she expressed sympathy
for the victims and their families on her
Facebook page, and since then has acted unusually defensive. She has left
her defense to other Republicans. On Monday, her friend Glenn Beck, a talk show
host with millions of fans on the right-wing Fox TV, read a message from
Palin. “I hate violence, I hate war. Our children will not have peace if
politicos just capitalize on this to succeed in portraying anyone as inciting
terror and violence. Thanks for all you do to send the message of truth and
love and God as the answer.”
Palin isn't the only one from
whom America expects more than hesitation and tactics. On Wednesday, Barack
Obama is flying to Tucson for the funeral service [video above]. The nation is
turning to the president for direction: on the human aspects of the tragedy, on
gun rights and on the tone of political debate - and not just expressions of
sympathy and calls for moderation. The White House says he's preparing his
speech, but that he won't deliver it until Gifford's fate is clearer.
