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The Globe and Mail

Tucson proved that, in Palin’s world view, there is never a moment of truce

"It has been impossible not to juxtapose, compare and rate the duelling responses of Barack Obama and Sarah Palin to the Tucson tragedy and the wrenching national conversation it has sparked.

"If the President glowingly performed the role Americans expect of their leader in times of great duress, Ms. Palin became the post-Tucson face of the Republican Party by default. No other potential GOP presidential contender thought or sought to play the leader in the wake of the shooting that ended six lives and politics as usual across the nation.

"Ms. Palin had no choice but to publicly address the allegations that her quarrelsome political style and gun metaphors contributed to the climate that led accused gunman Jared Loughner to commit a treacherous act of violence. After all, her reputation was being mercilessly impugned.

"But Ms. Palin blew an opportunity to demonstrate that she is more than a one-tune wonder, with a range and register that rises beyond baiting and badgering. The eight-minute video she posted on Facebook on Wednesday had an undeniably presidential feel to it. But that served only to heighten fear among the GOP establishment that their hectorer-in-chief is serious about running for the party’s nomination in 2012."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/konrad-yakabuski/tucson-proved-that-in-palins-world-view-there-is-never-a-moment-of-truce/article1871614/