Yesterday was quite a day.  It started off with former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin releasing a 7 minute video on youtube.com.  The video, which was very presidential in tone, refudiated those who blamed her for the actions of Jared Lee Loughner in the Main Street Media, or as a poster on hotair.com suggested, the Blood Libel Media.  I’m pretty sure that the Governor’s rebuff sent the 30 year olds, blogging from their Moms’ basements, running upstairs to the ‘frig to grab some more comfort food.

For those of you who have not seen Governor Palin’s speech yet, here it is:

The Left went absolutely nuts yesterday about her usage of the term Blood Libel.  This term originally referred to the anti-Semitic accusation from the Middle Ages that Jews killed Christian children to use their blood to make matzoh for Passover. 

In an article posted on wsj.com, University of Tennessee Professor Glenn Reynolds used it to reference the rush by Liberals to blame Conservatives for the mass murder committed by the psychopath, Jared Lee Loughner.  Dr. Reynolds wrote:

So as the usual talking heads begin their “have you no decency?” routine aimed at talk radio and Republican politicians, perhaps we should turn the question around. Where is the decency in blood libel?

To paraphrase Justice Cardozo (“proof of negligence in the air, so to speak, will not do”), there is no such thing as responsibility in the air. Those who try to connect Sarah Palin and other political figures with whom they disagree to the shootings in Arizona use attacks on “rhetoric” and a “climate of hate” to obscure their own dishonesty in trying to imply responsibility where none exists. But the dishonesty remains.

The Liberals immediately went into action yesterday, trying to find Jewish spokespeople who were offended by this revision of an ancient term.  However, they were few and far between.  And, several of those that they did find were involved with the Democratic Party in some form or fashion.

My, what a coincidence.

Last night, at the University of Arizona, President Barack Hussein Obama spoke at a memorial service for the victims of Saturday’s tragedy.  The 24,000 students and supporters that attended turned it into a political rally, applauding and cheering, while adorned in the Together We Thrive t-shirts with customized logos that had been draped upon every single chair in the auditorium. 

While Obama’s strived to raise his oratory to a lofty level, the atmosphere seemed surreal and awkwardly inappropriate with shouts of “We love you” when the president took the podium.

The speech itself was very appropriate and measured, running three times longer than George W. Bush’s speech memorializing those lost in the Virgina Tech Massacre.

Some excerpts from the president’s speech:

For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind.

So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.

But what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.

He then spoke about all the victims, wrapping up by paying special tribute to Christina Taylor Green, the precious little 9-year-old who was killed by the psychopath:

Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.”

If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America.

Yesterday, Sarah Palin delivered a well-written speech about an unspeakable tragedy. Yesterday, President Obama also delivered a well-written speech about an unspeakable tragedy.  The most noticeable differences in the speeches were the individuals giving them and the settings in which they were given.

And the second difference was the most notable difference of all.