The Atlantic: Sarah Palin new media aide Rebecca Mansour sought to deflect attention from an electoral map Palin posted on her Facebook page last March in an appearance on Tammy Bruce’s radio show Saturday. The images long described as crosshairs or rifle sights were actually just surveyor’s symbols, Mansour said.
MANSOUR: I just want to clarify again, and maybe it wasn’t done on the record enough by us when this came out, the graphic, is just, it’s basically – we never, ever, ever intended it to be gunsights. It was simply crosshairs like you see on maps.
BRUCE: Well, it’s a surveyor’s symbol. It’s a surveyor’s symbol.
MANSOUR: It’s a surveyor’s symbol. I just want to say this, Tammy, if I can. This graphic was done, not even done in house – we had a political graphics professional who did this for us.
While there is no evidence the alleged Tuscon shooter ever saw the electoral target list – let alone took it to heart as an instruction – what is clear is that Palin’s history with weaponized rhetoric and imagery will be – and already has been – cast in a new light by the shooting in Arizona….
….the same day Palin posted the image with the scopes over congressional districts on her Facebook page, she tweeted, “Don’t retreat, Instead – RELOAD” and asked her followers to check out her Facebook page for details.
As well, there has been no national political figure in American life more eager to correct media misconceptions in real time that Palin, raising questions about why she did not object in the spring of 2010 when controversy erupted over her imagery, which even Giffords described on national television as representing gun “crosshairs.”
Thank you Ladyhawke for this link:
Washington Monthly: A ‘SURVEYOR’S SYMBOL’? …. the two did not discuss the fact that the image was immediately followed by Palin urging like-minded folks to “reload.” Of course, everyone knows surveyors’ equipment needs to be reloaded, too, right? Oh wait….
It’s worth emphasizing that the website for Palin’s political action committee was scrubbed yesterday, and offending materials related to Giffords and crosshairs were removed.
So, I have three related questions. The first is, if Palin’s materials were entirely defensible, why scrub the website? Isn’t this an implicit acknowledgement of an offense?
The second is, if the crosshairs were unrelated to guns – “Surveyor’s symbols”? Seriously? – why did Palin’s team wait to come up with this alternative interpretation until yesterday?
And the third question is, I wonder just how difficult it would be for Palin to simply acknowledge, “In retrospect, those crosshairs were inappropriate. I regret it.”
Read the full post here
The Obama Diary 
I Googled survey marks on maps and could find nothing like the crosshairs printed on Palin’s map of the United states. This is a ridiculous spin on Palin’s outrageous symbolism. But will anyone seduced by Palin go to the trouble to check this excuse? Not likely.
I taught high school geography for over 20 years, including topography, and not once did I ever see any map symbol that resembled a set of cross hairs. This is a lie created specifically for those who think Palin can do no wrong. And, you’re right, Joan, few, if any, of her supporters will bother themselves to check and see if this newly created excuse of a lie is correct or not.
Hi Joan, it was quite the most pathetic attempt at ‘back-tracking’, wasn’t it? First they remove the map from Palin’s website, then they offer this idiotic explanation for the symbols on the map. As Olbermann said on his Twitter account earlier, just wait and see, she’ll turn this in to a reason for self-pity – and her fans, especially in the media, will leap to her support.
If I were able to confront Mansour and/or Palin, I’d have one question to ask them: “If these symbols were meant to be surveyors’ symbols, why were they scrubbed from Palin’s internet sites/pages ONLY after Congressman Giffords was shot in the head?”
It has been my experience that people like Palin and Mansour do well when they are able to hide behind a computer keyboard and/or when they appear on rw radio/teevee programs in front of friendly audiences, but they do not do as well when interacting with the general public. Now that the general public is questioning their role in causing the deaths and injuries in AZ, they’re moving the goalposts and creating a new set of lies to try to distance themselves from the fallout that is the result of their own words/actions.
Surveyor symbols my ass. Palin new exactly what they were and what she intended them to be: bullseyes. Her own words: http://twitter.com/#!/SarahPalinUSA/status/29677744457
Steve Benen at Washington Monthly also weighed in on this today. He asked three very pertinent questions at the end of the post:
——————————————————————————
So, I have three related questions. The first is, if Palin’s materials were entirely defensible, why scrub the website? Isn’t this an implicit acknowledgement of an offense?
The second is, if the crosshairs were unrelated to guns — “Surveyor’s symbols”? Seriously? — why did Palin’s team wait to come up with this alternative interpretation until yesterday?
And the third question is, I wonder just how difficult it would be for Palin to simply acknowledge, “In retrospect, those crosshairs were inappropriate. I regret it.”
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2011_01/027454.php
His third question is theone i’m asking, too. Why didn’t they just acknowledge that the crosshairs thing was really bad, and that they didn’t think it through or really understand what monsters they were creating? They claim to be all about “personal responsibility”, but they don’t know what those words mean.
I totally agree. These folks never take responsibility for anything. Congresswoman Giffords father was asked if she had any enemies and crying he said the whole Tea Party. It just rips your heart out.
Now, the Tea Party and the half term governor are insulted that anyone would think they meant any physical harm to come to the politicians they hated and despised.
The political discourse since the election of President Obama have been so unhinged I fear for my country. The reckless behavior of the haters knows no bounds. And to see the media now tip toeing around the issue is infuriating.
It was great to see Sheriff Clarence Dupnik of Pima county speak so plainly about the toxic climate. Of course, right on cue he is being vilified by some of the haters.
Just speak up and tell them “That Lie Won’t Fly”.
Her hate speak led to the Terrorist Attack in Arizona.
All I can say is this is the end of Palin with her lies and racism. There I said it. This woman started back in the Presidential campaign calling President Obama a theorist. And no one called her on it. So she have gone over the top at every chance she could calling people names, and stoking fear and malice to gin up weak minded people. Well her actions, and some of the others can now be called on the carpet. God forbid this woman dies. We will never hear from Palin again.
I would bet my head instead of putting on her big girl panties and stepping up like a woman and taking her share of the blame for inciting negativity within the political course of things, she is someplace trying to figure out how to get her name out of this mess. And that don’t make her a leader, it makes her a coward.
I know that the guy that did the shooting, have not said anything about Palin. But the Representative did. She mentioned Palins name and what she did. That makes Palin accountable. Everything happened just as she predicted sadly. Because of all the hateful provocative noise from the right wing. I could kick John McCains ass for bring that woman into our lives. 😦
We won’t ever hear #3 from up above ’cause Palin never, ever apologizes for anything. She’s too busy playing victim.
The question above about why she would scrub that page now relates to my thots on the House. Why are they suddenly deciding to pull that bill about repealing health care unless they realize exactly how much trouble it could cause out in the population?
Hi there, the Republicans have had a bad week all last week. They pulled the bill because they know the noise they have been making about the bill is part, not all of why this crazy man tried to kill the congresswoman. They are trying to calm things down, because if they went on and repealed the bill someone else may get hurt.
Some of the Republicans may have got threats about the repeal. And they don’t want the public to know.
Anyone think it’s funny that every time the Republicans try and do something or try and repeal something of President Obama’s, they fail. Or something happens to discredit them? President Obama have a shield around him that the Republicans can’t touch. My mom always say. God don’t like ugly.
Yep, I agree – God’s favor is all over our POTUS!!!
I and many others have been praying to God or the deity/deities of our choice for PBO’s success every step of the way. I end the Lord’s Prayer every night with a special request asking God to protect our president and to help him as he faces the almost insurmountable challenges associated with the most difficult job in the world.
And Maj, God most certainly hears and answer our prayers; I speak from experience-YES and AMEN!!!
Sarah Palin is guilty of incitement, and of being completely void of any sense of civic or personal responsibility, or decency. One of her supporters sites has been reported to the FBI today for having a graphic of our President in the crosshairs, my bad, “surveyors sites”. They blame President Obama, or one of his “operatives” for her every misstep, public embarrassments, and her failures while Governor, in this case the AGIA Pipeline. http://sarahpalininformation.wordpress.com/action-alerts/agia-pipeline. They are beyond my comprehension.
Never, will I ever forgive McCain, for unleashing this pitiful, hateful, racist, bigoted palin on to the world. This woman, to me is solely responsible for the huge part of hateful speech and no wonder the pitiful MSM propping her on every step of the way.
The MSM has not only given her the platform, and continues to do so, they insulate her from appropriate scrutiny, vetting, accountability. They are all accompolices to the crime.