In a video message released this morning, the most despicable woman in this country’s political realm said that “journalists and pundits should not manufacture a blood libel that serves only to incite the very hatred and violence they purport to condemn.” A believer in American “exceptionalism,” Palin knows perfectly well that she’s been inciting the reactionary ire of under-educated, lower-income rurals for over two years, and has done plenty to feed the hate fires.

“Caution is not part of Ms. Palin’s political repertory,” writes N.Y. Times blogger Michael D. Shear. “She starts the video with the standard expressions of condolences to the victims of the shootings. But her demeanor quickly shifts into a more aggressive posture.

“The video is laden with references that will appeal to her potential supporters. In addition to talking about the country’s ‘foundational freedoms’ and the intentions of the nation’s founders, and referring to Reagan, she twice calls the United States ‘exceptional,’ a dig at Mr. Obama, whom conservatives accuse of not believing in the concept of’ ‘American exceptionalism’ because of his answer to a reporter’s question early in his presidency.

“‘Public discourse and debate isn’t a sign of crisis, but of our enduring strength,’ she says. “It is part of why America is exceptional.'”

“Whether it was her intention or not today, she is feeding the beast of what has really been a pretty nasty ideological finger-pointing fight that we have been watching on Twitter and the Internet and on some forms of cable television,” NBC News’ Chuck Todd reportedly said on MSNBC.

“There was some sympathy for Palin over being tied to shooting, [and] she chose to go inflammatory,” The Daily Beast‘s Howard Kurtz wrote via Twitter.