Via Newsbusters, Joe Scarborough and Donny Deutsch consign Sarah Palin’s political career to the ash heap — certainly not the first time anyone’s done that — after her video response to the slanderous accusations of the media regarding her supposed responsibility for the Tucson shootings. Wasn’t that the conclusion media analysts had been flacking before her response, too?  And let’s not forget that the supposedly self-centered response was prompted by the media centering the story on Palin for the previous three days:

DONNY DEUTSCH: I think as we’ve seen Sarah Palin probably ended her political career. And I don’t mean to overstate it with her reaction, because she showed the flip-side of the reaction —

JOE SCARBOROUGH: I don’t think you’re overstating it at all. I really don’t. I think, all of us, Pat Buchanan was talking yesterday about how we understood the anger that Sarah Palin might feel for being unjustly accused minutes after the shooting of causing that, the shootings. But, Jon Meacham, the response by Sarah Palin, on the day that they were going to remember a nine-year old little girl that got killed and several senior citizens, and of course a congresswoman who was clinging for her life, to make it all about her, and to stir the pot up additionally with a very loaded phrase–that others have used–but others weren’t considering running for President of these United States. Got to say, I really do believe, it’s not an overstatement to say this probably ended Sarah Palin’s political career. I would be stunned–and save this tape, save this tape and rub it in my face if I’m wrong–would be stunned to ever see Sarah Palin elected to another political office.

JON MEACHAM: I suspect you’re right.

So responding to the media coverage after three days is to “make it all about her”?  Well, Joe might see it that way, but I doubt that most people will agree.  And based on the polling that has been done this week which shows most people rejecting the link between the shootings and “heated rhetoric,” most people will fairly conclude that Palin had a right to defend herself from the malicious attacks.

Let’s recall the meme at Joe’s network the night before Palin released the response:

One day Palin’s “SILENT – ON THE LAM,” and the next day, she’s injecting herself into the situation.  Er, riiiight.  To call this an absurdity is being too generous.