The Washington Post reports on how Sarah Palin’s use of the phrase “blood libel” overshadowed what she was trying to accomplish in her “don’t blame me” statement.

Palin drew swift, fierce condemnation from liberals and some Jewish groups.

“A particularly heinous term,” said David A. Harris, president of the National Jewish Democratic Council. It had additional resonance because the apparent target of the Tucson attacks was a Jewish congresswoman.

But wait—Palin had her defenders. One of whom was (sigh) Alan Dershowitz, whose desperation to be in the news truly knows no bounds. (The man who posts the death threats he receives on his office door would rather make news than be consistent. Or, rather, he is consistent that he’d rather make news.)

Liberal Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz told the blog biggovernment.com that blood libel has taken on “broad metaphorical meaning” and said there was “nothing improper and certainly nothing anti-Semitic in Sarah Palin using the term to characterize what she reasonably believes are false accusations.”

I’m not an expert on the subject, but that strikes me as absurd. Blood libel is, in fact, a phrase that you don’t hear very much, and when you do, it’s only (until now) in the context of the anti-Semitic slur. “Broad metaphorical meaning”? What a load of nonsense.

(And by the way, that website, biggovernment.com? Kinda scary.)

Here’s a sad and unfortunate twist to an already sad story—but can you believe it?

Palin officials confirmed a report by ABC News that Palin has received an unprecedented number of death threats since Saturday’s shootings and has been in conversations with security officials about the matter. They declined to provide further details.

Of course they didn’t—because further details probably don’t exist. I hate to be cynical (honestly, I do), but…I’m not buying it. The single-sourced ABC News story was probably leaked/planted by Palin people to make her look sympathetic, and it’s just a little too convenient to trust.

The Post added this comment:

On the video, Palin appeared more subdued than usual - drawn and older-looking, her eyes noticeably red.

Good! For two reasons. One, I hope all this is taking a toll on her; it should. She’s stirred up felings of hatred and anger in her followers, and that should weigh on her.

Two, I have this theory that as soon as Palin starts to lose her looks, her followers will drift away. It’s harsh, I know. (Hey, don’t blame me—I’m not the one who distributed those signs at the 2008 GOP convention, “Coldest state, hottest governor.“)

But what else did she ever really have to offer?