By JEFF ZELENY
c.2011 New York Times News Service
WASHINGTON – Sarah Palin said in a television interview Monday evening that she agreed with bipartisan calls for civility in the wake of the Arizona shooting rampage, but she vowed to not be deterred from political debates while deciding whether to run for president.
“Peaceful dissent and discussion about ideas, that is what makes America exceptional,” Palin said in a prime-time appearance on the Fox News Channel. “We won’t allow that to be stifled by a tragic event in Arizona.”
Palin, the former governor of Alaska, said she had not yet decided what course her political future would take, but declared: “I’m not going to sit down. I’m not going to shut up.”
In her first television interview since the Arizona shooting, Palin defended using the term “blood libel” to describe what she said was a rush to judgment by her critics. Some drew a link between heated political rhetoric and the shooting that killed six people and wounded 13, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
Palin dismissed suggestions that she did not know the historical significance of the phrase. “Blood libel obviously means being falsely accused of having blood on your hands,” she said, “and in this case, that’s exactly what was going on.”
The 30-minute interview with Sean Hannity, a Fox host, came five days after Palin was criticized by Democrats and several Republicans for a video message she released after the shooting. Her tone was conciliatory throughout the interview, and she repeatedly said she was not trying to engage in an act of political self-defense.
“This isn’t about me,” Palin said, speaking from a television studio in her home in Wasilla, Alaska. “My defense wasn’t self-defense; it was defending those who were falsely accused.”
Palin expressed her condolences to the victims of the shooting. She recited a Bible verse from the Book of Jeremiah, asking that God touch and comfort the families. She acknowledged that she and her family receive death threats, but she offered no specific details.
Palin, who is a paid Fox analyst, has been uncharacteristically quiet since the shooting. Several Republicans had urged her to join the national discussions about political civility that have been under way for more than a week.
In the midterm elections last year, Palin used a map with cross hairs over several swing congressional districts, including Giffords’, which the congresswoman highlighted at the time as an example of overheated political speech. Palin has rejected suggestions that the map played any role in the shooting, and the authorities have found no connection between vitriolic political rhetoric and the motive of the gunman.
As the field of potential 2012 Republican presidential contenders begins taking shape, Palin has given few signals about whether she intends to enter the race. Republican officials in early primary states say Palin is one of the few prospective candidates who has not inquired – even privately – about scheduling a political visit.
Palin is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech on Jan. 29 at a Safari Club hunting convention in Reno, Nev.