Poor Sarah Palin. She has been accused of contributing to a culture of violence against politicians, and her staff seems unable to craft a convincing statement distancing her “crosshairs” map from Giffords’ assassination attempt.

Lots of folks on the left are eager to find her complicit in the shooting, which is unfortunate. She is no more at fault for the shooting as Marilyn Manson was at fault for Columbine.

But she cannot categorically deny that she did not use violent, vigilante rhetoric during the midterm election. It’s effective rhetoric that gets the constituents fired up, regardless of whether or not folks understand it as a metaphorical call to arms or as a literal call. It helped get many of her endorsed candidates elected; it also helped “target” her opponents. We can appreciate why she used it. We can also appreciate the PR dilemma she’s in now.

So how do you acknowledge the use of violent rhetoric while denying it was a factor in the shooting, all while not looking like the bad guy? Like this:

“During the midterm election SarahPAC used a lot of hunting rhetoric in our support for our endorsed candidates. In light of the assassination attempt on Representative Giffords, many media outlets have recalled that rhetoric in an attempt to make sense of this tragedy.

Our midterm campaign centered around motivating our constituents to support candidates through voting and contributions. To be sure, our campaign materials were always bundled with an appeal to vote and to contribute to our endorsed candidates. We “targeted” races where we wanted people to fight for our shared principles with their votes and money, not with violence.

Although we reject the implication that the campaign contributed to the attack, whether intentionally or otherwise, we regret that the campaign has been interpreted by a call for violent action. We categorically condemn ANY act of violence against our political leaders, regardless of their political persuasions. SarahPAC does not endorse violence. We endorse political action through voting, canvassing, supporting, and serving our country like informed engaged, law-abiding citizens. That has been our goal since SarahPAC was founded, and it will continue to be our goal in the future.”

You’re welcome, Sarah.