I really hope this video of the shooting doesn’t get leaked, but just the retelling of it reinforces what Cheney leaned toward today. Jared Loughner, a determined individual, ran up and shot dozens of people at close range, and only ended his rampage when he had to reload, providing a moment of opportunity for the victims. Nobody had any chance of stopping him at any other point; the only heroic acts available to them were to shield other bystanders and sacrifice themselves. Loughner’s victims never knew what hit them. “More guns” in this case would have amounted to nothing; in fact, the one person with a gun who came running out to aid in the situation almost wound up shooting an innocent man.

A new judge, from outside of Arizona, has been appointed to handle the Federal Criminal case against Jared Loughner, and he will have a substantial issue of jurisdiction on his hands when he first takes the bench on it.

I think it’s a worthwhile exercise, instead of pointing fingers, to look inward, to ask ourselves what we could do better with the limited time we have on Earth, how we can do our part to build a better America. This call to service is a feature of Obama’s rhetoric.

One of the things that maybe surprised everyone after the assassination attempt on Gabrielle Giffords is the fact that the United States has not had a confirmed director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for four and a half years. Potential directors nominated by George Bush and Barack Obama alike, both of whom seemed to have the proper credentials for the job, were immediately opposed by the NRA. They objected to unbelievably minor transgressions on the part of the nominees, like revoking gun licenses of sellers who broke the law, and opposing giant .50 caliber bullets. And they were quickly able to find a US Senator to take up their cause and block confirmation.

You have an establishment at least somewhat concerned about the vituperative Tea Party movement, and not just their rhetoric but their ideas. In another corner of the conservative coalition, you have this contretemps over CPAC allowing a gay group to participate in its annual conference. Yesterday the first actual member of Congress pulled out, Rep. Jim Jordan, joining multiple conservative groups, including the Family Research Council and the Heritage Foundation, in boycotting the event.

I think we can all agree that the worst thing to happen in the past week was not the indiscriminate shooting of 20 people at a Tucson supermarket, or the death of a 9 year-old girl and a federal judge — it was the fact that people opportunistically used the event to score political points on me, Sarah Palin. Imagine. Our founders would be shuddering in those big white wigs at the very thought.

Sharron Angle, who once told her supporters that if they didn’t get what they wanted at the ballot box, they should pursue their “Second Amendment remedies,” found it prudent yesterday to emphasize here faith in the First Amendment.

So, it seems there were at least two friendlies at the site with loaded weapons, one drawn, one about to be drawn, but neither of them could react fast enough to stop a crazed shooter from getting off some 30 rounds, killing six and wounding more than a dozen others. And they almost shot each other.

Arizona is one of the worst states in the nation at delivering mental health services, and cut back significantly on its mental health programs during the Great Recession in order to balance their budget.

Jared Loughner is due to appear at a hearing today before a magistrate in Phoenix at 4pm ET.