I have written and spoken frequently, and especially recently, about the blurring of lines on the right, between legitimate conservative discourse and crazy extremist conspiracy. But I think it's hard for those who don't pay close attention to this stuff to get what I'm talking about. So I thought I'd show you an example: Andrew C.

John Hawkins has now written a blog post in response to my challenge, that you've read about here on this blog, over his claim that liberals are "happy" that Congresswoman Giffords was shot. Hawkins stands firmly by his statements, makes clear that he does not mean it as hyperbole, and adds that people like David Brock, Keith Olbermann, and others have exhibited "inhuman behavior."

Keith Olbermann has given the following comment to the Boston Phoenix, in response to John Hawkins's assertion that Olbermann and others are "happy" and "overjoyed" that Congresswoman Gifford was shot:

"Mr. Hawkins's remark suggests he is mentally disturbed. I'm very sorry for his plight."

And from Ari Rabin-Havt, executive vice president at David Brock's Media Matters for America:

Last night, I began demanding that conservative blogger/columnist John Hawkins name, specifically, which liberals he is accusing of being happy that Congresswoman Giffords was shot. (See my blog post.) Many of you rose to my call, and joined in my protest.

Well, give Hawkins credit for manning up, at least. He has just Tweeted the following:

In the new issue of the Boston Phoenix -- in print tomorrow, online now -- I write about the dangerous game Republican and conservative leaders are playing with the conspiratorial fringe, regardless of what happened on Saturday in Tucson.

Some thoughts before I send you to the article. I have tried, from the first moments, to avoid drawing any premature conclusions about the factors contributing to it.

Herman Cain announced his 2012 Presidential exploratory committee formation today, the first (somewhat) significant candidate to do so.

Most importantly, this forces polijournos like me to decide between "Is Cain Able?" "Yes He Cain?" "A Cain Mutiny in GOP?" "Raising Cain" and "Cain-Do Spirit" for our headlines.

John Hawkins runs rightwingnews.com, is a regular columnist at Townhall.com, and in a variety of ways gets treated like a legitimate part of the conservative world, despite the fact that he's an offensive, ill-informed idiot. Which is usually fine with me; I've knocked him on this blog a couple of times over the years, but nothing more than that.

I don't think that violent metaphors in politics are a particular problem -- I think they're usually inappropriate, but not particularly harmful. I agree with Joanna Weiss's column in today's Globe, and my column this week will address this.

That said, I do think it's appropriate to avoid those metaphors and images, out of sensitivity and good taste, in the immediate aftermath of the Giffords shooting -- which is why I think it's perfectly appropriate, and not a sign of guilt, if Sarah Palin or others scrub some of those images or language from their web sites this week.

The grotesque shootings in Tucson (in my home state of Arizona) are incredibly upsetting, and the full facts are far from clear at this point. There will certainly be needed public-policy conversations about mental health treatment, gun control, and security for public officials. There will also be conversations, some productive and some not, about the role of harsh political rhetoric.

^{Michele Bachmann}

David S. Bernstein: I invited you to have this email conversation about the 2012 GOP Presidential campaign because you and I both follow politics, but from different angles. I, of course, am an award-winning journalist for the Boston Phoenix. You are a political scientist in San Antonio with a PhD from UCal-Berkeley, who blogs at plainblogaboutpolitics.

I am genuinely saddened by the news that former state senator Dianne Wilkerson has been sentenced to three and a half years federal imprisonment. I don't disagree with the punishment. But I am saddened nonetheless.

Wilkerson has been in many ways a terrific public servant to the Commonwealth, and to her constituents. She was a constant and stalwart advocate for those in society who most needed one.

Oh, what an exciting week this is for those who enjoy the arcane rituals and traditions of the peaceful transfer of power in the world's greatest democracy!

For starters, congratulations to Stephen Murphy, who got voted in as the new president of the Boston City Council. He (and his staff!) finally get the big office, and all the trappings and attention that come with it -- and, one imagines, a fundraising boost toward his re-election later this year.

There is not a lot of big news coming out of the string of interviews Governor Deval Patrick is doing this week -- including one with me -- other than the fact that he's doing them at all. Patrick has not always made, shall we say, warm outreach to the fourth estate. Clearly, as he indicated in his one-on-one with me Tuesday afternoon, he hopes to get more positive press coverage in the second term, and I'd say he has realized the futility of his first-term strategy of sitting behind closed doors being bitter about the negative coverage.

I've been doing these rankings for two years now, starting on the final day of 2008. Looking back at that first list, seemingly so early in the cycle for speculation, what's remarkable to me is how little things have changed since then.

Sure, a few have dropped off the list -- Mark Sanford, most notably, as well as his fellow adulterer John Ensign; also Kay Bailey Hutchison and Charlie Crist, both of whom got humiliatingly rejected by conservatives in their home states this year; and a few of my thinking-outside-the-box names like Bill Frist and Tom Ridge.