Cool the Rhetoric, or Expect More McVeighs

With the anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing upon us, Kathleen Parker surveys the caustic state of today's political debate ("Don't retreat. Reload," etc.) and worries that another lone nut like Timothy McVeigh or John Hinckley might emerge. "If Jodie Foster could bestir the imagination of Hinckley, a Sarah Palin in the Internet age could move regiments," she writes in the Washington Post.

It's time to cool the rhetoric. "The only palatable answer is what conservatives say they love best: self-control and personal responsibility. When someone spews obscenities, shout them down. When politicians and pundits use inflammatory language, condemn them. When you choose to remain silent, consider yourself complicit in whatever transpires." (More Timothy McVeigh stories.)