SARAH PALIN MAY have lost her bid for the presidency before it had even begun, as anger grows in the wake of last Saturday’s shooting spree in Arizona in which six people were killed and US congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head.

The former governor has faced scathing criticism from both the left and right-wing commentators for publishing her now-infamous “target map”, entitled “It’s time to take a stand”, which identified 20 Democrats that had voted in favour of Obama’s health care reform bill. All of the politicians included on the map were identified by use of a crosshairs symbol.

Last year, Palin tweeted her followers on Twitter with the words: “Don’t retreat, instead- RELOAD! – and directed them to her Facebook page where the target map was displayed.

Shortly afterwards, the window of Giffords’ constituency office in Tuscon was smashed in.

[caption id="attachment_67049" align="alignnone" width="257" caption="Sarah Palin’s “target map. Image: via auwebmanager/Twitter"][/caption]

Giffords spoke about the vandalism to msnbc in an interview that has been replayed by countless channels in the aftermath of the tragedy. She said:

We’re on Sarah Palin’s target list… The way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district. When people do that, they’ve got to realise that there are consequences to that action.

The Guardian reports that support for Palin’s presidential ambitions plummeted in the fallout of the shooting, with many condemning her violent rhetoric; according to the politically neutral online trade/betting exchange her support dropped from around 75 per cent to around 60 per cent.

Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia, told the Guardian that Palin would be walking wounded into any presidential race: “I do not think other Republican candidates will use it against her. They do not have to because there will be so much commentary. She has identified herself with the most strident elements of the party,” he said.

However, even as the backlash grows, some are saying that Palin could use the situation to prove herself as a serious political player. ”It’s absurd to point fingers at Palin, and people who are doing that are just as guilty of politicising this tragedy as anyone else,” said Todd Harris, a Republican strategist, to the Washington Post.

“I think the public looks to its leaders and pretty quickly decides who has something to teach and who has something to learn. I think that Palin is missing an opportunity to show that she can be a leader at a higher level than she’s been viewed before.”

Six people were killed on Saturday after a gunman shot Giffords in the head at point blank range as she spoke at a constituency event in Tuscon. A federal court judge was among the victims, as was an aide to the congresswoman. Nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green was the youngest victim.

Giffords remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital.

The suspect, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, appeared in court this morning.