The Atlantic Wire - Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was among 18 people shot Saturday morning at a public meeting the Arizona Democrat was holding with constituents outside of Tucson. At least five people were killed, including U.S. District Court Judge John Roll and a 9-year-old child. Giffords was taken to a nearby hospital, where officials describe her condition as very critical but said they were "very optimistic" she would recover from the shot to her head. The shooter, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, is in police custody. Andrew Sullivan and Garance Franke-Ruta are regularly updating at TheAtlantic.com as the story develops. Here is what commentators are saying about the shooting's implications and larger meaning. Initialy debate largely focuses on Giffords' record of opposing Arizona's controversial anti-immigration law and whether some conservative rhetoric -- such as Sarah Palin's controversial "target" map, which included Gifford -- could have played a role. Though several liberal writers raise this point, conservatives are so far mostly silent on the accusations.

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