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After I once criticized President Obama for appearing to abandon Israel by being rude to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, my mailbag quickly overflowed with anti-Semitic attacks. The writers proudly signed their names to the kind of vile slurs on Jews usually whispered in private.

The president bore some responsibility for that tide of sludge. Not that Obama was guilty of personal anti-Semitism, but his behavior was a whistle the anti-Semitic dogs heard loud and clear. Unintentionally, he gave them license to come out of hiding.

So it is with Mayor Bill de Blasio and the cop-haters. There is no way he wanted to see NYPD officers murdered, and his distress is surely genuine. But he is accountable nonetheless.

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“Once a bullet leaves a gun, it has no friends,” the late Sen. Pat Moynihan once said. That is the nature of power, too. Those who have it must take extra care to be precise in their words and actions, lest they unleash the dogs of hell.

The mayor failed that test miserably. He can run from the consequences, but he can’t hide. His mayoralty is sunk unless he comes to grips with the fact that he lit the fuse that led to Saturday’s explosion.

To continue reading Michael Goodwin's column in the New York Post, click here.