This afternoon on Fox News, Megyn Kelly sat down with Alan Colmes to talk about the ridiculous right-wing claims that Michelle Obama is causing pedestrian deaths and wearing communist dresses. Specifically, Kelly wanted to figure out what, exactly, Michelle Obama does to make people tell these crazy lies about her:

Here's the relevant transcript:

KELLY: You know, here's my question for you, this is why I raised it -- I understand politics are politics, right? People don't like who they don't like. But why so much criticism on the First Lady? Why so much focus on this First Lady?

[...]

KELLY: Why? What is it about Michelle Obama that people want to blame her for pedestrian deaths? The fabulous Alexander McQueen dress gets criticized.

[...]

KELLY: Is it something about Michelle Obama? Has she been more vocal on policy? Is it those comments that she made during the campaign that were controversial about being proud of her country for the first time that people are holding against her? What do you think it is? Because we didn't hear this about Laura Bush.

Kelly, to her credit, pointed out that the attacks were stupid. But seriously? “What is it about Michelle Obama that people want to blame her for pedestrian deaths?”

Here's a thought: maybe it doesn't have anything to do with Michelle Obama. Perhaps it's linked to the intractable pettiness and malignity of the fever swamp dwellers who birth these ridiculous lies and will seize on anything to attack her.

But let's allow, for just a moment, that these bizarre attacks on the First Lady are, in fact, inspired by her public comments on policy and something she said during the campaign nearly three years ago -- is that a justification? Does it even stand up as a reasonable excuse? No, and no.

From now on let's stick to criticizing the people who actually tell the offending lies, and spend less time figuring out how to blame the victim.