Did LaPierre take the target off the NRA’s back?

Well, well, NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre may have disarmed some of his critics with a surprisingly no-nonsense, substantive response to the Sandy Hook slaughter that focuses on school safety.

Predictably, liberal commentators immediately dismissed the NRA’s so-called press conference (no questions allowed) as a “rancid screed” and pro-gun propaganda.

But I wonder if the NRA plan to put an armed guard in every school may have struck a chord with moderates and independents and, most importantly, parents of young children.

The proposal to do whatever it takes to quickly put trained, armed personnel at every school in America, much like the security that protects banks and stadiums and Congress, is something basic that Americans can contemplate.

LaPierre called for Congress to allocate as much funding as needed to make the plan happen. He pledged that the NRA will devote all its resources to create a model school protection program.

He optimistically asserted that security could be in place by the time school resumes in January “for the sake of every child in America.”

LaPierre, who is reviled on the left, kept his cool when protesters interrupted his speech twice. And he hit on all the usual talking points: ultra-violent movies and video games, the “monsters” who live among us, and a media that lacks moral values – it’s always good politics to bash the media.

He also unveiled a new NRA mantra: “The Only Thing That Stops a Bad Guy With a Gun Is a Good Guy With a Gun”

But there was no talk of arming teachers or issuing an assault rifle to every school principal. He shrewdly avoided engaging in a typical 2^nd Amendment defense of high-powered weapons.

Even after the horror of Sandy Hook, national polls show only a slight majority favor an overall tightening of gun rights. LaPierre may have steered the national conversation just enough to move the target toward school safety and away from, for example, background checks at gun shows.

The NRA spokesman said the nation has numerous retired cops and military to station at each school entrance, plus hundreds of security experts who could pitch in to develop the plan.

Of course, the plan does not address mass shootings that have taken place away from schools. Or the weapons and ammunition available at sporting goods stores that could heavily outgun a typical security guard.

But the NRA appears to be serious about pursuing the school safety issue.

In a smart move, LaPierre appointed former Republican congressman and Drug Enforcement Agency director Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas to lead the effort. A former U.S. attorney, Hutchinson, in his 4½ years in the House, reportedly earned a reputation as a thoughtful conservative and liberals like Rep. John Conyers of Detroit and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy of Vermont have called him a fair-minded advocate for his causes.

Hutchinson spoke briefly at the press event and promised his task force will operate independently. The result will be a model plan – a “National School Shield” program -- with a cafeteria approach so that decisions will be made at the local level, with each school board choosing what aspects best fit their situation.

The NRA chief’s call for a national database of the nation’s mentally ill will also make sense to many Americans, even if it would be controversial and difficult to compile fairly.

Yet, the association’s surprising response to the Connecticut carnage will probably have little impact.

It’s telling that Fox News, just minutes after the NRA event concluded, was talking about the security failures at the Benghazi consulate, not guns in schools. All three cable networks quickly switched to coverage of President Obama’s remarks at the funeral for Sen. Daniel Inouye.