He did not cast blame on Republicans or Democrats, but asked people to “sharpen our instincts for empathy.”
It was one of the most powerful addresses that Obama has delivered as president.
He used the emotion generated by the shock and loss from Saturday’s tragic shootings to urge Americans to, “rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.”
The president dedicated the bulk of his remarks to remembering the lives of those who died and calling for unity, notably keeping a distance from an often acerbic debate over whether heated political rhetoric by supporters of the Tea Party movement play any role in the attack on the Democratic lawmaker.
He told stories of each of the six fallen victims, and he praised the people who rushed to the scene last Saturday outside the Safeway supermarket, including the two men who wrestled the killer Jared Loughner to the ground; the woman who seized his ammunition and the 20-year-old unpaid intern who rushed to the side of Giffords to try to reduce her blood loss.
“We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us,” Obama told 14,000 people at the University of Arizona’s convention center.
“(But) I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.”
First Lady Michelle Obama traveled with her husband to Arizona for the memorial service where she sat next to Mark Kelly, the American NASA astronaut who is married to Giffords, often reaching over to hold his hand and offer comfort.
The president’s speech in Tucson marked the third time since taking office that he had to lead the country in mourning.
In November 2009, he eulogized the 13 soldiers who were shot at Fort Hood, Texas, and five months later he traveled to West Virginia to remember the 29 men who were killed in the nation’s worst coal mining disaster in four decades.
In his speech, Obama urged Americans to avoid recriminations, to “honor the fallen” by moving forward and by “making sure we align our values with our actions.”
In his 32-minute speech, the president called for an end to partisan recriminations, and a unity that has seemed increasingly elusive as each day has brought more harsh condemnations from the left and right, across the nation.
“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do, it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds.”
“What we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another,” Obama said. “That we cannot do. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility.”
His words set a tone for many across the nation. Gail Collins editorialized in Thursday’s Washington Post: “Maybe President Obama was saving the magic for a time when we really needed it …
“For me, Obama’s best moment came when he warned that ‘what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another.’ In his honor,” wrote Collins, “I am not saying a word about Sarah Palin.”
But many others are.
Palin has often invited controversy and helped to shape the national debate by using words as blunt instruments – such as her memorable accusation that Obama has made the practice of “palling around with terrorists” and her contention that his health-care law would include “death panels.”
It has been a hallmark of her rise and source of her political start power.
Yet her “blood libel” statement Wednesday brought yet another strong response, although this time, it was one Palin did not necessarily expect.
‘Blood libel’ is the centuries-old anti-Semitic myth that Jews use the blood of Christian children for rituals such as baking unleavened bread during Passover. It was used to justify persecution of Jews.
Palin’s use of the term sparked controversy on several levels, in part because she has often spoken of the United States as a Christian nation, and in part because the target of the shooter, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is Jewish.
Sarah Palin “could have used the opportunity to try to elevate the discourse. Instead, she further coarsened it. At a time when the country is look for words that heal, Palin chose to do what she does best: attack and provoke,” wrote editorialist Ruth Marcus in Thursday’s Washington Post.
