By LAURA MECKLER , JONATHAN WEISMAN and ANDREW MORSE
TUCSON, Ariz.—President Barack Obama called on the nation to resist the temptation to assign blame for a shooting rampage here that may never fully be explained, but to emerge from the tragedy a more thoughtful, civil nation.
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Associated Press President Obama spoke at the memorial service Wednesday in Tucson |
The president spoke at the McKale Memorial Center at the University of Arizona, four days after a gunman left six dead and 14 wounded including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.), who authorities said was the target of the attack. The suspect in the rampage, 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, is being held in federal in custody without bail.
The president chose to dwell on the heroes of Saturday, and the victims of the violence—especially nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green—as he urged the nation to rise above ugly political debates and see civic life "through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol'' of adults.
"I want us to live up to her expectations,'' he said of Christina. "I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it."
"If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let's make sure it's worthy of those we have lost," he said. "Let's make sure it's not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle."
Before the address, the president and First Lady Michelle Obama visited surviving victims of the shootings in a local hospital, including the Ms. Giffords.
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Getty Images President Obama hugged NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as he arrived to attend the service. |
Astronaut Mark Kelly, Ms. Giffords's husband, attended the speech.
The president's emotionally charged address capped days of debate about whether the nation's heated political rhetoric played a role in inciting the violence. Mr. Obama addressed the point, saying incivility did not cause the tragedy of Tucson. But, he added that "only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation."
"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,'' the president said, "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 a way that wounds."
The nationally televised speech, delivered to more than 14,000 in the university arena and almost as many in an overflow area, was an opportunity for the president to connect with a hurting nation.
"For President Obama, the public has been trying to evaluate if he relates to the average person,'' said Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart. "There are a limited number of times when the public opens a window and is willing to listen. Times of tragedy are one of those times."
He pointed to President Bill Clinton's address after the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which helped restore his standing with the public a few months after a brutal election, and to President Ronald Reagan's remarks in 1986 after the space shuttle Challenger exploded.
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| European Pressphoto Agency President Obama at the memorial service. |
As Mr. Obama identified people in the audience who had helped stop the gunman, the crowd gave each an extended cheer. They also gave a long ovation to Daniel Hernandez, an intern in Ms. Giffords's office who is credited with tending to the congresswoman's wounds and keeping her alive.
Mr. Hernandez, in his own remarks to the audience before Mr. Obama's speech, said the incident had united Arizona and the nation. He also said the spotlight belonged to others who played a role in responding to the shooting.
"Although I appreciate the sentiment, I must humbly reject the use of the word 'hero,' because I am not one,'' Mr. Hernandez said. The "real heroes,'' he said, included Ms. Giffords, the officials who responded to the emergency call and the doctors providing care to the wounded—"people who have dedicated their life to public service."
While some Americans are debating gun safety laws, the adequacy of mental health services and other possible factors in the incident, Mr. Obama said, "the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack.''
Also Wednesday, Ms. Giffords's colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives held an extensive session of floor remarks honoring her and other victims, including a member of Ms Giffords' staff who was killed.
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Reuters First lady Michelle Obama holds the hand of Mark Kelly, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's husband, at the memorial service. |
It was a nine-year-old child that formed the emotional heart of the president's appeal. Christina Green, born on Sept. 11, 2001, had been featured in a book on babies born that day. In that book, "Faces of Hope," she said, "I hope you jump in rain puddles."
"If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today," Mr. Obama concluded. "And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit."
—Michael Rothfeld contributed to this report.
