Obama: 'We Mourn With You ... We Join You In Your Grief'

[babylonsister]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/01/giffords-memorial-service.php

Obama: 'We Mourn With You ... We Join You In Your Grief'
Rachel Slajda | January 12, 2011, 9:19PM


President Obama delivered an emotional address at a memorial service tonight to honor the 19 people shot, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), in Tucson last Saturday.

"There is nothing I can say that will fill the sudden hole torn in your hearts. But know this: the hopes of a nation are here tonight. We mourn with you for the fallen. We join you in your grief. And we add our faith to yours that Representative Gabrielle Giffords and the other living victims of this tragedy pull through," he said.

The memorial service, where the atmosphere was both mournful and convivial, was held to honor the 19 people shot last Saturday. Six, including a nine-year-old girl, a federal judge and a staffer for Giffords, were killed. Thirteen were wounded, including Giffords, who is still in the intensive care unit.

Obama also addressed the waves of partisan that have been unleashed since the shooting, prompted in part by the Pima County sheriff, who blamed the political atmosphere for the violence.

And he called for civility.

"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're talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds," he said.

snip//

The venue was filled to capacity with more than 14,000 people an hour before the service began, with overflow crowds of 10,000 filling the university's nearby stadium.

[mtnsnake]

1. His ratings should soar through the roof after such a wonderful speech

How could anyone watching him tonight feel anything but admiration for the man? They'll be buzzing about this one for a long time, hopefully.