Obama to Encourage Unity in Speech
Right now President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are on their way to Arizona where tonight, he will speak at a memorial service for the lives lost in the shooting in Tucson on Saturday.
It will be an important moment in his presidency.
Remember? He's the guy who brings people together. Remember the 2008 campaign? Those speeches. The man can command a crowd best at a microphone in front of a large crowd.
This is a time when his country needs him to do that. To be a voice of hope. Concern. Wisdom. Peace. People are hurting because of this tragedy. A member of Congress was shot. A nine-year0-old little girl was killed. Not to mention all the others.
The American people watch their president closely in times of tragedy. Remember the Challenger. The Oklahoma City bombing. Sept. 11. Remember Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush. They all had their different styles. Unfortunately they all had their "presidential moments" where they had to rise to the occasion and lead in a moment of tragedy. And speak to a hurting crowd. A hurting nation.
There's all kinds of advice from every direction flying around today for how the President should speak, what he should say, who he should focus on, and what he should stay away from. Everyone has a suggestion. What else is new?
I can tell you one thing, on Air Force One today, as the White House staff flies two time zones to the west, they'll be going over that speech, and going over it again and again. Because it matters.
We know this much for sure. The memorial service is called "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America." From that we can get that a major theme here will be unity. Not just for the people of Tucson where the tragedy took place, but for the whole nation. That Tucson will know it has the rest of this country standing behind it.
If we look back at President Obama's speeches at other major memorial services, like the Fort Hood massacre and the 29 miners who died in West Virginia, we can assume that he'll tell personal stories about the victims and the heroes. Those stories are definitely there in Tucson.
The speech is scheduled for 6 p.m. MST, that's 8 p.m. EST. It's expected to be about 15 minutes long.
I really hope it doesn't get all political. I really think that's the last thing everyone needs right now.
That's just me.