Didn’t watch, don’t care. About the speech, that is.
What was the national crisis?
People are murdered all the time in the United States without a President-filling stadium event. There was no crisis that needed resolve or support.
It would be just as admirable in the capital building.
No it wouldn’t. If he hadn’t gone he would have been ripped to shreds, and we’ be hearing nothing but right wing pundits decrying his lack of compassion…
And not for nothing, but it was an assassination attempt on a United States Congressperson. That makes it an appropriate concern of the President.
And a federal judge was murdered. Federal judges are appointed by presidents. It’s true the president doesn’t have to do this kind of thing, but it’s been expected for a long time. For that matter Obama has been criticized for not seeming responsive enough to other crises and you’d expect him to take pains to avoid that this time.
Where is the crisis here?
He was criticized for delaying pro-offered cleanup equipment during the oil spill. That was a crisis. You can’t have a delay in response to a crisis if there is no crisis.
Can you explain why a (historically extremely rare) attempted assassination of a member of the United States Congress should not be viewed as a crisis?
because it doesn’t fit the criteria of a crisis. We are not under attack, there is no conspiracy or destabilization underway. There is no problem to solve.
You know when your friends all want to go for Chinese food, and you’re like “No way, it’s too greasy. How can you eat that crap? Ew, gross.” But everyone else wants Chinese, so you go anyway, and you sulk in the corner and just get a salad or something?
This is like that.
Again, where is the crisis? What function as national speaker did the President fulfill? We did not need any fears set aside or hope renewed. It was a random act of violence. At what point on the something-bad-happened scale does the President address the nation?
More like I make a good vegetarian dinner for some friends, and this guy shows up with a double bag of White Castle sliders, and starts munching them noisily at the table and rolling his eyes in greased ecstasy.
And won’t share any. Yeah, its more like that.
When he wants to. At least, if we consider this “sub-crisis”. Frankly, given the number of people who showed up and packed the place, it seemed clear there were lots of people there who wanted to hear him.
And he’s not a robot, he’s a man. This was the murder of someone he knew, the attempted murder of someone he works with, and the murder of a child near in age to his own daughters, not to mention all the others. I think it’s entirely possible that he himself felt the need for some sort of closure of the type a memorial service provides.
Here’s what you said:
There are no reader comments on the front page. Hence my confusion.
But if you want comments from random people dripping with hate, you need go no further than this MB.
Nicely worded reasoning.
As President he is entitled to all you suggest. He delivered a good speech and it was directed at the people involved. But as the nation’s leader he is President first. To address a solemn event as President has traditionally meant that we as a nation needed reassurance. It is not a public appearance like the first pitch of a baseball season, it’s one voice delivered in response to a collective question. It’s the voice of the highest leader of the land.
To the extent that the nation followed the event is unquestioned. Every blink of an eye by Congresswoman Gifford is a personal celebration. But the event didn’t have an answer. It occurs often and without warning. It’s another Jessica-down-the-well story that can’t have a reason. It was not In itself addressable by the President.
You’re right. He’s a man and not a robot. To what extent will the President (and not the man) be expected to repeat this level of response because he will pass this on to the office when he leaves.
I decided by my own volition to be an informed citizen and watch President Obama’s entire speech on you tube in it’s entirety and found it to be nothing but absolutely amazing, inspiring and wholy appropriate for the occasion,
Any right-wingers who dispute this falls into any of these categories:
- jealous
- jealous of Obama and Democrats such that that their guilt of having voted for Bush in '00 or '04 causes them to be so embarrassed of their lack of common sense, sensibility, wisdom or outright ignorance of what is good for the country that their sense of self-preservation causes them to react with sarcasm, dodginess, and vitriol.
- are probably unemployed and/or out of school for so long and haven’t read any books in decades, and/or dead inside.
You’re easily confused then, son.
Magiver, I’d like you for a moment to stop, and take a deep breath. Now one more.
Focus yourself.
Now, look deep into your heart, and please answer this question as honestly as you can:
If there had been a memorial service, and Obama had chosen not to attend; would you have written something along the lines of “Good for him! There was no crisis to solve, and he made a wise decision for the country by staying home in Washington!”
Would you have said that? Truly?
ETA: A second question - do you think that would also have been the consensus opinion among pundits on the right?
“…well, Sean, it seems to me that a President who’s afraid to be out among the people probably has a pretty good reason to be afraid, doncha know…”
Take a deep breath and focus on my answer. Yes, truly I think he could have given the speech in the Capital building memorial service in conjunction with Congress and everybody would be fine with it.
The tragedy in Tuscon lacks a national reason for him to attend. It’s as simple as that. It did not warrant his appearance as President. He has no association with any of the dead and their murders were not something his speech addressed. Yes, as has been pointed out, he would know the Congresswoman but she did not die nor was her attack part of a conspiracy. There is no issue for the country to come together on.
Aw, c’mon, admit it, you big lug! When he dropped that line about the kid jumping in Heaven’s rain puddles, he had you sobbing into your hanky!
I said the speech was good. Do you need capital letters? HIS SPEECH WAS GOOD. I would have shortened it to 15 minutes but that’s me but I guess if you fly 1700 miles you’re expected to fill some time. I think it would have been exponentially more poignant if it was done in the Capital building without an audience full of clapping people. There was nothing the President could do about the clapping in this venue.