TUCSON, Ariz. -- President Barack Obama comforted a community suffused with grief and summoned the nation to recommit to a more civil public discourse as he delivered a eulogy Wednesday evening urging Americans to talk with each other "in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds."
Evoking memories of the six killed Saturday in Tucson, Mr. Obama seized upon the mass shooting at a congresswoman's supermarket meet-and-greet to tackle directly the subject of the nation's harsh political dialogue. He sharply decried the "politics and point-scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle."
"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," Mr. Obama told 14,000 people at the University of Arizona's McKale Memorial Center.
Mr. Obama did not ascribe a political motive to the alleged shooter or suggest that either party was to blame. Rather, in a 33-minute speech, he sought to move the nation past the tragedy.
Accompanied at the arena by first lady Michelle Obama, the president said he joined Tucson in its grief, that he came "as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today and will stand by you tomorrow."
After touching down under blue skies and a bright desert sun, Mr. Obama paid a surprise visit to victims recovering at University Medical Center, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., whom he joined for nine minutes in the intensive care unit.
Immediately after his visit, the president said he was told, "Gabby opened her eyes, and I can tell you she knows we are here, she knows we love her, and she knows we are rooting for her."
In Washington, lawmakers still unnerved by the assassination attempt on one of their own offered a display of bipartisan unity. More than 120 Democrats and Republicans went to the well of the House to pay tribute in moving and sometimes-tearful speeches. Tribute speeches from members halted midday for a bipartisan prayer service, during which House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, urged his colleagues not to give in to fear of engaging voters back in their districts.
"No assailant's bullet -- no twisted act of violence or cruelty -- can silence the sacred dialogue of democracy," her said.
The House unanimously approved a resolution late Wednesday condemning the attack and praising the rescue work of citizen and emergency responders.
The hopes of the nation were on Tucson, a shaken desert city that all week has mourned the fallen in hushed churches and at makeshift vigils. The first in a string of funerals -- this one for a 9-year-old victim -- begins today.
Wednesday evening's hour-long "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America" service was full of spiritual overtones. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano read from the book of Isaiah. Attorney General Eric Holder read from Corinthians.
Audience members cheered and hollered throughout the service, at times making it appear more like a rally than a somber memorial. Organizers distributed navy T-shirts to attendees, many of whom snapped pictures of Mr. Obama and a litany of dignitaries, including Arizona Republican Gov. Jan Brewer.
But the crowd did not lose sight of the purpose. As Ms. Giffords' family entered with three hospital surgeons wearing white lab coats over their scrubs, the crowd stood in applause. Other heroes of the shooting, including Daniel Hernandez, the intern who tended to Ms. Giffords at the crime scene, were engulfed in cheers as they were shown on the arena's video screen.
Mr. Obama looked gravely serious throughout, pursing his lips even when the crowd screamed in delight.
The Tucson rampage called for Mr. Obama to console weary citizens, just as President George W. Bush did after the 2001 terrorist attacks and President Bill Clinton after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
For Mr. Obama, it was not the first time he had addressed tragedy and divisiveness. A hallmark of his tenure has been his eagerness to cast himself as a healer.
Mr. Obama shared personal details he had learned about the six dead -- federal Judge John Roll, a hard-working jurist and family man who went to Mass every day; Dorothy Morris, whose 50-year honeymoon with her high school sweetheart was cut short; Phyllis Schneck, a gifted quilter who liked working under her favorite tree; Dorwan Soddard, who fixed up a church along with his dog, Tux; Gabe Zimmerman, a congressional aide engaged to be married and doing what he loved, helping people; and Christina Taylor Green, a curious 9-year-old girl full of magic who wanted to be the first female baseball player in the major leagues.
"Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing," Mr. Obama said. "Our hearts are broken -- and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness."
The president said he was grateful for Mr. Hernandez, Patricia Maisch and others who ran through chaos at the scene of the massacre to save others.
"These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle," he said. "They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength. Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned -- as it was on Saturday morning."
Mr. Obama's advisers said his remarks were designed to help tamp down the current political conversation. He ruminated about young Christina's growing interest in her government. As he focused on the child, his wife's eyes brimmed with tears, and his remarks drew a sustained standing ovation, as many in the crowd wept.
"She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted," Mr. Obama said. "I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. ... All of us -- we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations.
"If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today," he said. "And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and we commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit."
With the State of the Union address less than two weeks away, Mr. Obama's advisers said it is likely that the president will raise the subject again in some manner in the days after the Tucson funerals have finished -- perhaps in his speech to Congress.
Ms. Giffords' office released a statement Wednesday night thanking Americans for their "truly moving" outpouring of support. "Even during the darkest times, our nation's capacity for kindness and fellowship reminds us of the best in people," the statement said.
First Published: January 13, 2011, 5:00 a.m.
