A Speech To Remember

I missed the President’s speech last night---I was digging out my driveway, as were many of you, no doubt!

I heard, however, that it was powerful and devoid of the venom that has again infiltrated our conversation following the tragedy in Tucson. The notion that this senseless shooting spree was the result of political disharmony serves no purpose, whether true or not.

Both Democrats and Republican representatives have been off base since Saturday by assigning meaning to the actions of a madman. The media has fueled the fire and fanned the flames by allowing unrestricted access for those holding such opinions to spew them to the American public.

Cynics accusing the President of taking advantage of a tragedy for political gain by making the trip out west is just plain cruel. Those pointing to the language of certain Republicans who utilize “gun metaphors” are also wrong, in my view.

The average viewer of Fox News is 65 years of age or older. Ditto for the “ditto-heads” that listen to Rush Limbaugh. That’s not an opinion. These are facts, confirmed by the demographics of the ratings by which these show live by. The audiences are almost exclusively senior citizens who refuse to understand the changing landscape of America (which will continue to evolve whether they like it or not). It is highly unlikely that this 22 year old deranged gunman was influenced by Rush or Glenn Beck or any of the other radio and TV “entertainers”.

And while I think it would have been a good idea for Sarah Palin to simply shut up and stay out of the fray, I don’t believe that her rhetoric was causal either. The video she recorded sounded defensive to me and the timing of its release (on the same day as Obama’s speech) exhibited poor judgment, in my view. Still, this lone gunman cannot be connected to the former Alaska governor in any significant way.

If you too missed the speech in Tucson, here it is in its entirety:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztbJmXQDIGA

I think the President balanced the proper tone and respect for the victims with a vision of hope that their deaths would not cause further division among our populace.

Perhaps we can take the Chief Executive up on that challenge—and make thoughtful and respectful discourse at least one positive outcome in the wake of this horrible tragedy.


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