Here is the video:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

and the text:

To the families of those we’ve lost; to all who called them friends; to the students of this university, the public servants gathered tonight, and the people of Tucson and Arizona: I have come here tonight as an American who, like all Americans, kneels to pray with you today, and will stand by you tomorrow. 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.

As Scripture tells us:

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.

On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents gathered outside a supermarket to exercise their right to peaceful assembly and free speech. They were fulfilling a central tenet of the democracy envisioned by our founders – representatives of the people answering to their constituents, so as to carry their concerns to our nation’s capital. Gabby called it “Congress on Your Corner” – just an updated version of government of and by and for the people.

That is the quintessentially American scene that was shattered by a gunman’s bullets. And the six people who lost their lives on Saturday – they too represented what is best in America.

Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. A graduate of this university and its law school, Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain twenty years ago, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and rose to become Arizona’s chief federal judge. His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his Representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons, and his five grandchildren.

George and Dorothy Morris – “Dot” to her friends – were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together, traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their Congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away.

A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she’d often work under her favorite tree, or sometimes sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better.

Dorwan and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together – about seventy years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families, but after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy’s daughters put it, “be boyfriend and girlfriend again.” When they weren’t out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with their dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers.

Everything Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion – but his true passion was people. As Gabby’s outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits they had earned, that veterans got the medals and care they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved – talking with people and seeing how he could help. Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year.

And then there is nine year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother, “We are so blessed. We have the best life.” And she’d pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.

Our hearts are broken by their sudden passing. Our hearts are broken – and yet, our hearts also have reason for fullness.

Our hearts are full of hope and thanks for the 13 Americans who survived the shooting, including the congresswoman many of them went to see on Saturday. I have just come from the University Medical Center, just a mile from here, where our friend Gabby courageously fights to recover even as we speak. And I can tell you this – she knows we’re here and she knows we love her and she knows that we will be rooting for her throughout what will be a difficult journey.

And our hearts are full of gratitude for those who saved others. We are grateful for Daniel Hernandez, a volunteer in Gabby’s office who ran through the chaos to minister to his boss, tending to her wounds to keep her alive. We are grateful for the men who tackled the gunman as he stopped to reload. We are grateful for a petite 61 year-old, Patricia Maisch, who wrestled away the killer’s ammunition, undoubtedly saving some lives. And we are grateful for the doctors and nurses and emergency medics who worked wonders to heal those who’d been hurt.

These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle. 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.

Their actions, their selflessness, also pose a challenge to each of us. It raises the question of what, beyond the prayers and expressions of concern, is required of us going forward. How can we honor the fallen? How can we be true to their memory?

You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations – to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless. Already we’ve seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems. Much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.

But 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 are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding. In the words of Job, “when I looked for light, then came darkness.” Bad things happen, and we must guard against simple explanations in the aftermath.

For the truth is that none of us can know exactly what triggered this vicious attack. None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind.

So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy. We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future.

But what we can’t do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on one another. As we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. 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.

After all, that’s what most of us do when we lose someone in our family – especially if the loss is unexpected. We’re shaken from our routines, and forced to look inward. We reflect on the past. Did we spend enough time with an aging parent, we wonder. Did we express our gratitude for all the sacrifices they made for us? Did we tell a spouse just how desperately we loved them, not just once in awhile but every single day?

So sudden loss causes us to look backward – but it also forces us to look forward, to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us. We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we are doing right by our children, or our community, and whether our priorities are in order. We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame – but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others.

That process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions – that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires. For those who were harmed, those who were killed – they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong. We may not have known them personally, but we surely see ourselves in them. In George and Dot, in Dorwan and Mavy, we sense the abiding love we have for our own husbands, our own wives, our own life partners. Phyllis – she’s our mom or grandma; Gabe our brother or son. In Judge Roll, we recognize not only a man who prized his family and doing his job well, but also a man who embodied America’s fidelity to the law. In Gabby, we see a reflection of our public spiritedness, that desire to participate in that sometimes frustrating, sometimes contentious, but always necessary and never-ending process to form a more perfect union.

And in Christina…in Christina we see all of our children. So curious, so trusting, so energetic and full of magic.

So deserving of our love.

And so deserving of our good example. If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let’s make sure it’s worthy of those we have lost. Let’s make sure it’s not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle.

The loss of these wonderful people should make every one of us strive to be better in our private lives – to be better friends and neighbors, co-workers and parents. And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. It should be because we want to live up to the example of public servants like John Roll and Gabby Giffords, who knew first and foremost that we are all Americans, and that we can question each other’s ideas without questioning each other’s love of country, and that our task, working together, is to constantly widen the circle of our concern so that we bequeath the American dream to future generations.

I believe we can be better. Those who died here, those who saved lives here – they help me believe. We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us. I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us.

That’s what I believe, in part because that’s what a child like Christina Taylor Green believed. Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. 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.

I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it. All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations.

Christina was given to us on September 11th, 2001, one of 50 babies born that day to be pictured in a book called “Faces of Hope.” On either side of her photo in that book were simple wishes for a child’s life. “I hope you help those in need,” read one. “I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart. I hope you jump in rain puddles.”

If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today. And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.

May God bless and keep those we’ve lost in restful and eternal peace. May He love and watch over the survivors. And may He bless the United States of America.

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bito
Member

Gabby’s words:

“They really need to realize that the rhetoric and firing people up, and, you know, even things for example, we’re on Sarah Palin’s targeted list, but the thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gunsight over our district. When people do that, you gotta realize there’s consequences to that action.”

Haunting.

Khirad
Member

I just got this in my email:

A mariachi band
[img]http://lh4.ggpht.com/_5qDibB2czpI/TS1NFzDXZ_I/AAAAAAAADps/z7B_1lhXFmM/s512/IMG_0275.JPG[/img]

And this is my pipe band:

[img]http://lh3.ggpht.com/_5qDibB2czpI/TS1LEPBZ7II/AAAAAAAADow/EXv0fdYeKgU/s512/DSC00409.JPG[/img]

[img]http://lh6.ggpht.com/_5qDibB2czpI/TS1NtiFuHKI/AAAAAAAADp8/7zoGzoKyFBE/s512/IMG_0264.JPG[/img]

[img]http://lh3.ggpht.com/_5qDibB2czpI/TS1OBuw3cSI/AAAAAAAADqM/ofI7RX4TmTk/s512/IMG_0260.JPG[/img]

bito
Member

Hey!! I’ve been there, Khirad! 😉

Khirad
Member

That was my other motivation to posting these. 😉

I’m sure you’re wondering, where was my mariachi band?

escribacat
Member

Do you play the bagpipes?

Chernynkaya
Member

I believe so completely with all the President Obama said. And yet it feels beyond my ability. It is a big struggle for me. I read about the contemptible things some say, and worse, the vile things they propose, and I cannot stop my hatred for all they stand for. I cannot stop hating them—as individuals. I cannot find any common ground on so many issues—issues that are the basis of my world view. It would be like denying my gender, or more accurately, finding common ground with those who believe and behave as if women are sub-humans. It seems that basic to me.

It’s not a question of my ability to be humble and perhaps see things from the other POV—-I can do that in many instances, especially about finding solutions to agreed-upon problems. But what do I do if I can’t even agree with them on the very problem? It would be like asking me to find common ground—-to be civil and to not demonize– the Westboro Baptist Church. No way can I do that, nor do I want to. Further, I think it is WRONG to do so.

I can agree that basic civility is essential, and that I can disagree without being disagreeable. But I am not talking about differences of policy, say, on Afghanistan, or the deficit. I am talking about whether or not we are a plutocracy or a democracy; whether or not we have some essential human rights; whether or not the Religious Right can dictate behavior and national policy.

Maybe that is paranoid and hyperbolic—I am willing to look at that possibility. But if I decide it is not, then what?

I listened to a Baptist minister, Dr. Welton Gaddy, last night on Rachel. He said:

Rachel, there’s a difference between comforting and healing. And the comfort came tonight. What’s between the lines has to do with healing. And the healing process is not an easy one; it’s filled with pain, it’s filled with difficulty. You have to lance boils, you have to heal sores, you have to take medicine that’s difficult. You have patients that say, look, I don’t want to do this anymore. But you have to do it. It takes discipline. ..

I think the great symbol tonight was not at the lectern; it was saying that Gabby opened her eyes. And what I thought was, given all she’s been through, if she opened her eyes, maybe we can too.

That sure spoke to my dilemma, and gave me pause, but didn’t really solve my problem: How can I be civil with those I really do consider not merely wrong, but BAD?

bito
Member

Cher, I share your dilemma and I feel that one of the major problems is the lack of talk on policy and more on the gamesmanship and personalities in politics. An example was the HCR bill and end of life directives. What was discussed? “Death Panels-Yes or No?” Not the use and prudence of directives and whether they should be covered under Medicare. “The Socialist stimulus plan didn’t create one job”, not we need to put people to work and our infrastructure is in need of repair.
The examples are endless and we all get caught up in the game and neglect the problems. I agree my core beliefs are very different from others, but they can be rationally discussed. How do you rationally discuss schoolyard name calling?

Chernynkaya
Member

Bito–you are so right! now that you mention it, there hasn’t really BEEN any debates on policy, other than enraging slogans. That could make a real difference.

Khirad
Member

As AdLib and Patsy told me, we’ve actually soul searched and are self-aware enough to see this in ourselves in the first place.

But how can you find common ground with people like the RR who are so dogmatic and certain, CERTAIN we are all going to hell and those that KNOW, or at least have a strong hunch Obama is the antichrist?

We see the irony. I don’t mean to generalize, but I don’t think many of them do about us.

This whole national discussion has actually gotten me to think really philosophically, as well… but I’m kinda feeling groggy and not finding the words right now for that. 😛

Chernynkaya
Member

Khirad, what you say is true, but that makes me angrier. There is no partner with which to negotiate.

escribacat
Member

This truly is a dilemma, cher. I have close relationships with two brothers — and others — who are very conservative so I am constantly trying to remind myself to stop demonizing the right. The conservatives I know aren’t demons. I do believe they have certain personality flaws — the “I can’t ever admit I’m wrong” syndrome is a big one. Another is “anyone who doesn’t do it my way is messed up.” Finally, the biggest problem is that THEY demonize the left. I basically have to do these relationships using compartmentalization. I had a terrible fight with one brother about a year ago and we’ve since agreed not to talk about politics. Whenever I see the discussions heading into territory that will bring tempers up, I just change the subject.

Aside from these character flaws, as I see them, they are just citizens who for whatever reason, don’t like big government. They see the dems as ground zero of big government. I don’t see anything evil about that attitude. I don’t share their fears (I think big business is much more dangerous and destructive and that we need big government to rein in the captains of industry.) But people who hate/fear big government really AREN’T demons. I think having these relationships helps me to approach a little bit the sort of broad-mindedness that I admire so much in President Obama — in the face of vicious criticism from the left. I think the president truly does want to compromise because he sees their voice as legitimate too.

As I’ve said before, the leftie attacks against the president bother me much more than the rightwing attacks. Those are the people I have been tempted to strangle. People like Arianna Huffington and her phony progressive cronies and the ranting nutbags on HP who call Obama a “colluding criminal” really anger me. They do a lot of damage, all the while pretending to be so socially-conscious. At least with the rightwingers you know what you’re dealing with — they don’t try to hide who they really are. These are just people who will never be satisfied because they truly do hate the system and hate the society. I think our system is riddled with flaws, as are human beings, but I also believe strongly in the old saying “progress, not perfection.”

On the other hand, I don’t see any middle ground at all with people like Limbaugh, Beck, Palin and those slugs from the “church.” I truly despise them. They can’t be reasoned with, there is no compromising with them, there’s no point in even trying. If I didn’t think they’d just be replaced with even more repulsive clones, I’d wish they’d all just drop dead. As it is, I’m convinced we’ll always have Limbaughs, Becks, and Palins. For my own sanity, I’m better off just pretending they don’t exist.

bito
Member

This from Ms. Palin:

Like many, I’ve spent the past few days reflecting on what happened and praying for guidance. After this shocking tragedy, I listened at first puzzled, then with concern, and now with sadness, to the irresponsible statements from people attempting to apportion blame for this terrible event.

Or this from the President:

But 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 are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.

PatsyT
Member

Had Palin just remained quiet for another day,
she would have noticed that President Obama had helped relieve the heat,
after all, he is ‘her’ President too.
Then, last night or today, she could have simply agreed with his healing words and asked everyone to pray for the victims.
Then she could have gone back to planing her presidential run.

bito
Member

Patsy, that’s sounds like a pretty intelligent plan, wonder why she didn’t think of that? 😉

PatsyT
Member

Well, today, her plan is to hire the person who wrote that speech for President Obama.

Chernynkaya
Member

Isn’t it funny that even if she did have that speechwriter, she really could not ever pull it off? I just cannot imagine her delivering that speech–nor would she really want to.

bito
Member

Who are her political consultants? Should/could she sue them?

PatsyT
Member

It fits into her modus operandi to pursue such a path and say something like…
“Let’s get that speech writer” without knowing that the speechwriter was President Obama himself.

But no, she could not deliver those words, there wasn’t any snark in them.

Chernynkaya
Member

Bito, I believe that there is almost nothing she could say that would turn her followers against her. All the things we can’t stand about her are the very things they love. She’s maxed out, peaked. She can try to moderate her persona and maybe get a few more voters, but not many. Also, as much as she wants the presidency, in my opinion, she is incapable of changing enough to win over voters–it’s part of her pathology as a narcissist.She would have to not only change what she SAYS, but she’d have to actually learn stuff– she won’t.

Khirad
Member

Of course she doesn’t want to.

It’s as Andrew Sullivan said,

It is, of course, also her strategy. She can only win in a hugely polarized country. She has as little support outside the Republican base as she has a cult following within it. And she has decided that this occasion for introspection is actually an opportunity to double down.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2011/01/palins-test.html

And apart from the cynical strategy, I don’t even think it’s part of her nature. I don’t think she could even if it were strategic.

Khirad
Member

Guess who was too busy to come to Tucson?

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47521.html#ixzz1Arsj0dep

I’m glad I read Taibbi’s boner piece.

bito
Member

Really bad choice on his part. He chose between party leader and Speaker of the House. Party before Country.

SueInCa
Member

That is what it has always been with Republicans.

boomer1949
Member

Party as in party or party as in “open bar” party?

I doubt the President was serving cocktails on AF1.

Khirad
Member

Actually, since we know one of his vices, we should figure out how to exploit it. Oh imagine the fun that could be had!

Khirad
Member

Photo gallery with many familiar sights to me.

Photo Gallery: President and First Lady Obama visit Tucson

http://azstarnet.com/promo/homepage/collection_463a3ff4-1e78-11e0-a9be-001cc4c03286.html

Khirad
Member
Questinia
Member

This is the sort of time that President Obama can show his skill as a “nurturing father” to our nation’s family. How many times wasn’t “family” invoked last night?

We were like a family after Christina was born 9/11/01, perhaps we can start to be like a family again after she died.

The picture of that little girl and sight of her family in contradistinction to the abject self-promotion Palin displayed in her video makes one thing clear. Our country is capable of greatness on account of its people and we mustn’t let them (us) get lost in the snake oil.

Marion
Member

Being five hours ahead of the East Coast and a day behind, thanks for this. I read the text and will watch the speech tonight, after work. I was moved, just by the text.

whatsthatsound
Member

That is a doggone wonderful speech!
“let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations”; how beautiful and eloquent a phrase that is.

Kalima
Admin

I had missed the first part, so thank you for this. At the end when he was visibly moved, the tears wouldn’t stop. Wonderful speech from a very caring man. Anyone who wasn’t touched by it, isn’t human in my opinion.

Chernynkaya
Member

Over yonder there were almost 10,000 comments of praise and love. Maybe a couple of dozen negative. Quite encouraging.

Kalima
Admin

Well the negative ones can slither back to their crypts. Nothing can take away from what he said, and truly meant today. @uck em, and the dead horse they rode in on.

Chernynkaya
Member

Yep. That’s my sentiment precisely.

Kalima
Admin

I forgot who I was for a moment, so I changed my “F” to “@”. 🙂

Chernynkaya
Member

HAHA! Oh, I know who you are, K. Too late! 😆

I must turn in now, but I want to thank you for your poem, and for making it possible for me to revisit mine, even though I am still a bit shaken.

Have a wonderful day, K.

Kalima
Admin

Can’t keep any bloody secrets on this Planet. 🙂

Good night Cher, rest well. I’m off to read stories for MB.

No, thank you. Without your encouragement, I might never have made the effort to find it, and have forgotten by the next day.

escribacat
Member

Ironic that the most vile comments came from “disgruntled progressives.”

Kalima
Admin

I doubt very much that they were even progressives at all. I’ve seen this game played many times over there.

Marion
Member

Someone “over yonder” said something about Progressives the other day: Democrats are so cowed by the GOP now that they don’t even call themselves Democrats anymore, but “Progressives” and they spend all their time, dissing Democrats – much to the delight of the GOP.

Khirad
Member

Oh oops, did I delete that?

Yes, I did. I did delete that.

I wasn’t having it. They can go fuck themselves.

PatsyT
Member

Kalima,
I was right there with you…. crying…

Kalima
Admin

If I’d known, I would have passed you my tissues. Hugs from Ms.Rednose.

Chernynkaya
Member

I can’t think of a better way to contrast the divide in our country than the speeches of that woman this morning and this President tonight. It couldn’t be clearer–b­oth leaders were emblematic of what they stand for. I firmly believe that the vast majority will see that difference­, and choose hope over hate. In the end, we always do. You are right about that, AdLib.

escribacat
Member

Deeply moving speech, Mr. President. I went through a lot of tissues.