Michele and listened to the memorial at Tucson last night. I think this may have been the first public memorial I have ever watched. I missed both Reagan's Challenger speech and Clinton's Oklahoma bombing speech. I don't know why I usually don't like to listen to these sort of things but did want to hear Obama's comments ( which were billed as being about ten minutes), but I am glad I listened.
At first I was taken back by the boisterous crowd. I was expecting a church – with hushed, somber, rhetoric - and I got a basketball arena. But -starting with the opening prayer – I was moved by the whole thing. I thought Obama was at his best and it reminded me of Lincoln's Gettysburg Speech – not so much in the words but in the internal timing of the speech. I was not the only one that felt that way.
But, in the end, it was not so much what Obama said, but the obvious emotion that was so powerful.
Just watched Obama’s speech. I liked the emotion and the words. It was good to be reminded that we are a family. I’m happy to have a President who strives to be our moral leader as well as our political leader. Though I’m a big policy-wonk and have a list of policies I want in place, I’m beginning to think that leadership of conscience is more important than policy leadership. I’m grateful we’re getting some of that.
I am a policy wonk myself, Richard, and keep thinking that the right laws will make a difference, but Obama seems to want to make a difference by changing the tone.