President Obama gave a brilliant speech at the memorial service in Arizona this evening.
WashingtonPost:
Obama dwelled on the memory of each of the six victims, memorializing their lives and the heroic ways in which several of them died as they tried to save one another in the parking lot of the Tucson Safeway where Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) had gathered to meet constituents. He paid special tribute to Christina Taylor Green, the 9-year-old girl, born on Sept. 11, 2001, who had come to meet Giffords out of a sense of civic duty.
"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," Obama said. "I want us to live up to her expectations. I want our democracy to be as good as she imagined it....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."
Obama drew a standing ovation as he announced that Giffords had opened her eyes for the first time shortly after he left her hospital room, where he had stopped beforce he came to the service. The crowd leaped to its feet.....
Thank you, President Obama, for those moving and comfortable words.
Daniel Hernandez, the staff intern who saved Rep. Giffords life, rejected the term "hero" in a short speech he delivered at the memorial. The cool, calm, and quick-thinking Hernandez, is definitely responsible for saving the life of Rep. Giffords by moving into action and providing trauma care at the scene. Daniel Hernandez will inspire many people to help when tragedy strikes. He is an inspiration.
