Obama in Tucson: Providing an amnesty for the right wing

[Karmadillo]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/jan2011/obam-j13.shtml

Obama in Tucson: Providing an amnesty for the right wing
By Patrick Martin
13 January 2011

In his remarks Wednesday night to a memorial service for the victims of last Saturday’s massacre in Tucson, Arizona, President Obama refused to offer any political explanation for the attempted assassination of Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

On the contrary, his entire speech was an argument against such an analysis, as he declared the causes of the massacre to be unknowable. It was a statement of intellectual bankruptcy, carried out, as usual in modern American politics, amid nonstop invocations of religion.

Sitting in the audience, unacknowledged and unmentioned by Obama, was the sheriff of Pima County, Clarence Dupnik, who spoke out Saturday, attributing the attempted assassination of a prominent Democrat to the promotion of bigotry and political violence by the right-wing media and politicians.

Dupnik’s bluntness made him a target of the ultra-right, with the Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh all denouncing his remarks. In his speech in Tucson, Obama effectively joined in this campaign, offering a full-fledged amnesty for the right.

Four or five decades ago, an occasion such as this in the United States would have seen a clear demarcation between the invocation by the preachers and the speeches by political leaders. Wednesday night’s affair, by contrast, was an awkward combination of campus pep rally and sermonizing.

more...

[cali]

1. because it was a memorial

religion was appropriate, so was not mentioning the Sheriff.

ugly little piece.

[crazyjoe]

5. looked and sounded more like a pep rally to me. kinda disturbing for a memorial

[trumad]

6. Sounds like a right wing talking point to me....

[fasttense]

2. This will sink to the bottom, but I'm glad someone out there feels like me about Obama speech.

I felt like a hungry man before an imaginary feast. There was food everywhere but it didn't satisfy me. It was all empty calories and unsubstantial bread.

His speech was good but far from great. He merely took the least offensive comments by right wing con artists and strung them together. He showed his empathy and concern but provided no call to action, no push to change.

The right wing loved it. RepubliCONS always agree with Obama when he is parroting their ideology.

But it wasn't all Obama's fault. He had help.

"The two top officials in the US government for domestic security and law enforcement, and they had nothing to say about the murder of a federal judge and the attempted murder of a congresswoman (except to read from the bible)."

[Skidmore]

3. Choking on red meat is not a pleasant way to die.

[canoeist52]

8. I felt the same -Sometimes anger and action are the proper response

to a violent attack. There is healing in justice. Telling a victim of child abuse that what was done to them was wrong and not their fault is part of the healing process.

I didn't hear that in his speech.

[mmonk]

4. Even though I somewhat agree he lets them off the hook, I think

addressing that issue would be better served in an address to the nation or state of the union address instead of a memorial in Tucson. But I still think it needs to be done. There is nothing bipartisan in the violent rhetoric. To pretend otherwise is to be a liar.

[SidDithers]

7. Unrec for wsws...nt

Sid