Washington – Two senior administration officials say President Barack Obama will travel to Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday to attend a memorial service for the victims of last weekend’s shooting rampage.
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Democratic congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is in critical condition after being shot in the head Saturday. Six others died and more than a dozen were wounded outside a supermarket where Giffords had set up a booth to hear the concerns of constituents.
Obama observed a moment of silence for the victims at the White House on Monday. He said the nation is shocked and grieving.
The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because the president’s trip had not been publicly announced.
Where was he when that Muslim soldier went on a rampage?
This is being done to prove that the right is at fault
Politically, a good move for Obama. He will capitalize on this moment in history, like any wise politician. And he will force the Secret Service into another huge undertaking.
The Secret Service has had many nail-biter moments. They are understaffed and overworked. They are tasked with protect our leading politicians. Will they now be instructed to protect congressional leaders? Can they really protect our leaders from all the crazies out there?
Truman used to walk the streets, and presidents used to ride in open vehicles. Since the Kennedy assassination, presidents have been kept in a huge tank-like vehicle aptly nicknamed The Beast. As our political leaders become more and more removed from the citizens, we all lose.
This reminds me of the Rabin assassination, after which the Israeli president is virtually never seen in public. Gone are the days of Menachem Begin’s “open house” on Shabbat afternoons, wherein people from all walks of life could walk into his home, and make all sorts of requests–giving the Israeli prime minister exposure to the common people.
This will only weaken democracy, as our leaders lose touch with the common folk.
It is now 100% clear that this was a nut job, mentally unstable, pot smoking kook who friends said was a liberal. He was mad at the government for holding back grammar (tell me that makes any sense). He never heard of tea party. The left in this country is totally deranged for blaming conservative for this sad act of violence. The NY Times, NY daily news, MSNBC, and others are dishonest at best. And people like Charlie Hall are
Oh, please! Our President is attending the memorial to the killing of US Federal Judge John Roll and five others as well as the attempted murder (possibly assassination) of US Representative Giffords and the wounding of 13 others!
Any President, regardless of party affiliation, would do the same.
It’s not a left/right, red/blue thing: it is simply the right thing to do.
[and sometimes, like him or not, he is our President]
To #4 - After JFK was killed, Presidents still mingled with the public. In 1964, LBJ campaigned in an open limousine, and pressed the flesh, by shaking hands with unscreened crowds. It wasn’t until 1981, after the attempted assasination of Ronald Reagan, that Presidents restricted public appearances; however, Clinton would jog in public in D.C., in his first year in office. As far as Pres. Harry Truman walking in public, he was always surrounded by a contingent of Secret Service agents, especially after his attempted assasination by two Puerto Rican nationalists, at Blair House, in November, 1950. After Truman left office in 1953, Presidens were not accorded any protection, and several months later, he and Bess Truman drove their car from Independence, Mo., to Washington, D.C., completely unprotected!
Enough already with all the Obama bashing. I’m beginning to think that those who accuse frum critics of Obama as being racist have a point. Whatever this man does we try to find ulterior motives, we come up with all sorts of conspiracy theories, etc. I did not vote for him and never will, but he’s not the Jew-hating demon people here make him out to be. He’s not a hater of America. He;s been around Jews most of his life — friends, colleagues, advisers, etc. They may not be the kind of Jews I feel most comfortable with politically, but the fact is there are far more Jews in his adminstration and inner circle than Bush ever had. Yes, Obama’ a typical ultra-liberal politician with naive views about peace and foreign policy. But so are a whole lot of other people, Jews and non-Jews. We only invite scorn from others when we carry on like this.
I remember (as a teenager) watching the motorcade of President Lyndon Johnson and Robert Kennedy driving thru Brooklyn in 1964. I stood on the corner of Church Ave and Linden Blvd and watched in amazement as the helicopters flew low over head and the Secret Service agents stood on the running boards of the Presidents limo with their machine guns out and ready to fire if needed. This was the era of the post JFK murder .What a shame that the need for security has only become worse over the years.
#6 Shlomo is correct. Mr. Obama like him or not (I don’t) needs to be protected and is doing the right thing by going to Arizona for the memorial.
#4 Leon Zacharowicz , some of your points are well taken.. yes it is a good move politically but this is something that has to be done. The Secret Service is going to have to adapt and adjust their methods to meet the security needs of America’s politcians. Our democracy will survive. The world has changed and we can’t go back to the so called good old days, we must deal with the realities of this new world.