Obama to Eulogize Tucson Victims.

President Barack Obama will eulogize the victims
of the Arizona shooting rampage and celebrate
those who helped stem the damage as he travels
to Tucson today to take up the role as mourner-
in-chief.
White House officials said that in preparing his
remarks, the president was mindful of staying
focused on last Saturday's events in Tucson,
where a gunman killed six and wounded 14
others in what authorities say was an attempt to
assassinate Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D., Ariz.).
The president will meet with some of the families
of the weekend tragedy and then address a
community memorial service at the University of
Arizona.
"Most of the speech will be talking about those
that were injured in the shooting, those that were
killed, the heroic efforts around preventing
something from happening much worse than
what did," White House Press Secretary Robert
Gibbs said in an interview.
Still, the president may nod to the political issues
stirred by the tragedy. Several White House
officials have pointed to a speech he gave last
year at the University of Michigan's
commencement, where he spoke about the need
for civility in public debate and the danger of
"slash-and-burn" politics.
Aides said the president was still working on his
remarks overnight.
Authorities have given no motive for the accused
gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, 22 years old,
though the incident has prompted some
lawmakers to call for a re-examination of heated
political rhetoric. But that call has stirred
controversy, too, with some conservatives
saying it is unfair to connect the two.
The tragedy has already served to lower the
temperature in Washington, at least temporarily.
House Republicans had planned to vote on
repealing the Democrats' "job-killing" health-care
law today; instead, that vote was postponed in
favor of a prayer service and a resolution
honoring the victims in Arizona.
And the cross-country trip to the memorial
service will be bipartisan as well. Mr. Obama will
bring five House Republicans from Arizona with
him on Air Force One: Reps. Paul Gosar, Trent
Franks, Dave Schweiker, Jeff Flake and Ben
Quayle, who called Mr. Obama "the worst
president in history" in a TV ad last year.
Also traveling with the president will be House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), Supreme
Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Attorney General
Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary
Janet Napolitano, a former Arizona governor.
There is a lot riding on Mr. Obama's address at
the University of Arizona, said Democratic pollster
Peter D. Hart, who said moments like today's
give presidents a unique opportunity to connect
with Americans.
"For President Obama, the public has been trying
to evaluate if he relates to the average person,
and this will be a chance to show that he feels the
nation's pain, and he can help to heal a nation,"
Mr. Hart said. "Is he reading words or does he
emote a sense of true compassion and a caring?"
He pointed to President Bill Clinton's address after
the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995, which
helped restore his standing with the public a few
months after a brutal election, and to President
Ronald Reagan's remarks after the space shuttle
Challenger exploded.
"There are a limited number of times when the
public opens a window and is willing to listen,"
Mr. Hart said. "Times of tragedy are one of those
times."

Source: Http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704803604576077783525050652.html