The cheers in the Tucson auditorium, filled with University of Arizona college students, jarred me at first. When Obama took the lectern, his tone somber, it was even annoying to hear the pep-rally like cheers start at his paused. But as his speech turned more hopeful, personalizing the lives of the victims and tying them to the goodness of the American character, the setting was fitting. We have pre-conceived notions of what a "memorial" speech should be, particularly from a politician.
Instead, Obama delivered something different, more spiritual speech that related to lives fulfilled with families and friends rather than material accomplishment, politics or policy. In so doing he tapped into the collective reaction to shooting victims, missed in so much of the debate, and the debate over the debate, afterward. He said, "We recognize our own mortality and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth or status or power or fame -- but rather, how well we have loved and what small part we have played in bettering the lives of others."
“When a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations – to try to impose some order on the chaos,” the President told the approximate 12,000 people in the arena as well as a crowd nearly as big who watched on TV monitors in overflow the street and outside area.
The Obama Speech was spoken to the city of Tucson, and to the United States of America, and as Time.com put it, not so much as our President tonight, but as a member of our family. The speech was in response to the recent shooting in Tuscon.