January 14, 2011
President Obama delivered a good speech Wednesday evening at a memorial service for those shot and killed in Tucson and for the wounded and all their families. This was his proper role. He even quoted Scripture and spoke about good and evil.
He called for less partisanship and more civility in our political speech. That is always a noble calling, but reality will get in the way. Look what happened after September 11, 2001. For weeks, people were kind to each other but then politics intruded, courtesy of the Democrats who were looking for ways to bring down the popularity of George W. Bush. They thought they'd found it by challenging Bush's reason for toppling Saddam Hussein. No weapons of mass destruction were discovered.
Already the liberal pundits are calling Obama "preacher in chief" and salivating over what this could mean for his approval ratings. Memories fade and people move on. The accused gunman is a nut case. Better to have a debate on how to get these people off the streets before they harm others. But let's give credit to the president. He rose to the occasion in his speech.
Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.
