What should be Obama's theme in his AZ speech?

[CTyankee]

I started thinking about this early this morning: what would be the BEST thing Obama as president could say to the country?

Perhaps he should expand a theme he himself already started: finding the goodness in people as evidenced by their heroism and bravery during the attack. Not to pat us all on the back but to return venomous rhetoric with an appeal to decency, tolerance and love in the face of hatred and rage.

Yes, I'm sure it's all been said before, but it needs to be said again. If nothing more than just to remind us that despite such horrible things, there does remain language of the human heart...

[slackmaster]

1. National energy policy. Commitment to developing renewable power, energy independence.

It's what we really need.

[whathehell]

2. "I'm leaving this nut house...anyone want to come with me"?

Sorry...Just a passing feeling.

[LeftyAndProud60]

3. I don't see the need for a speech. He can't say something we don't know or hasn't been said already.

[CTyankee]

7. He has to. It's his job.

[boppers]

4. Well, I'm angry. I'm also from Tucson.

I'd highlight what the Tucson ethos is.

Give us your poor, tired, and diseased, and we will rebuild them.

Give us your angry, bitter, and hateful, people, and we will cleanse them.

Give us your whores, your drug dealers, your hitmen. We will change them.

In short: FUCK YOU, we're Tucson.

[CTyankee]

8. I have never been to Tucson so I cannot comment on the points you make about your city.

I am, however, from Dallas originally. I was living in New York City when JFK was killed and I remember having a discussion with my mother on the phone. She said that whenever she travels, she is going to tell people she is from Albuquerque. I know that sounds funny, but she was really shocked about the assassination...

[RichGirl]

5. I fully trust him to say the right thing without our help.

[eleny]

6. The victims

At funeral or memorial services I've attended, especially for my own relatives, I've wanted to hear thoughts about the deceased.

In this case I believe that this is what the family and friends want to hear about their loved ones. And it's about them today, imo.

So while I expect the president to expand his message, I do hope that the majority of his speech is about who has been immediately, first-person affected by the shooting.

[justiceischeap]

9. He has to hit the same tone Clinton did after OK City bombing

Whatever the message, the tone needs to pull the nation together. He and his speech writers have a tough road to hoe with this one, since the nation is so friggin' divided.

[Kweli4Real]

10. Many of the above writers ...

reference saying something to pull this divided nation together ... and I agree. But when he does, he will necessarily have to caution the left about our rhetoric and, like a bunch of 4 year olds, this will not go over well here.

As anyone skilled at mediation would recognize, in addressing conflicting parties, the mediator must reference the acts/actions of both sides, not from who is "right" or "wrong"; but from the perspective of the parties. We see the right as completely blame-worthy; while the right sees the Left as deserving. In order to bring the two sides together, the mediator must acknowledge both positions, regardless of their merit or "correctness". This gives each side breathing room and allows them to be less entrenched in their position.

From there the mediator will focus the dialogue on the parties' shared goal ... the betterment of America; but will establish ground rules, i.e., violence, in words or deeds are unacceptable and he/she will state that this holds for both sides (whether he/she believe that both sides are responsible or participating in the wrongful conduct or not).

The final step will be a call to put whatever grievance either side has behind us so that we can move forward towards our shared goal.

This is a time-tested technique. And PRESIDENT Obama has the skill-set to pull it off.

But I suspect later today and for the foreseeable future, we will find pages and pages of "there he goes again blaming the Left" threads here at DU.