President Obama delivered a stirring plea for national unity last night at a memorial service for the six people killed during an assassination attempt on Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords – who “opened her eyes for the first time” shortly after Obama visited her at her hospital bedside, he revealed.
“She knows we’re here and she knows we love her and she knows that we will be rooting for her throughout what undoubtedly will be a difficult journey,” the president said as the crowd of 14,000 at the University of Arizona rose to their feet and roared.
During the president’s announcement of Giffords’ stunning recovery, the congresswoman’s tearful husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, tightly gripped the hand of First Lady Michelle Obama, who was visibly moved.
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A stoic Obama urged the nation to set aside politics in the wake of the horrific shooting and show empathy for one another.
“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized — at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do — it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds,” the president said.
“I believe that for all our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness, and that the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us. I believe we can be better.”
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Obama evoked the memory of the youngest victim in Saturday’s tragedy, 9-year-old Christina Taylor-Green, when he implored the country to honor her memory in our actions.
“I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it,” he said.
The half-hour speech was warmly received at the arena, with numerous bursts of applause and standing ovations.
“I thought it was very inspirational,” said Troy Long, 43. “He provided people here with courage. He comforted us.”
Earlier, the president and first lady visited Giffords in the hospital. He held her hand and spoke to her, according to The Washington Post.
“After she heard our voices and the encouragement of Mark and her parents, she struggled briefly and opened her eyes for the very first time,” said Giffords’ friend, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). “It was a miracle to witness.”
Additional reporting by Tim Perone in New York and S.A. Miller and Charles Hurt in Washington, DC