In Tucson, Obama visits Rep. Giffords before speech
The president sees the critically wounded congresswoman in the hospital before his address speech at the University of Arizona, in which he will seek unify the nation in the wake of tragedy.Reporting from Tucson and Los Angeles — President Obama visited critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords on Wednesday after arriving in Tucson to deliver a speech designed to heal the nation while paying tribute to the 19 victims of a weekend shooting spree. longchamp sale The president visited with Giffords and her astronaut husband, Mark E Kelly, for nine minutes in the intensive care unit of University Medical Center, where the congresswoman has been treated since Saturday's attack. "The president wanted to begin this solemn trip by stopping first at the hospital where congresswoman Giffords and others continue to recuperate," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said. With his wife and a bipartisan delegation, the president landed in Arizona aboard Air Force One and visited the hospital before going to the University of Arizona in Tucson for a memorial service, called "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America." "The president will devote a significant portion of his remarks to the memory of the victims," said Gibbs, who estimated that the speech would run from 16 to 18 minutes. "He'll also reflect on how all of us might best honor their memory in our own lives." The president and First Lady Michelle Obama will visit families of the victims before the memorial service begins, Gibbs said. Many in the crowd wore black-and-white ribbons to show solidarity with the families. Thousands had waited in line to enter the McKale Memorial Center. The university set up an area to handle the overflow of students and other attendees who camped out on the sidewalk under the desert sun. "This is a hopeful moment, a historic moment, that all of us can come together and mourn. Nobody is a Democrat, a Republican, a 'tea party' member. We are all Americans," said Mike Wilson, 61, a Native American activist from Tucson. It is that kind of bipartisan harmony that the president is hoping to achieve in his speech, which many believe will be crucial in his effort to set a tone for the next two years of divided government in Washington. Earlier, the president left a Washington still in mourning over the weekend attack. The House adopted a resolution paying tribute to Giffords, who was meeting with constituents outside a Tucson supermarket Saturday morning when a gunman opened fire, killing six and injuring the congresswoman and 12 other people. "We are called here to mourn an unspeakable act of violence," an emotional House Speaker John A. Boehner (R- Ohio) said, opening a day of reflection and prayer. "Look at Tucson right now and you will be reminded that America's most plentiful source of strength is her people," said Boehner, wiping away tears. "No act, no matter how heinous, will stop us from doing our duty and being among the people we serve." In addition to honoring the dead and wounded, the resolution also thanks those who apprehended the suspect, Jared Lee Loughner, who faces five counts of murder and attempted murder of federal employees. The resolution calls for an open society in which "the threats of violence cannot silence the voices of any American." Air Max 2011 House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D- San Francisco) sounded a similar note. "May this resolution remind us of the urgent need to uphold our democratic values to treat one another with courtesy and respect," she said. Investigators have said that they believe Loughner acted alone. Even though he posted anti-government materials on the Web, any motive he might have had is unknown. Nevertheless, the shooting has become a sounding board for the debate on whether political rhetoric has become too inflamed. Having the president in town was a comfort to many of those outside the McKale Center, said Mai-Ling Lem, 35. She said she had gotten a babysitter and staked out a spot in line at 8 p.m. Tuesday. She was disturbed by the shooting, she said, and came looking for peace. She found it before she even made her way inside.Gucci handbags "One person does not define Tucson. The people that have come here today to show their support for the victims and Obama, that speaks volumes," she said. "This is who we are." In his speech, Obama will draw on his experience following the deadly 2009 shootings at the Ft. Hood Army Base in Texas, an attack blamed on a soldier. At the time the president focused his comments on how the victims had led their lives.