A tale of two speeches

Last night, as the city of Tuson, Arizona, and a nation mourn the loss of half a dozen innocent civilians as a disturbed lone gunman, Jared Lee Loughner, nearly assassinated Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona, there were two headlines, two speeches that, in the humble opinion of this 20 year-old blogger, voter, and citizen, speak volumes of their character as public servants.

President Obama spoke just a few hors ago on tragedy that occured at a shopping mall on the morning of January 7. Instead of rehashing what was said and what's being repeated on the cable news networks, allow me to let the words and the man speak for themselves.

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There are some on the left who will say that the President should have called out the people who were throwing red meat to their base, words and rhetoric which crossed over from passionate debate to implying that the other side must be taken out, either by the ballot, or by the bullet, for they pose a grave and dangerous threat to security of our country, and to be perfectly honest, the passionate side of me would want and say that the Palins, the Becks, and the Limbaughs of the world should have to stand trial along with the crazed shooter for the attempted assassination of Congresswoman Giffords and the senseless murder of 6 other victims. As I stated before, the nation is mourning over the loss of life, and at this time, as the President told the nation tonight, cooler heads must prevail, and our spirited debate must not blind a simple truth: that at the end of the day, we are all Americans who want only what is best for our country, so in keeping with Obama's theme of toning down the rhetoric, I won't let my spirited and heated side get the better of the me. If there's one thing that has been constant about the Obama Presidency, and what I admire, it is that the President has always called upon his supporters and his detractors to find the better angels of our nature and find ways to work together and move the debate of how we can drive the nation forward.

The same cannot be said for Sarah Palin.

Also today, the one-time Governor of Alaska and Vice-Presidential candidate in 2008 also touched on the shooting, before she exposed the real reason she took to the camera: to paint herself as a major victim of the heinous event. Again, I am going to let Mrs. Palin, and her words, speak for themselves.

Sarah Palin: "America's Enduring Strength" from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

If you're a rising star in the GOP, had put crosshairs on the districts of opponents who are up for re-election in the House, and one of those representatives was almost assassinated, what would your choices be?
A. speak briefly; say that this is a terrible tragedy and that our hearts and prayers go out of Rep. Giffords and her family, and take your lumps.
B. see A, abd also announce that although a crazed, apolitical gunmen acted alone in his deranged, twisted mind, you announce that you and everyone must tone down the rhetoric and remember that we may allign ourselves as Republicans and Democrats, we are Americans first, and foremost.
C. take to the camera and not only paint yourself as the victim, but use a term that hold deeply negative connotations against the Jewish people.

Sarah, as you can see by the video, chose C.

Mrs. Palin probably can't understand why she's taking all kinds of shit from the national media, from people on Twitter and Facebook, and Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, so as a public service, I will be the one to help her out: Sarah -- it's not just the fact you used a highly offensive term to describe how the media is going after you (a thesaurus and/or a dictionary are you friends, Sarah!), its the fact that, once again, you chose to make yourself the victim; like it was you who was most affected by the tragedy, like it was you who was neary assassinated, or that you lost someone near and dear to you becasue of the lone gunman. You acted as if it was the media who was burning you at the stake, or nailing you to a piece of wood. None of us on the left or the national media are pointing the finger at you for this tragedy (Note: anyone on the left who seriously beleives she is to blame for this is a damn fool), but the fact that your actions with the crosshairs that were chosen at Democratic incumbents who's seats were up for grabs in the Midterms, and all the red meat you've been throwing to your base, is only heading our nation for more potential grief, and if you still can't see that...then that's you're biggest problem.

The two speeches that were given last night outline two completely different personalities: one took the high road and allowed us to grieve and celebrate those who acted without thought for themselves to save others' lives, and calls on all of us to follow their example. The other showed that even in the face of tragedy, she never misses an opportunity to play politics and make the story all about her.