The President, back in charge


Today’s editorial: Mr. Obama brings a soothing presence to a wounded nation. Is he right? Are the forces that unite us stronger than those that divide us?

The puzzling, persistent question reached the height of its intensity a month or so ago. In the wake of political defeat and legislative stalemate, what had become of President Obama?

Where was the renowned, if understated, passion? Where was the formidable resolve? Where were the words that used to captivate the nation?

Such queries have effectively answered themselves. Mr. Obama’s consoling overture to all those affected by the Tucson massacre, and his cautious call for civility among all those trying to make some sense of what seems to defy all reason, have reasserted his presence in the center of what, for good or ill, is the ongoing civic conversation in America.

At Wednesday night’s memorial, the President was at once mournful, conciliatory, philosophical and gently inspiring. He was everything, in essence, that the country demands of its leaders in the most despairing of times.

Here was an even more soulful version of the “One America” speech with which Mr. Obama first captured the nation’s attention, and admiration, more than six years ago.

If a speech that needed to send several messages, to a divergence of constituencies, had an overarching theme, it was that the country needs to heal, from a series of deep wounds.

That requires, at a minimum, conceding what isn’t possible.

“None of us can know with any certainty what might have stopped those shots from being fired, or what thoughts lurked in the inner recesses of a violent man’s mind,” the President said at one point.

“We may not be able to stop all evil in the world,” he said at another.

It requires, too, accepting what’s entirely possible, but only if the public collectively embraces a greater burden.

“Let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy, but rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud,” Mr. Obama said, referring to the gunman’s victims.

“How we treat one another is entirely up to us,” he continued. “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.”

With that, the President won over some of his fiercest critics, at least for a time. How long the more considered, and considerate, dialogue he yearns for can be sustained is, in part, up to those same critics — and even the ones who are more shrill and less reasonable.

Even Mr. Obama’s passing reference to gun safety laws is an uneasy reminder of the contentious political arena that necessarily exists beyond the tranquility of a memorial rally. In time, the debate over the politically impossible repeal of the new health care law will likely resume. If ever there was a time to put ugly discourse to rest, this would be it.

The country’s on notice — from one end of the responsible political extreme to the other. For here’s Mr. Obama invoking the memory of the youngest of the six Tucson victims — Christina Taylor Green, age 9.


If that can’t calm a confused nation, nothing can.

Comments are closed.