"Right now, each side in that debate passionately believes that the other side is wrong."

Confronting Hate In Arizona
Faced with rising anger against ideological zealots who have turned the murderous atrocity in Arizona into a political circus, President Obama had to respond. In an excellent Speech eulogizing the six dead and paying respect to the critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Obama appealed to the nation to cool down and stop the nonsense. His signature line was: "What we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other." Unfortunately, his words came too late. The strugg...

Paul Krugman: A Tale of Two Moralities
Sometimes, there is no middle ground: A Tale of Two Moralities, by Paul Krugman, Commentary, NY Times: On Wednesday, President Obama called on Americans to “expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.” Those were beautiful words; they spoke to our desire for Reconciliation. But the truth is that we are a deeply divided nation and are likely to remai...

Epic Fail
Posted by John at 7:17 PM This Quinnipiac Poll provides more evidence that hardly anyone buys the Democratic Party's spin on the Tucson murders. When asked "What do you think is the main reason for the Arizona shooting; failure of the Mental Health system, lax Gun Control laws, overheated political Rhetoric, or do you think this is a situation that could not have been prevented?" respondents answered: * Mental health system: 23% * Gun control laws: 9% * Political rhetoric: 15% * Couldn't have b...

Mortal Recoil
Consider the following reactions to the tragic shooting in Tucson: First, President Barack Obama’s Speech got rave reviews (“magic,” New York Times columnist Gail Collins called it), even though, by the standards, say, of Bill Clinton’s Oklahoma City address, it was pretty humdrum, especially during those times when the president was trying to draw lessons from the tragedy rather than eulogizing its Victims. Second, Obama’s Approval Rating, taken after the killings...

The Lefty Talking Points Fell Flat
Powerline has the details from a recent poll in the aftermath of the Arizona shooting: This Quinnipiac Poll provides more evidence that hardly anyone buys the Democratic Party's spin on the Tucson murders. When asked "What do you think is the main reason for the Arizona shooting; failure of the Mental Health system, lax Gun Control laws, overheated political Rhetoric, or do you think this is a situation that could not have been prevented?" respondents answered: * Mental health system: 23% * Gu...

The Tucson Memorial Blessing, Explained
Wednesday’s memorial service at the University of Arizona in Tucson has faced a lot of criticism, particularly from the right. Many commentators noted the raucous attitude of many in attendance (there was much more cheering than one might expect at so solemn an event) and the T-shirts that were handed out (for which the university itself has admitted responsibility). Perhaps the most-remarked-upon aspect of the proceeding was the American Indian blessing given by Carlos Gonzales, an associ...

Metaphors Don't Kill People; People Kill People
metaphor: a figure of Speech in which a term or phrase is applied to something to which it is not literally applicable in order to suggest a resemblance, as in “A mighty fortress is our god.” Sticks and stones might break my bones but words will never hurt me. ~Nursery rhyme The recent tragedy in Arizona managed to unleash the pundits on both sides of the aisle. In this world where there must be a root cause for every wrinkle in the landscape and every calamity that befalls us, eve...

NARRATIVE FAIL (CONTD): Quinnipiac Poll: More Americans Say Left Contributes to Heated Rhetoric T
NARRATIVE FAIL (CONT’D): Quinnipiac Poll: More Americans Say Left Contributes to Heated Rhetoric Than Right. UPDATE: Ann Althouse corrects Paul Krugman: Advocating violence is terrible, but it is also terrible to try to delegitimize vibrant criticism of the government, to have a biased view of where the least valuable Speech is coming from, and to connect Speech to violence when there is no connection. The truth is we should dismiss the massacre as the mere act of a deranged individual a...

The Arizona Tragedy and the American Reaction
The story dominating American conversation this week is the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona. In shock, after a mentally troubled assassin named Jared Lee Loughner shoots a round from his 9mm Glock through the brain of beloved Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and then turns his weapon on the crowd and kills 6 bystanders while wounding 13 others — America mourns. Giffords is alive today and fighting for her life, the extent of the damage caused by her wound still unknown. There are positive signs...

Ignoring the President, Krugman doubles down on violent rhetoric narrative
A few days ago, Paul Krugman, NY Times opinion writer and Nobel Laureate - a fact no one on the left will ever let you forget - wrote what I can only characterize as a screed denouncing Republicans and the right in general for the use of violent language that he claimed led directly to the tragedy in Tuscon.  Now, two days later and after the President of the United States himself has denounced Krugman’s claims by noting - rightfully so - that a lack of civility ...

Political speech today -- it's not Bobby Kennedy's America
No, though it's certainly more debased and lacerating than it was just a few short years ago. We've been through eras of bitterly expressed politics more often than we'd probably care to admit. The Federalists and anti-Federalists bickered ferociously. Contention over the Bank of the United States during the Jacksonian era was fierce. The political Rhetoric leading up to the Civil War was murderous. Franklin Roosevelt's policies were the target of vile opposition. And during the McCarthy period,...

What Americans Need to Do Now, After the Shooting and Tragedy In Arizona
This week President Obama helped the nation mourn in Tucson. Today let's celebrate American Democracy and the freedoms we enjoy and not let a nut with a gun in any way interfere with a full-throated, passionate dialogue that is as American as apple pie. For in order for Democracy to thrive it's imperative that we resist the impulse to tell opinionated people who are exercising Political Speech that its their fault for inciting deranged people from acting out their darkest fantasies. On the contr...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage
WASHINGTON | Sat Jan 15, 2011 6:11am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to maintain the "spirit of common cause" that arose from grieving over the Arizona shootings and use it to solve the nation's problems. Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gab...

Obama: Time to tackle nation's challenges again
President Barack Obama speaks at a memorial service for the Victims of Saturday's shootings at McKale Center on the University of Arizona campus Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2011, in Tucson, Ariz. Citing "great challenges for us to solve," President Barack Obama is pledging to work with Democrats and Republicans in the aftermath of the Arizona shooting that killed six, grievously wounded a member of Congress and brought legislative debate to a virtual standstill. In his weekly radio and Internet address...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage
Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obama gave a well-received Speech at a memorial service for the Victims on Wednesday in Arizona and he revived the theme of national unity in his weekly radio and Internet address. The president lauded lawmakers who came together to pay...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage (Reuters)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to maintain the "spirit of common cause" that arose from grieving over the Arizona shootings and use it to solve the nation's problems. Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Obama...

Obama urges Americans to work together after rampage
WASHINGTON | Sat Jan 15, 2011 6:11am EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Americans on Saturday to maintain the "spirit of common cause" that arose from grieving over the Arizona shootings and use it to solve the nation's problems. Legislative work in Washington came to a halt this week while lawmakers and citizens from both parties mourned the Victims of a gunman who went on a rampage in Arizona on January 8, killing six people and wounding 14, including Representative Gab...

Pat Caddell: Paul Krugman Is A Flat-Out Asshole
Yeah, yeah. “Civility” and all that. But is it uncivil if it’s accurate? It’s about time someone said it. But to Caddell’s point, he says given the reaction and coverage of the Tucson shootings from the left/media, “no wonder people hate the media and hate the politicians.” He’s right. While most Americans are sitting at home wondering what the shooting in Tucson had to do with politics, the left and the media are falling all over themselves trying...

Paul Krugman, Somewhat Leashed
Is Paul Krugman actually trying to heed Obama’s call for civility in Friday’s column “A Tale Of Two Moralities”? He seems to be straining not to unleash the inner Krugman, albeit not particularly effectively. On Wednesday, President Obama called on Americans to “expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together.” Those were b...

When Even Excitable Charles Blow Thinks The Left Went Nuts With Their Blamestorming
…Then most assuredly, they did. Charles calls his op-ed The Tucson Witch Hunt, and he believes the Left was way off base, and, consider, this comes from a super liberal with his head in the sand, who says later in the article I have written about violent Rhetoric before, and I’m convinced that it’s poisonous to our politics, that the preponderance of it comes from the right, and that it has the potential to manifest in massacres like the one in Tucson. Obviously, he doesn’...

Identity Crisis
The other day, I commented on how quite a few observers -- mainly liberal -- had expressed relief that the Tucson shooter was a white man. They didn't couch it quite so blatantly; rather, they were glad that the shooter wasn't Latino or Muslim. I explored that a little, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had only talked about half the story. So let's correct that. Imagine, for a moment, that the shooter had not been a white man. Say the shooter had been a L...

Giffords intern handling sudden fame after speech
(01-14) 17:31 PST PHOENIX (AP) -- He sat next to President Barack Obama in the nationally televised event. People are lining up to shake his hand, seeking an Autograph or photograph. A mariachi band recognized him and rushed over with a spontaneous serenade. Intern Daniel Hernandez's brave and clear-headed actions in helping save the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in the head last Saturday made him an unlikely hero. His appearance Wednesday at the Tucson memorial service fo...

Giffords Intern Experiencing Sudden Fame
PHOENIX (AP) -- He sat next to President Barack Obama in the nationally televised event. People are lining up to shake his hand, seeking an Autograph or photograph. A mariachi band recognized him and rushed over with a spontaneous serenade. Intern Daniel Hernandez's brave and clear-headed actions in helping save the life of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords after she was shot in the head last Saturday made him an unlikely hero. His appearance Wednesday at the Tucson memorial service for the shooting victi...

The Weekly Wrap
Today on the Dish, we followed Tunisia as its President dissolved the government, and a State of Emergency was declared. Larison stressed the importance of Tunisians deposing an autocrat on their own, without US intervention and Andrew debated Evgeny Morozov on how instrumentalTwitter was. We rounded up reax and reports from the ground in Tunisia here, here, and here, and the role of Wikipedia in the coup here and here. Sarah Palin said sorry seven times (last year), Limbaugh sunk to new lows,...

It Wasnt Enough
Hate to get all depressing on a Friday night, but I’m afraid “The Editors” at Esquire correctly assess the chances of civility: ... [T]he most remarkable thing about what happened in Oklahoma City is how little it matters today. The president of the United States gave a fine Speech Wednesday night in Tucson at the memorial for the people Jared Loughner shot. The only mention of Oklahoma City in connection with the president’s Speech was to compare it with the Speech tha...