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I put memorial in quotes because I’m not sure that’s what it actually was, but more on that later. For now, I want to start with the good, because on balance I think it was a net positive from the President, even accounting for the poor logistics of the event, which I’ll get to soon enough.

The Good

The content of the President’s speech was largely unobjectionable, avoided overt politicization, and was occasionally inspiring. He did a good job with effectively chastising the leftwing blame-mongers that have utterly debased themselves, and this country, over the last several days. But while his words were good, only time will tell whether his actions match up. Unless Obama both publicly and privately works to reign in the leftwing vitriol, his words, good as they are, will remain only thus.

Obama also gave moving tribute to the heroes of the event, and also implicitly acknowledged that one does not need government training or licensure to be heroic. “These men and women remind us that heroism is found not only on the fields of battle.  They remind us that heroism does not require special training or physical strength.  Heroism is here, all around us, in the hearts of so many of our fellow citizens, just waiting to be summoned – as it was on Saturday morning.” If only his policies were equally influenced by such reasoning. People taking care of themselves and each other without government force and coercion? Imagine that!

Talking a little bit about each of the victims – who they are, how they came to be there, and what they meant to their loved ones – was also a nice touch.

The Bad

The venue was poorly chosen, and as a consequence, the audience was atrocious. Why the University of Arizona? We can only assume a university was chosen because college kids are Obama’s most partisan fans. But they are so ignorant of history and lacking in real world understanding that they have no clue as to how to comport themselves in such a situation. Some of the idiots even booed Governor Brewer when she was announced. There were times when polite applause was appropriate, and other times when even loud cheering was called for (when the heroes were recognized in the audience), but the cheering was just excessive, bordering on distasteful, and gave the whole thing more of a campaign feel.

The speech was too long. Obama spoke for over 30 minutes. Clinton took only 9 for his Oklahoma city speech, and his audience was more respectful and gave only the occasional polite applause. The tone was just much more appropriate than the Tucson event, which is not surprising given Clinton’s superior political skills. Reagan needed only 4 minutes for the Challenger explosion. Furthermore, Obama really should have followed his lead and made some of what made up his speech today as remarks from the Oval Office. Basically, what formed the second half of his speech should have been given days ago from behind his desk. I challenge anyone to watch Reagan’s speech and tell me it didn’t do a better job of striking a tone appropriate for mourning. There’s value in having a light touch. Sure, go to Tucson to recognize the heroes and mourn the dead, but address the nation from your office – like a President and not a campaigner.

Obama, to his credit, often tried to quell the inappropriate applause by pushing through it, but I think he also couldn’t help but feed off it and, by the end, had taken on the cadence of his campaign. Even as his chin turned up, we saw him get gradually smaller. He could have avoided this danger with a better thought out event that either kept him behind his desk, or didn’t put him in front of a bunch of collegiate idol worshipers.

The only speaker I personally watched was Obama, so that is where I have focused my comment, but I hear that there were some other bad points. I hear that the opening speaker was particular bad . It sounds like he set a bad tone from the get-go, and didn’t properly manage the disrespectful crowd.

The Ugly

Whoever decided to brand the event should be fired immediately. The same goes for everyone who approved the idea along the way. The President may or may not have known, but if he did then shame on him. If it was the University’s doing, then whoever in the White House that failed to stop such a ridiculous example of the relentless messaging machine should be fired. This is truly amateur hour stuff. A proper memorial service does not hand out goody bags.

Conclusion

All in all I think the President did well with his speech, but I think the mistakes with regard to the structure, length, tone and execution of the event will prevent this from being remembered as a lasting and enduring example of that unique presidential quality of which we hang on to from leaders past. Furthermore, unless the President follows his words with action – by doing what he failed to do over the last few days and reigning in the vitriolic smear campaign underway to dishonestly tie his opponents to mass murder – we’ll remember once again why electing a man for his superior oratory has not necessarily brought us better leadership.

Other takes:

Warner Todd Huston
Melissa Clouthier

Barack Obama Gabrielle Giffords