Both Congress and President Obama today will be focused on last weekend's shootings in Tucson, as lawmakers in the House convene for business for the first time since the wounding of their colleague, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ).
Meanwhile, President Obama will go to Arizona for a memorial service to honor those who were killed by the accused gunman, and to send best wishes to those who are still recovering from their wounds.
For Mr. Obama, it will be his first real chance to send a message since he spoke just hours after the Saturday attacks, a chance to set the national tone and debate in the wake of the rampage at a sidewalk meeting with voters held by Giffords outside a grocery store in her district.
"Obviously, all of us are still grieving and still in shock from the tragedy that took place," Mr. Obama said to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
"I'm spending a lot of time just thinking about the families and reaching out to them," the President added.
The latest news from doctors on Tuesday about Rep. Giffords continued to be encouraging, though it wasn't enough to dampen some of the sharp rhetoric that's bouncing around the political arena about this tragedy, as Democrats called on Republicans to tone down their attacks.
"The demonizing of opponents, of government, of public service, has gone too far," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in a Washington, D.C. speech.
Today, those House members who wish to come back to Washington will be able to get a security briefing from House officials on how best to deal with possible threats back home.
For many lawmakers, the Giffords shooting simply cuts very close, as most can imagine themselves being in the exact same position.
But, as for what's the answer, not everyone has jumped on the "Congress needs more security" bandwagon.
"I would not want to see every member of Congress walking around with security," Leahy added.
Meanwhile, a number of members are looking at possible legislation dealing with lawmaker security, with talk about bills that would do everything from making it a crime to carry a gun within 1,000 feet of a lawmaker to the installation of a clear glass shield in the House chamber to protect members from anyone in the galleries who might do them harm.
We'll see what happens in the days ahead.
As I have pointed out on the radio, each member has money in his/her office budget that could be used to hire someone for security, but more likely, the focus will be on local police departments deploying someone for specific events.
Both Congress and President Obama today will be focused on last weekend's shootings in Tucson, as lawmakers in the House convene for business for the first time since the wounding of their colleague, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ). Meanwhile, President Obama will go to Arizona for a memorial service to honor ...
