TUCSON, Arizona— John Jewell did not vote for Barack Obama — and he never voted for Gabrielle Giffords either, for that matter.
But as the 59-year-old Tucsonan paid silent tribute to Ms. Giffords on Thursday outside the hospital where the Arizona congresswoman is recovering from her gunshot wound, he had a message for his president: Well done.
On the day after Mr. Obama rallied Americans to begin“talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds,” he was being praised by supporters and opponents alike who said his unqualified call for civility was the proper antidote to several days of finger-pointing in the tragedy’s wake.
“Both sides were accusing each other. We don’t need that right now. What we need is healing,” said Mr. Jewell, who brought his wife, Sharon, to the University Medical Center, where the front lawn was covered with tributes to the victims of the shooting.
“Let’s hope we come away from this with a new outlook. We all need to pull together.”
Tucsonan Linda Griber said she sensed Mr. Obama’s speech had already had a “very uplifting” impact on the city, perhaps the country.
“He said all the right things. I think the tone was perfect,” said Ms. Griber, who was dabbing tears from her eyes as she studied the makeshift shrines, posters and notes from well wishers.
“I think it gave people hope and maybe alleviated some of the pain.”
Mr. Obama’s speech was being dissected by America’s political punditry from the moment he finished addressing a 14,000-person strong crowd at a memorial service Wednesday night for the six people who were killed in Saturday’s shooting.
Some of the most gracious commentary came the president’s strongest critics on the political right, who said they saw in Mr. Obama a leader who — for one night, at least — transcended partisan politics.
“This is probably the best speech he has ever given, and with all sincerity, thank you Mr. President, for becoming the president of the ‘United’ States of America last night,” said Fox News host Glenn Beck. “It was needed and you accomplished the job and you did it expertly.”
Moreover, some conservative activists took Mr. Obama’s caution against being “too eager to lay the blame” as a gentle reproach to liberals who have blamed right-wing political figures such as Sarah Palin for poisoning America’s political discourse.
“This was a non-accusatory, genuinely civil, case for civility, in stark contrast to what we’ve read and heard over the last few days,” wrote Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review.
“He subtly rebuked the Left’s finger-pointing, and rose above the rancour of both sides, exactly as a president should.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican sometimes mentioned as a potential 2012 presidential candidate, said Obama“did exactly what a leader should do at a moment like this.”
Mr. Christie was less charitable toward former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who has accused critics of manufacturing a“blood libel” by claims she bore some responsibility for the attempted assassination of Giffords.
Ms. Palin’s political action committee placed crosshairs over Ms. Giffords’ congressional district in an Internet posting.
“I don’t think anybody really believes Gov. Palin was really trying to make someone get hurt or bring violence on. And I think she should have just said that and left it at that.”
For residents of this Arizona city, Mr. Obama’s speech did something else — provide an emotional boost as it began burying its dead. The first of six funerals was held Thursday, for nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, a little girl born the day of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Slowly, the shock of Saturday’s shooting is giving way to optimism about the survivors.
In an emotional scene Thursday outside the hospital, shooting victim Ron Barber emerged in a wheelchair to view the tributes to him and others wounded in a shooting authorities allege was carried out by Jared Lee Loughner, 22.
Mr. Barber, a senior aide to Ms. Giffords, placed a single rose beside a photograph of his colleague Gabe Zimmerman, the 30-year-old congressional staffer who died in the shooting.
“Glad to see you here, Ron,” shouted one of those holding vigil.
“Thank you,” Mr. Barber replied, clutching his hand to his mouth with emotion.
Doctors said Ms. Giffords, 40, is increasingly making spontaneous movements, particularly with her left hand.
Dr. Michael Lemole, chief of neurosurgery at the hospital, said he was present when Ms. Giffords opened her eyes— a development first reported by Mr. Obama during his speech. Her eyes have also started to track movements or objects in the room, he said.
“That’s important from a scientific or neurosurgical perspective: because it implies that . . . the parts of the brain that let us awake from sleeping, our arousal centre, those are starting to work spontaneously,” Dr. Lemole said. “She’s starting to become aware of her surroundings and ofthe context, the appropriate context of family, friends.”
While Tucsonans are applauding Mr. Obama for taking on the mantle of healer-in-chief, they responded with some indignation to complaints from some conservatives who said the celebratory feel to Wednesday’s memorial service was inappropriate to the occasion.
John Podhoretz, a New York Post columnist, described the cheering and standing ovations for Obama was“appalling behaviour” that made a sombre occasion resemble a pep rally.
“The crowd certainly wanted to hear the president speak. But they were there for the victims, and for Gabby,” Mr. Griber said in response.
“I thought the mood was just right. Those poor people — they just need that support. I saw it as a supportive thing. That’s how we feel.”
Mr. Jewell, for his part, said people were cheering“out of relief” for having made it through a trying week. “That was their way of grieving.
“It was a relief. People want to cheer. That’s their way of grieving.”
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