The tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado, which killed 12 and wounded 58, has again accentuated the important role presidents play as our chief civic priest. The governor of Colorado and local clergy helped provide words of solace and encouragement to grieving, shocked, and bewildered citizens—and local and state officials and thousands of residents joined in a prayer vigil. Nevertheless, American expectations and their desire to enhance their public image led both President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, to offer comfort and consolation to survivors and the victims’ families.
President Obama told the survivors and the family members of victims he visited that “words are always inadequate in these kinds of situations,” but that his “main task was to serve as a representative of the entire country and let them know that we are thinking about them.” The stories that victims’ families and those recovering from injuries remind us, the president declared, “that even in the darkest of days, life continues and people are strong.” “Out of this darkness,” he promised, “a brighter day is going to come.”
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