So over the last few days, the fall out of the assassination attempt on the Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has taken place. The cold hearted nature of power means certain people, on both sides of the political divide , have used this as a point scoring exercise, which is a real shame.

I think it would be foolish not to use this as an opportunity to return to the debate of gun laws and how the US treats its mentally disturbed, but surely most people would let the dust settle before wading in with their point of view.  American politics is rife with not party politics, but anti-government and anti-politician speeches. Inflammatory speeches will fire up the populace, and they should be aware that their words cause reactions which are sometimes violent.  

As always, the country rallies round. Collective grief is a strange thing. It reminds me of the day Diana died, and there was this huge out pouring of sadness, and I thought, I don’t understand this. I knew she did excellent work with AIDS suffering children in Africa, and also regarding land mines. But, I didn’t know her. She didn’t represent anything other than an outmoded, obsolete ruling class. Yet there was this huge swell of sadness that I wasn’t part of. The Daily Mail and the Express ran stories for 2 years solid. Everyday! As if that would help the country mourn.

I wonder if America really is that upset about this shooting? If they were, surely they would want guns banned. I mean, a 9 year old was shot. A 9 year old born on September 11^th 2001. God really does seem to have an excellent grasp of irony.

I think this event, if anything, shows what Obama is best at. He has had a lot of issues, and many have questioned his success in politics, but one thing he does very well, is project the idea of a President. He is a Statesman, a President, and when he speaks, the world listens. It is a good thing too that he came out with conciliatory words, and not the defensive, poorly worded nonsense that Sarah Palin came out with. To liken the press reaction to her previous campaigning to ‘blood libel’ is the same as likening a headache to the Holocaust.  I have FAR greater problems with the incredible intellectual dishonesty from Palin. She states that you can't blame the actions of an extremist on a whole movement (like some left leaning commentators have done with this situation), when last summer she was so vocal about using the actions of extremists against New York's peaceful, American Muslim community. You can't chop and change like that, because in the world of 24/7 media, someone is watching you, and waiting for you to mess up! Something Sarah Palin should be more than acutely aware of.

For more information on what a blood libel is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_libel

At the end of the day, 6 people have died, one of whom was a 9 year old girl and 14 are still being treated. Surely that is the only thing, currently, that matters at all. There will be plenty of time to debate the second amendment, and political rhetoric, but let people mourn.

- Anand