Actually, it is the sudden outbreak of homicidal mayhem that has become a "quintessential American scene" in recent years. Obama made no acknowledgment of this, not once referring to such tragedies as the massacre at Virginia Tech, the endless series of workplace shootings, or the more explicitly political events like the bombings and murders at abortion clinics.
Obama turned to the Bible again. "Scripture tells us that there is evil in the world, and that terrible things happen for reasons that defy human understanding," he said, going on to quote from the Book of Job.
"Bad things happen, and we have to guard against simple explanations afterward," he said. "None of us can know what triggered the attack or what could have been done to prevent it."
Obama's invocation of religion had a wholly secular purpose: to provide sanction for his rejection of any political assessment of the events of January 8 in Tucson.
"When a tragedy strikes, it is part of our nature to demand an explanation, to impose an order on the chaos," Obama said.
Here Obama's speechwriter was virtually paraphrasing the opening passage of the column written Tuesday by conservative pundit George Will in the Washington Post, denouncing charges that the political right had moral responsibility for the Tucson shootings.
"It would be merciful if, when tragedies such as Tucson's occur, there were a moratorium on sociology," Will wrote. "The craving is for banishing randomness and the inexplicable from human experience."
Obama went on to repudiate those among his liberal supporters who have pointed to the role of right-wing ideology in inspiring the Tucson massacre, calling for "a good dose of humility, rather than pointing fingers and assigning blame."
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