Barack Obama will take on the presidential role of healer to a distressed nation when he speaks at a memorial service for the victims of the Tucson massacre.
It will remember the six people, among them a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl, who were killed on Saturday after a 22-year-old gunman tried to assassinate congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She remains in a critical condition. Jared Loughner is charged with the shootings and could be sentenced to death.
Mr Obama praised the heroism of those who prevented Loughner from firing even more shots and said he hoped to ensure that “out of this tragedy, we can come together as a stronger nation”.
That is a mission that has faced the last three presidents: Bill Clinton after the Oklahoma City federal building bombing in 1995; George W Bush six years later after the al-Qaida terrorist attacks; and now Mr Obama.
Mr Obama has been in a similar position before: After the mass shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, in November 2009, Mr Obama sought to help the country make sense of the assault in which 13 people were killed and 29 wounded by a fellow soldier, an Army officer.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the public service at Tucson university’s basketball arena.
One of those districts was Ms Giffords’, and she had spoken of that targeting in a television interview last year, warning that such symbolism could have unforeseen consequences.
As politicians and commentators react to the Tucson shooting, they are also talking about American gun laws.
Loughner, despite having been dismissed from a community college because of questions about his mental stability, was able subsequently to buy the Glock pistol he used in the attacks.
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