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people spreading hatred and division, he said they leave the impression that violence is acceptable. and then he clearly said he was speaking about some things regularly said over the airwaves, and that was meant rush limbaugh and newt gingrich. that was very much a partisan exploitation of that tragedy. and it happened to be the beginning of his comeback. now obama is in a different circumstance. the attempt of people on the left to get ahead of the story and do what clinton had done with oklahoma city already is almost over. because it's so cynical. tip critical and without any evidence. obama is too smart. he will act as head of state, rather than head of a party or a head of government. i think he understands both
unlike the last time she tripped while walking to the white house and broke her elbow. she cite that had injury when dismissing talk that her role in shaping foreign policy was being diminished. >> i broke my elbow, not my larynx. >> reporter: she's had a lot of practice boarding and exiting planes. steps are tricky enough, but imagine having a camera trained on your every arrival and departure. presidents develop their own style. president obama prefers to jog. bill clinton was more lease surely. and george bush occasionally clutched the railing, something gerald ford should have done. his fall while deplaning in austria has been embellished with sound effects and lives eternally on youtube. president ford even stumbleding for up the steps. and it's not just american officials who slip on the airplane stairs while everyone is staring.
poundipound ing boston and raging water there. this is what happens in the nor'easter whether it's summer or winter. all right. we'll get back to weather in a moment. meantime, politics now. a republican governor who may make a white house run is taking a few swipes at president obama. our senior political editor mark preston is at the cnnpolitics.com desk with more on that story. mark? >> good morning, fred. haley barbour considering running for president in 2012. well, last night in his final state of the state address down in mississippi, he took a couple pot shots at president obama. on the issue of health care reform, he said if the obama administration's health care mandates actually go into effect, it's going to impede hiring, hurt employers from being able to grow the businesses. on the issue of energy, he said the obama administration's policies driving up the cost of energy. so barbour didn't say if he's
conservatives. interesting because the president is just about an hour from now, he and the first lady will be leaving the white house to go to tucson and we're told one thick tng the president wilt mention in his speech tonight is this whole political debate that's playing out about whether overheated rhetoric contributed at all to the violence there in tucson. bottom line, white house aides say the speech writing team has been working on the remarks since about monday night. he it tends to be hands on with these speeches and he will be doing that, has already been working on revisions. and this is a unique obviously challenge for any president of either party when they're faced with a tragedy like this to both comfort the victims but also try to help the nation heal. very difficult task and we're told by white house aides the president and the first lady will also be visiting some of the families of the victim there is in tucson. >> i know there won't be any poll tick playing in what the
today president obama and the first lady are flying to tucson, arizona, to attend a memorial for the victims of saturday's shooting and visit with the victims' family members. here are the six who died that day. young as 9 and old as 79 all gatt theiring to hear congresswoman giffords speak. kristina green was born on splerchth, 2001. attending the congress on the corner event because she had been elected to her school's student council. 30-year-old gabe zimmerman was engaged to be married. giffords director of community outreach. dorwan stod dard was trying to shield his wife in the gunfire. 76. his wife was wounded in the leg but survived. u.s. district judge john roll stopped by to say hello to giffords after attending mass on saturday. 63-year-old began his career as
relatives of the victims. the president faces the challenge of becoming comforter in chief in the wake of the mass killings. much of the country still in shock and much of the country will be looking to the president for words of reassurance. let's bring in ed henry. i know the president has been working on his speech for the past couple of days. what do you suppose he'll say? >> reporter: that's right, he has been working on it since about monday night. this is a president who tends to be very hands on with the speech, especially the big ones. let's remember he also gave a pretty similar address at ft. hood there in late 2009 after that terrible tragedy, so many folks killed there, as well. and so he's had a little bit of a experience with this, but every time something like this comes up, it's obviously unique. we saw ronald reagan after the challenger disaster, bill clinton after oklahoma city, when again far more people
the rest of the country. the president is scheduled to leave for arizona within the hour. he'll speak at a memorial service tonight and meet with family members. on capitol hill, democrats and republicans honored representative giffords on the house floor. john boehner talked about the shooting that injured giffords and 13 others. >> our hearts are broken, but our spirit is not. this is a time for the house to lock arms in prayer for the fallen and the wounded and resolve to carry on a dialogue of democracy. we may not yet have all the final answers, but we already have the answer that matters most, that we're americans and we'll make it through this difficult period. we will have the last word. >> and congressman giffords releasing these pictures of her
the past three days. when they do this it's hard to get emergency crews to them to get them off the highway. people are just stuck on the roadways with nowhere else to go. so it's been crazy here. i guess it's not going to thaw until friday. did sandra leave us? sandra left us. we'll keep you update on this accident. we don't believe anybody was hurt. it's going to take time for emergency crews to get there to clear off that highway. it's the top of the hour now. let's check the big stories for this wednesday. briefing is set to ginny minute now updating the condition of congresswoman gabrielle giffords and five other victims of the mass shootings in tucson. giffords remains in critical condition but breathing on her own. according to the most recent information, a second person is also in critical condition right now. one is in serious condition. three others are listed as fair. president obama will offer words of comfort to the victims and families in tucson and to
killed. that was a very difficult task. president bush after 9/11. so this is a chance for this president to try to walk that delicate balance, try comfort the nation, help the nation heal, but also steer clear of politics. that's one thing the aides tell us he won't do, weigh if on the whole debate about whether heat the rhetoric contributed to this. the last thing he wants to do is to have the moment being overshadowed by politics. and we're being told the president and the first lady who will be traveling with him will meet with families of the victims. there's even been some talk that he might go to the hospital. all of that, though in, terms of the details of exactly who he's going to meet and how many of vehicle tips families he'll meet still being worked out. this trip was thrown together in the last couple of days. but he will meet with some of
nicolas sarkozy managed to stay on his feet but just barely. so far president obama hasn't lost his footing, but he has lost his blackberry while jogging up the stairs and he bonked his head. but then so did president bush more than once. and michelle bom has baobama ha her head on air force one. president bush has to give bar it any a push to get him on go up and he had to nudge spot to get her to go down. as we learned in a jimmy kimmel bit, the only thing more treacherous than using the stairs is having them go nowhere. >> the president was surprised when air force one pulled away without him. he suffered only minor bruises. >> reporter: jeanne moos, cnn, new york. it's just cruel to keep showing those picture, but we