Political aftermath from Tucson tragedy

I watched the Tucson memorial service and thought President Barack Obama set exactly the right tone ["Obama urges nation to heal," News, Jan. 13]. Earlier in the day, I saw the speech and commentary by Sarah Palin and her references about her own victimhood. I was stunned to hear her use the term "blood libel." Really? Does she somehow not get the point that it's not all about her?

A United States congresswoman lay in a hospital gravely wounded, and six others, including a precious 9-year-old child, are dead, and many others shot. But somehow Mrs. Palin tried to make it all about her as the aggrieved party.

The left and the right need to grow up. Yes, the rhetoric and the finger-pointing should stop. It won't, of course, but for that one day to mourn, grieve and celebrate small miracles, it should have. What a shame Mrs. Palin injected herself into the conversation.

Sandra Grierson

West Babylon

Thank you for making public two letters expressing each writer's response/reaction to the president's Tucson speech ["Two sides to Obama speech," Letters, Jan. 17].

One writer responded positively to the message as presented: national healing. The second writer ignored the message, but decided instead to react to the president's physical presence at the site of the tragedy.

Freedom of speech is our right to express almost anything that is on our minds. But, here we see from one point of view the ability to recognize the president's clear call for much-needed unity. On the other hand, we also see how easy it is to sow seeds of discord and division by simply saying that the president had other "self-serving" motives.

Regardless of which viewpoint prevails, the road to real unity and recovery will be long and painful.

Conrad Tompkins

Little Neck