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Reporter:  Forrest Carr

TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) - He campaigned on a promise of hope.  President Obama came to Tucson Wednesday night trying to find just that in the wake of Saturday's horrible shootings.   And he delivered in a really big way, announcing in person the incredible news that Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords had just opened her eyes for the first time since Saturday.

The President and First Lady came to Tucson Wednesday after accepting an invitation from the University of Arizona to attend an event titled, "Together we Thrive."   Below is a narrative, in chronological order, of Wednesday night's program as it unfolded at the university's McKale Center.

The President and Mrs. Obama arrived at the center at about 5:00 PM, after visiting Giffords at her hospital bed at UMC.   Not quite 14,000 southern Arizonans had assembled to hear them speak.  Among them:  the doctors who have been treating the shooting victims, including Giffords.  When the medical team entered the arena, they received a standing ovation.

The event began at 6:00 PM with a traditional Native American blessing, presented by Carlos Gonzales of the Pascua Yaqui tribe, followed by a singing of the National Anthem.

U of A President Robert Shelton then gave a welcoming address.  He told the crowed they were to try to bring some measure of comfort to those affected by a heinous act.  Shelton said Tucson was like small college town, "a community, where people know each other and care about each other."

He said now was the time to begin the process of healing, "and to reaffirm our commitment to each other."

Shelton described Giffords as a "good friend of mine -- as she is to almost everyone in this community."  The remark drew cheers from the crowd.

Shelton asked whether the events of Saturday would make us "angry and afraid," or inspire us to make a  better world.  He said "We have great leadership to help us through these difficult times.  Many of these leaders are here with us tonight."  The statement drew more cheers.

Shelton then made a reference to Daniel Hernandez, a U of A student who helped save Congresswoman Giffords.  The mere mention of his name drew a standing ovation. 

Emily Fritze, U of A student body president, introduced Hernandez.  Hernandez addressed the gathering, quoting the Latin phrase on the Seal of the United States, "E Pluribus Unum" - "from many, one." 

Hernandez said that despite what happened Saturday, "We saw glimmers of hope."  He told the crowd, he is not a hero, that the word "hero" should be reserved for others, such as Gabrielle Giffords, who was wounded in the attack, and Gabe Zimmerman, who died.

Governor Jan Brewer then spoke. She thanked Hernandez for his "courage, which likely saved Gabrielle Gifford's life."

She said, "There is no way to measure what Tucson and all of Arizona lost on Saturday."  Brewer said Arizona "will not be shredded by one madman's act of darkness."   She predicted Arizona "will learn to smile again."  She called on God's blessing for the families affected by the tragedy, on those who seek the ends of justice, and for the United States of America.

It was then the turn of Brewer's predecessor, former governor and current Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to speak.   She addressed the crowd briefly, quoting from the Old Testament:  "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ... The crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places shall be made smooth.... Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these things.... He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no strength, he increases strength.... Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.  They shall rise up on the wings of eagles."

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder then spoke.  He also read from the Bible, the Second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.  "I believe, and so I spoke.  We too believe, and so we speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus.... For it is all for your sake, so as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.... We look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen.... If the earthly tent that we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God."  The reading concluded Holder's remarks.

Shelton then introduced the president, who took the podium amid another standing ovation.  Here is a selection of quotes from his speech.

He president said that he "kneels to pray with you today, and I will stand by you tomorrow."

He said "The hopes of a nation are here tonight.  We mourn with you for the fallen.  We join you in your grief.  And we add our faith to yours, that Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and the other victims of this tragedy will pull through."

"On Saturday morning, Gabby, her staff, and many of her constituents, gathered outside of a supermarket, to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly and free speech... Gabby called it, 'Congress on your corner,' just an updated version of government of, and by, and for the people."

The president said that scene was "shattered by a gunman's bullets."

He said those bullets deprived the country of some of what was best about America.

He mentioned the Hon. John Roll, George and Dorothy Morris.  "They were high school sweethearts."   He pointed out that when shots rang out, George, a former marine, tried to shield his wife.  Dorothy died.  George was shot, but wounded.

The president then spoke of Phyllis Schneck.  "A Republican, she took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better."

Next he mentioned victim Darwan Stoddard.  'His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers."

Then President Obama spoke about Gabe Zimmerman, an aide to Giffords who died in the shooting.  He said everything Gabe did, he did with passion.  "He died doing what he loved --- talking with people, and seeing how he could help."

Next he touched on 9 year old Christina Green.  "She decided she wanted to be the first woman to play in the Major Leagues. And as the only girl on her Little League Team, no one put it past her.  She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age." 

The President then revealed a major surprise:  on  Wednesday night, after the president had visited her but as members of Congress were coming in to see her, "Gabby opened her eyes. So I can tell you that she knows we are here, she knows that we love her, she knows that we are rooting for her."

The revelation drew wild cheers.

The president expressed gratitude for the heroes who helped battle the gunmen, and for the doctors and nurses who treated the wounded.

"Heroism is here, in the hearts of so many of our citizens, just waiting to be summoned, as it was on Saturday morning.   Their actions, their selflessness, poses a challenge to each of us.  It raises a question of what, beyond ... expressions of concern, is required of us going forward.  How can we honor the fallen?  How can we be true to their  memory?"

The president then spoke on a controversial issue -- the issue so many have raised in the wake of the shootings, and that is the nature of today's political rhetoric.

"You see, when a tragedy like this strikes, it is part of our nature to demand explanations – to try to impose some order on the chaos, and make sense out of that which seems senseless.  Already we've seen a national conversation commence, not only about the motivations behind these killings, but about everything from the merits of gun safety laws to the adequacy of our mental health systems.  Much of this process, of debating what might be done to prevent such tragedies in the future, is an essential ingredient in our exercise of self-government.   

But at a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized – at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do – it's important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds."

That last sentence drew loud cheers.

The president said that evil is in the world, and the truth is, no one can know what triggered the attack.  "So yes, we must examine all the facts behind this tragedy.  We cannot and will not be passive in the face of such violence. We should be willing to challenge old assumptions in order to lessen the prospects of violence in the future."

But he said we can't use the tragedy "as one more occasion to turn on one another.  That we cannot do."

This drew a standing ovation.

"Rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame, let us use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations, to listen to each other more carefully, to sharpen our instincts for empathy, and remind ourselves of all the ways our hopes and dreams are bound together."

President Obama said great tragedy causes us to look inward.  "We recognize our own mortality, and are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame – but rather, how well we have loved, and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better."

The president described those lost as members of the American family -- 300 million strong.  "If this tragedy prompts reflection and debate, as it should, let's make sure it's worthy of those we have lost.  Let's make sure it's not on the usual plane of politics and point scoring and pettiness that drifts away with the next news cycle. "

The president said the deaths should make us all strive to be better.  "And if, as has been discussed in recent days, their deaths help usher in more civility in our public discourse, let's remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy -- it did not.  But rather because only a more civil and honest public discourse can help us face up to our challenges as a nation, in a way that would make them proud. "

The president said he believes we can be better.  "We may not be able to stop all evil in the world.  But I know that how we treat one another -- that's entirely up to us. And I believe that despite all of our imperfections, we are full of decency and goodness. And the forces that divide us are not as strong as those that unite us."

He again referred to Christina Green.  "Imagine: here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that someday she too might play a part in shaping her nation's future.  She had been elected to her student council; she saw public service as something exciting, something hopeful.  She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model.  She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.   I want us to live up to her expectations.  I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it.  I want America to be as good as Christina imagined it.  All of us – we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children's expectations."

The remark drew lengthy cheering.

He closed by referencing Christina, who was born on 9/11/01, and featured in a book called "Faces of Hope."  The president recalled the caption by her photo:  "'I hope you know all of the words to the National Anthem and sing it with your hand over your heart.  I hope you jump in rain puddles.'    If there are rain puddles in heaven, Christina is jumping in them today.  And here on Earth, we place our hands over our hearts, and commit ourselves as Americans to forging a country that is forever worthy of her gentle, happy spirit.   May God bless and keep those we've lost in restful and eternal peace.  May He love and watch over the survivors.  And may He bless the United States of America."

The president then left the podium, to extended enthusiastic applause.

President and Mrs. Obama were scheduled to return to Washington almost immediately.

The University of Arizona said that attendance at Wednesday's event was 26,172 -- with 13,172 at McKale Center, and an equally large overfflow crowd of 13,000 watching a transmission of the event at Arizona Stadium.