What Americans saw on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on Monday night was just what we needed. Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona returned to the house floor for the first time since being shot in January to cast her vote in favor of the debt ceiling bill. In a matter of seconds, Representative Giffords brought to the house floor what has been missing for quite some time, a sense of civility and good will. The return of Representative Giffords brought back memories of Ted Kennedy's return to the Senate to cast a historic vote in favor of the president's health care bill while recovering from surgery for a brain tumor. It also invoked memories of Ronald Reagan's return to the house chamber to deliver his state of the union address shortly after being shot in 1981. Why can't our elected officials exhibit this type of behavior towards one another all the time? Why does it take a tragedy to get those in Washington to act in a civilized way? The people of Arizona and the United States should be proud of Gabrielle Giffords. In deciding to return for the all important vote, Representative Giffords said, "I have closely followed the debate over our debt ceiling and have been deeply disappointed at what’s going on in Washington. After weeks of failed debate in Washington, I was pleased to see a solution to this crisis emerge. I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics. I had to be here for this vote. I could not take the chance that my absence could crash our economy.” While the back and forth arguing and bickering will likely continue in the nation's capital, at least for a moment, Representative Giffords was able to show us all what Washington politics should be all about.
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