US President Barack Obama said Tuesday that the true test of whether the country's politicians had learned the lessons of this month's shooting in Arizona would lie in whether they could improve their cooperation in the coming year, dpa reported.
Obama made the appeal in his annual State of the Union speech before Congress. In a rare show of unity, lawmakers from both political parties sat next to each other during the speech instead of on opposite sides of chamber.
"What comes of this moment will not be determined by whether we can sit together tonight, but whether we can work together tomorrow," Obama said.
The shooting by an apparently deranged gunman of congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the killings of six others earlier this month in Tucson, Arizona, sparked an emotional debate over whether the negative tone of US political debates had in any way encouraged the violence.
"There's a reason the tragedy in Tucson gave us pause," Obama said. "Amid all the noise and passion and rancor of our public debate, Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater - something more consequential than party or political preference."
Obama said he and lawmakers would "pray for the health" of Giffords, who is recovering in Houston from a gunshot wound to the head.
Obama called on both political parties to take responsibility for governing, warning that legislation will come to a halt without both sides taking "shared responsibility."
"We will move forward together, or not at all," Obama said. "The challenges we face are bigger than party and bigger than politics."
The call comes after voters in November's congressional elections put Republicans back in control of the House of Representatives and left Democrats in charge of the Senate.
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