George W. Bush: “I'm proud to be here in southwest Missouri.”

To you and the honored dead, our country is forever grateful.

We are grateful to the first responders and volunteers who are working to find the missing and comfort the grieving at Camp Mystic and along the Guadalupe.

We know our words cannot help, but we believe the prayers of so many Americans will.

Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square. Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens.