Gabrielle Giffords wants to feel ‘better’ before returning to D.C.

Chicago Sun-Times Via A.P. ^ | November 15, 2011 | Kevin Freking

[Graybeard58]

— Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in her first public interview since she was shot in the head in Tucson last winter, doted on her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, and called him “brave, brave, brave” as she kissed his bald head.

Giffords appears on ABC’s “20/20” show Monday night. It’s her first extended interview since the January rampage that killed six people and wounded 13.

A segment that aired on “Good Morning America” shows a thin Giffords with a broad grin as she talks about Kelly. Her husband replied that the word “brave” was the same one that came to his mind when he thinks of her — “brave and tough,” he said. Then Giffords, looking directly at Kelly, responds almost in a whisper: “Tough, tough, tough.”

It wasn’t clear from the clip beyond those few words just how fully recovered Giffords is 10 months after the shooting. Interviewer Diane Sawyer recounted how Giffords would discuss her career plans and her recovery, and the segment included some video of Giffords’ progress, from being unable to speak at all, to the point where she was ready to give a television interview.

At one point, Giffords breaks down sobbing while having difficulty relearning to speak and she and her therapist hug. In another clip, she sings into a microphone as part of her speech therapy. And in another she walks holding hands with her husband.

The television interview comes as fellow victims of the shooting came to Washington to testify in favor of a gun-control bill. They said that Giffords’ appearance represents a major milestone for them as it helps them cope with the trauma they’ve endured over the past 10 months. About a dozen survivors and family members are in Washington lobbying for legislation that would extend criminal background checks to

[WOBBLY BOB]

Yeah,but Bachmann is unfit to serve because she gets migraines!