It could be one of the emotional highlights of the 2012 Democratic National Convention: An appearance on stage at Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena of former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, still recovering from an assassination attempt.
It's a prospect Democratic national chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz signaled Tuesday when asked about the prospect of a Giffords appearance.
"I expect that she will," Wasserman Schultz told reporters at the arena. "In fact I'm going to see her in D.C. this afternoon. I'm sure we'll probably talk about it. We've already talked about that. I think she'd very much like to go."
Wasserman Schultz, a congresswoman from Florida, is close to Giffords, an Arizona Democrat who resigned in January to concentrate on her recovery.
She's scheduled to make a rare public appearance this weekend for for former aide Ron Barber, who's seeking to succeed her in Congress. Barber faces Republican Jesse Kelly in a June 12 special election for Giffords' seat.
According to a story in today's Politico, Barber, who was also wounded in the January 2011, has sought, in a newly drawn, GOP-leaning district, to distance himself from the man who will be re-nominated at the Charlotte convention.
--Jim Morrill, Observer staff writer
