president obamaPresident Obama's emotional reaction to the tragic elementary school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, was eloquent, heartwrenching, and brutally honest -- because, as he says, Obama reacted to the news as a father, not a politician: "Each time I learn the news I react not as a president, but as anyone else would -- as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there's not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do."

Obama wiped away tears and paused, choked up, as he spoke:

"This evening, Michelle and I will do what I know every parent in America will do ... "

"Which is hug our children a little tighter. And we'll tell them that we love them, and remind each other how deeply we love one another. But there are families in Connecticut who can't do that tonight."

"And they need all of us right now."

As a mom, I basically wept during Obama's entire speech. But when he spoke specifically about the children who lost their lives ... there are just no words to describe the sadness.

"They had their entire lives ahead of them -- birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own. Among the fallen were also teachers, men and women who devoted their lives to helping children fulfill their dreams."

It's every parent's worst nightmare. Every teacher's worst nightmare. Articulating the extent of this nightmare is an almost impossible task, but Obama managed to do it with respect, grace, and sincerity.

What did you think of Obama's reaction to the school shooting?


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