President Obama Remembers ‘Biggest Disappointment’ As President | NBC News
Summary
TLDRIn this emotional speech, the speaker reflects on the numbness society has developed towards gun violence, highlighting the tragic impact on communities, particularly the devastating Sandy Hook shooting. The president expresses deep disappointment in Congress's failure to pass gun safety legislation, despite widespread public support. The speech emphasizes the limits of presidential power and the need for collective action, concluding with the president's executive measures to address gun violence.
Takeaways
- 😔 The routine nature of gun violence reporting and the emotional toll it takes, especially on the president.
- 😢 Gun violence affects the president deeply, particularly when thinking about the children impacted.
- 💔 The Sandy Hook tragedy, where 26 six-year-olds were brutally killed, remains one of the president's most painful memories.
- 🛡️ Even members of the Secret Service were moved to tears during the Sandy Hook memorial due to the pain of the families.
- 🗣️ The president hoped that the Sandy Hook tragedy would be a catalyst for legislative action on gun control, but was disappointed.
- ⚖️ Despite strong public support for gun control measures like expanding background checks, Congress failed to take action.
- 😡 The president expressed frustration that families of gun violence victims were criticized for advocating for gun safety legislation.
- 🙅♂️ The failure to pass bipartisan gun control legislation highlighted the limitations of presidential power, despite overwhelming public support.
- 📜 The president discussed the constitutional system of separated powers, noting both its strengths and its frustrations when civility breaks down.
- 🔨 After legislative failure, the president took executive action to implement some gun safety measures, reflecting the ongoing challenges in addressing gun violence.
Q & A
What does the speaker describe as becoming routine?
-The speaker describes the reporting, response, and conversation after incidents of gun violence as becoming routine.
Which issue does the speaker mention that makes them emotional?
-The speaker mentions that gun violence, particularly when thinking about children, makes them emotional.
What was the speaker's worst day as president related to?
-The speaker's worst day as president was when they had to hear about and respond to the shooting of 26-year-olds in a brutal way at their school.
How does the speaker express empathy towards the families of gun violence victims?
-The speaker expresses empathy by stating that they too have wept, pulled their children tight, and felt their world torn apart, showing they are not alone in their grief.
What was the speaker's reaction to the lack of action by Congress on gun safety legislation after the Sandy Hook incident?
-The speaker was disappointed and surprised that the incident did not catalyze action by Congress, expecting at least some effort or debate on the issue.
Why did the speaker go back and look at the situation regarding gun safety legislation?
-The speaker went back to look at the situation because they forgot how heavy the burden was and wanted to reflect on the Senate's failure to expand background checks for gun sales.
What was the speaker's biggest disappointment as president related to gun control?
-The speaker's biggest disappointment was the failure to pass gun safety legislation, despite having the support of the majority of Americans.
How does the speaker describe the limits of presidential power in the context of the U.S. Constitution?
-The speaker describes the limits of presidential power by referencing the U.S. Constitution's system of separated and distributed powers among different branches and levels of government.
What action did the president take after failing to move legislation on gun safety?
-After failing to move legislation, the president went around Congress and announced a series of executive measures on gun control.
What rights does the speaker mention were stripped from victims of gun violence?
-The speaker mentions the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were stripped from victims of gun violence.
Outlines
🔫 Gun Violence and Its Impact
The speaker reflects on the routine nature of reporting and responding to gun violence incidents, expressing emotional responses to such tragedies. They recount their worst day as president, which involved comforting families of young children killed in a school shooting. The speaker highlights the emotional toll of these events, the collective grief shared across the nation, and the failure of Congress to act on gun safety legislation despite public support. They also touch on the limits of presidential power and the challenges faced when trying to pass legislation, even with majority support. The paragraph concludes with a mention of executive measures taken in the absence of legislative action.
📺 NBC News Engagement
This paragraph is a call to action for viewers of NBC News' YouTube channel. It invites viewers to subscribe to the channel and engage with the content by watching interviews, show highlights, and digital exclusives. The speaker expresses gratitude for the viewers' interest and participation.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Gun violence
💡Routine
💡Emotional response
💡Sandy Hook
💡Legislation
💡Executive measures
💡Background checks
💡Compassion
💡Civility
💡System of government
💡Unalienable rights
Highlights
The routine nature of reporting and responding to gun violence incidents has led to a sense of numbness.
Emotional responses to gun violence are highlighted, especially when thinking about children affected.
The president's worst day was hearing about 26-year-olds being shot in a brutal manner at their school.
The emotional toll of comforting the families of young children after a mass shooting is emphasized.
The hope is expressed that knowing others share in the grief can provide some solace.
The president recalls a day when a member of the Secret Service cried during the reading of names of those killed at Sandy Hook.
The expectation that the Sandy Hook tragedy would be a catalyst for action on gun safety legislation was not met.
The lack of substantial movement on gun safety legislation in Congress was a disappointment.
The president reflects on the limits of power, even for the president, due to the system of checks and balances.
The idea that family members of gun violence victims lobbying for legislation is seen as misplaced is criticized.
The president expresses that the inability to pass gun safety legislation was a shameful day for Washington.
The president acknowledges the limits of power, even with majority public support.
The president went around Congress to implement executive measures on gun safety.
The president emphasizes the unalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that are threatened by gun violence.
The president calls out the difficulty in moving legislation even with strong public support due to political gridlock.
The president's actions to address gun violence through executive measures are detailed.
The emotional and political impact of gun violence on the president and the nation is deeply felt.
Transcripts
somehow this has become routine the
reporting is routine my response here
ends up being routine
the conversation in the aftermath of it
we've become numb to this
you do get emotional at times I do he
gets emotional about one issue perhaps
more than any other gun violence every
time I think about those kids it gets me
mad and by the way it happens on the
streets of Chicago every day my worst
day as president was hearing that 26
year olds had been shot in the most
brutal way in their school where they
should have been safe and it was only
two days later where I had to try to
comfort parents of these six-year-olds
and their siblings 10 year olds 8 year
olds whose little sisters or little
brothers have just been slaughtered I
can only hope it helps for you to know
that you're not alone in your grief that
our world too has been torn apart that
all across this land of ours we have
wept with you we've pulled our children
tight that day that I spoke at the Sandy
Hook memorial is the only day I've seen
in a member of The Secret Service cry
while they were standing there because
every time I read out a name of one
who'd been been killed
the families you could just hear the
pain Charlotte
Daniel Olivia Josephine Anna Dylan I
thought that okay this has to be a
catalyst for some action by Congress I
didn't expect that you'd see some huge
movement on gun safety legislation but I
thought well they're going to have to
make some effort and the fact that it
didn't even get the kind of hearing and
votes that you would have expected that
it didn't generate a debate that you
actually had bipartisan legislation that
had been sponsored and it didn't matter
I went back and looked at this and
forgot how heavy it was you're standing
in the Rose Garden it's 2013 the Senate
had just failed to expand background
checks for for gun sales and you're
standing there with the Sandy Hook
families my biggest disappointment as
president I've heard folks say that
having the families of victims lobby for
this legislation was somehow misplaced a
prop somebody called them are they
serious do we really think that
thousands of families whose lives have
been shattered by gun violence don't
have a right to weigh in on this issue
all in all this was a pretty shameful
day for Washington nine out of ten
Americans were with you on that one day
well you couldn't get it done do that
did that tell you but as powerful as
this job is the limits of your power
well yeah I taught constitutional law
right down the street at University of
Chicago and the child living it you know
the founders deliberately set up a
system that separates powers and
distributes power
not just among the different branches
but different levels of government and
there's there's wisdom in that in the
sense that the likelihood of any single
person doing real damage to the country
is reduced on the other hand when basic
civility or compromise breaks down that
the system can get really stuck and what
we've witnessed over the last six years
since I lost the majority in the Senate
in the house is it's been difficult not
impossible but exceedingly difficult to
try to move legislation even when we
have strong support from the majority of
the American people after failing to
move the needle on gun safety for years
the president went around Congress last
January announcing a series of executive
measures our unalienable right to life
and liberty and the pursuit of happiness
those rights were stripped from college
kids in Blacksburg and Santa Barbara and
from high schoolers at Columbine and and
from first-graders in Newtown
first graders
and from every family who who never
imagined that their loved one would be
taken from our lives by a bullet from a
gun
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