President Obama Remembers ‘Biggest Disappointment’ As President | NBC News

Summary

In 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

00:00

🔫 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.

05:00

📺 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.

Keywords

💡Gun violence

Gun violence refers to the use of firearms to inflict harm or death on others. In the context of the video, it is a central theme as the speaker expresses deep emotional responses to incidents involving gun violence, particularly when it affects children. The video mentions the Sandy Hook shooting, where first-graders were killed, highlighting the devastating impact of gun violence on families and communities.

💡Routine

The term 'routine' in the video script suggests that the reporting and response to gun violence incidents have become so common that they are almost expected. This reflects a sense of resignation and numbness to the recurring nature of such tragedies, indicating the urgency for change and the emotional toll it takes on those involved.

💡Emotional response

An emotional response is a natural reaction to a stimulus or event, often involving feelings of sadness, anger, or frustration. The video emphasizes the speaker's emotional response to gun violence, particularly when thinking about the children affected. This underscores the personal and profound impact of such incidents and the need for empathy and action.

💡Sandy Hook

Sandy Hook refers to the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, where 20 children and six adults were killed. The video script mentions this event as a pivotal moment that stirred strong emotions and expectations for legislative action on gun control, illustrating the gravity of gun violence in the national conversation.

💡Legislation

Legislation in this context refers to the process of making or enacting laws, particularly those related to gun control. The video discusses the disappointment and frustration with the lack of legislative progress on gun safety measures, despite public support and the emotional impact on victims' families, highlighting the political challenges in addressing gun violence.

💡Executive measures

Executive measures are actions taken by the executive branch of government, such as the President, without the need for legislative approval. The video mentions that the President went around Congress to implement executive measures on gun control, indicating the extent to which the political process can be bypassed in certain circumstances to address urgent issues.

💡Background checks

Background checks are procedures conducted to verify the criminal history, mental health, and other relevant information of individuals seeking to purchase firearms. The video script refers to the failure of the Senate to expand background checks for gun sales as a significant disappointment, emphasizing the role of these checks in preventing gun violence.

💡Compassion

Compassion is the feeling of empathy and concern for the suffering of others. The video script conveys the speaker's compassion for the families affected by gun violence, expressing a desire to comfort them and acknowledging the shared grief across the nation, which is a key aspect of the emotional narrative.

💡Civility

Civility refers to politeness and respect in behavior or speech. The video discusses the breakdown of civility and compromise in political discourse, which has contributed to the difficulty in passing legislation, even when there is public support, indicating the broader impact of political polarization on societal issues.

💡System of government

The system of government mentioned in the video refers to the constitutional framework that divides power among different branches and levels of government. This system is designed to prevent the concentration of power but can also lead to gridlock, as seen in the inability to pass gun safety legislation, despite widespread public support.

💡Unalienable rights

Unalienable rights are fundamental rights that are considered to be inherent to all individuals, such as the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The video script connects the violation of these rights to the victims of gun violence, emphasizing the importance of addressing this issue to uphold the core values of society.

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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