President Bush: Father-in Chief

President Bush's remarks at the Virginia Tech Memorial Convocation weren't long.

Although the nation was watching, he didn't use the moment as an opportunity to perform or push anything even vaguely political.

He didn't take the spotlight. The leader of the Free World didn't monopolize the event. He was just one among the several people who spoke.

I was struck by his expression as he delivered his relatively brief remarks. His anguish was clearly visible. You could see how deeply immersed he was in the sorrow surrounding the tragedy.

This wasn't an act. It wasn't political posturing. It wasn't a slick performance.

Here was a man speaking from his heart, a father of daughters not much older than the students killed.
Transcript

(Excerpt)

For many of you, your first instinct was to call home and let your moms and dads know that you were okay. Others took on the terrible duty of calling the relatives of a classmate or a colleague who had been wounded or lost. I know many of you feel awfully far away from people you lean on and people you count on during difficult times. But as a dad, I can assure you, a parent's love is never far from their child's heart. And as you draw closer to your own families in the coming days, I ask you to reach out to those who ache for sons and daughters who will never come home.

These sources of strength are also in the faith that sustains so many of us. Across the town of Blacksburg and in towns all across America, houses of worship from every faith have opened their doors and have lifted you up in prayer. People who have never met you are praying for you; they're praying for your friends who have fallen and who are injured. There's a power in these prayers, real power. In times like this, we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God. As the Scriptures tell us, "Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

And on this terrible day of mourning, it's hard to imagine that a time will come when life at Virginia Tech will return to normal. But such a day will come. And when it does, you will always remember the friends and teachers who were lost yesterday, and the time you shared with them, and the lives they hoped to lead. May God bless you. May God bless and keep the souls of the lost. And may His love touch all those who suffer and grieve.