81 cry for the movement starting in 2004 during his breakout speech at the Democratic National Convention; there, he described hope as a “belief that there are better days ahead of us.”44 The truth of hope could be found during times of difficulty and uncertainty. Centering his leadership on empathy has led President Obama to be known as the Empathizer-in-Chief.45 In the aftermath of the massacre at Sandy Hook, President Obama displayed moral leadership through the use of empathy as his symbolic dimension was shown to the whole nation. This was especially true as he met with the many family members of the victims. President Obama spent hours with the hundreds of family members. Joshua DuBois, President Obama’s head of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, recalled the President’s interactions with the families, saying, “Person after person received an engulfing hug from our commander-in-chief. He’d say, ‘Tell me about your son. Tell me about your daughter.’” We spent what felt like a lifetime in those classrooms, and every single person received the same tender treatment. The same hugs. The same looks, directly in their eyes. The same sincere offer of support and prayer.”46 He took the time to make sure that each of the families knew that he, as the President, and that he, as a person, cared about their child and the loss they were experiencing. President Obama spoke to the people of Newtown, Connecticut, following his interactions with the families and showed the people of that community and the nation that they were not alone: “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. And you must know that whatever measure of comfort we can provide, we will provide; whatever portion of sadness that we can share with you to ease this heavy load, we will gladly bear it. Newtown—you are not alone.”47 President Obama’s empathy was on display from the start of the Sandy Hook massacre. In his first address to the nation after learning the news, he stated, “We’ve endured too many of these tragedies in the past few years. And each time I learn the news, I react not as a president, but as anybody else would as a parent. And that was especially true today. I know there’s not a parent in America IN THE AGE OF SCHOOL SHOOTINGS: PRESIDENT OBAMA’S MORAL LEADERSHIP
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