Why do President Obama's words just now sound so hollow?

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3. Actually, they don't. At least to me.

Felt as though he was trying to reach out, to be the Comforter-in-Chief. His repeated references to "your President" - "your President will work with you." "Your President will be there with you." I think that sends a subtle message. This guy has tried to reach out for six years. I'm amazed he still seems to get up in the morning with a spring in his step, with all the shit he has to step through. How despicably he's treated and disrespected. How people just love to pile on him all the time. NOTHING he does is good enough. They accuse him of everything from being weak and ineffective as a leader to being a Constitution-trampling tyrant, from spineless weasel to murderer of kittens and puppies. Just depends on what time of day it is with some of these assholes. And then you get events like these piling on, too. Too much heartbreak and turmoil and upset out there.

I was moved by his speech. And when Sharpton came on, I wanted the Rev. Al to shut up so I could keep watching the speech.

I think we need this. I think we all need to see a President who's out there, still at it. Leading. Defiant of the so-called epitaph the media wrote for him after the elections. Helping us try to make sense out of what's happened. Forward-thinking, not afraid to take a well-considered "bold" move when need be, playing the long game, and patient as a good dad when all these spoiled-brat adult-size five-year-olds throw tantrums and shit-wads but he still cares for them. I don't know how he does it every day. I was glad to hear him speaking and see him out there - a physical presence at a time when much of America is disillusioned and bereaved and bewildered. It feels almost as though he's trying to buck us up so we can all work to fix this.

But when your ship's run aground, and everyone's in a grim mood, maybe it's a good thing to have our President out there trying to offer encouragement, and a few practical things we can try doing - these civic and regional meetings and get-togethers he spoke of. Isn't that kinda what we need at the moment? Whenever there's a problem, my first reaction is - "well, what can we DO about it?" I always want to try to come up with something concrete to do or set up or build or some such. So it's encouraging to me when President Obama gets out there and tries to help lift us back up after we've been knocked on our collective ass.