Obama to speak after meeting victims' families

President Barack Obama pauses during a moment of silence for the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting during an event at the Harborside Event Center in Ft. Myers, Fla., Friday. / AP Photo/Susan Walsh

(CBS/AP) President Obama visited Aurora, Colo., Sunday afternoon to meet with local officials and the families of victims of Friday's mass shooting there.

The trip, announced late Saturday night, will be a brief stopover; he's expected to be in Colorado for only a couple of hours and to make a statement around 7:30 p.m. ET.

Air Force One touched down at Buckley Air Force Base in Aurora late Sunday afternoon for the president's hastily arranged 2?-hour visit.

His visit comes after canceling two campaign events in Florida Friday, after news broke about the shooting. "There are going to be other days for politics," Mr. Obama said in Ft. Myers, Florida, before cutting short his campaign stop. "This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection."

In his weekly address to the nation Saturday, he said, "the federal government stands ready to do everything necessary to bring whoever's responsible for this heinous crime to justice. We will take every step possible to ensure the safety of all our people. And we will stand by our neighbors in Colorado during this extraordinarily difficult time."

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates were among those who greeted Obama at Buckley.

"These families need that kind of contact by our elected leader," Oates told "Face the Nation." "It will be very powerful and it will help them. As awful as what they've been through and what they're going through has been, having the president here is very, very powerful."

[dparks2010]

LOL!.. talk about over-doing it; he couldn't have said "God" any more if he'd been quoting Reverend Wright's own Bible.. BAH AHHAH ha hah ah aaa aa a aaa!!

[catmomtx]

Jake, he certainly couldn't tell you a thing. In fact, I doubt ANYONE could tell you anything. You are so full of hate and BS, it must be sad being you.

[joekiddone]

As part of the charade, the media places the word "comfort" next to President Obama, but he is no "healer". If he was, we would have already seen him out in front on national TV addressing the flash mob-and-rob violence. Or the hundreds of recent murders in his own hometown. But his silence is deafening. He leveraged the Tucson shooting for political gain and he'll do it again. You may think me cynical, but knowing his duplicitous actions after that atrocity in Tucson would make anyone see the light. He is a political opportunist of the worst kind. The only questions that remain now are:

(1) How much blood money can he and his Democrat Party fundraise off this?

(2) Will the "Together We Thrive" T-shirts and bus bench ads show up again?

File this under "Never let a crisis go to waste."

[joekiddone]

SEVEN FLASHBACKS:
1. The Tucson Shooting: "Barack Obama's Oklahoma City moment"
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47348.html

2. "They need to deftly pin this [Tucson shooting] on the tea partiers. Just like the Clinton White House deftly pinned the Oklahoma City bombing on the militia and anti-government people." ~a Democrat operative on how Obama can parlay Jared Loughner's evil into something tangibly good for himself.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47294_Page2.html

3. Obama Delayed Memorial Waiting For Polling Data To Come In
http://conservidive.magnify.net/video/RUSH-Obama-Delayed-Memorial-Wai

4. Unbelievable: Democrat group using Gifford's shooting for fundraiser! -- Warner Todd Huston
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/huston/110110

5. "The pep rally lives on." -- "Together We Thrive" Bus Benches Pop Up in Tucson -- Jim Hoft
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/01/weird-pep-rally-continues-together-we-thrive-bus-benches-pop-up-in-tucson/

6. "Together We Thrive" T-shirts! My.BarackObama.com Reelection Campaign --Obama's Organizing for America
https://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/johnberry_iv/C94H

7. "Welcome to the era of Obama, where cheering and standing ovations, for the first time in history, became part of the Requiem for the Dead." ~Judi McCleod
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/32138

Add the chanting for "Four more years" and you're just starting to get the whole ugly picture.

[catmomtx]

Oh get over yourself! With all of your unreasonable diatribe against President Obama the sad thing is, YOU are the one with the problem. Get over your unreasonable hatred for the President of the United States of America. Your hatred is the reason you as such a miserable jerk.

[johndillinger1]

fear of a black man in power makes people say dumb stuff

[hillzhavays]

yes, ad, john pulled the race card. If he didn't do it, another lefty would have. You're not allowed to say mean things about their messiah.

[yougogirl60]

@Jake1A1:

Can't you be civilized at least long enough to realize President Obama is doing his job as President of our nation. People like you have been FALSELY accusing President Obama of not leading so now when he is responding to this national tragedy, you still WHINE and accuse him of ulterior motives. To "people" of your ilk President Obama is "da**ned if he does and da**ned if he doesn't.

For once, just shut up AND listen!