President Obama jetted to Joplin, Missouri immediately after wrapping up the national security-focused NATO conference in Chicago where he delivered the commencement address to the 2012 graduating class of Joplin High School.
After hosting the world's major economic powers at his presidential retreat in Maryland and the world's pre-eminent military alliance in his hometown of Chicago over the weekend, President Obama came to Joplin, Mo., Monday night for some inspiration.
He got it, he said, from a city that lost 161 of its sons and daughters one year ago, on May 22, 2011, when a tornado with winds surpassing 200 mph tore a 13-mile-long, 3/4-mile-wide swath of destruction.
And in particular, he got it from the high school students whose graduation ceremony he was invited to address.
"The job of a commencement speaker, aside from keeping it short and sweet, is to inspire," Obama said in his prepared remarks. "But as I look out at this class and across this city, what's clear is that you're the source of inspiration today."
President Obama spoke about his deepest hope for the young graduates of Joplin:
"My deepest hope for all of you is that as you begin this new chapter in your life, you will bring that spirit of Joplin to every place you travel and everything you do," Obama said. "You can serve as a reminder that we're not meant to walk this road alone; that we're not expected to face down adversity by ourselves. We need each other. We're important to each other. We're stronger together than we are on our own."
President Obama said he came to
The residents of Joplin suffered a devastating tornado one year ago, the day after last year's high school graduation. President Obama honored the occasion by speaking at this year's commencement. He thought to mention his deepest hopes for the young graduates. This may seem like pretty standard election campaign fare, but as the election approaches, try to imagine a President Romney in this situation. The man who doesn't care about poor people, loves firing people, thinks corporations are people, has friends who are Nascar owners, has elevators for his cars and criticizes a host's baked goods - try to imagine him even marking such an occasion let alone saying the words 'my deepest hope for all of you', to residents of a small city who had endured great devastation and come through it better and stronger. I can't.