SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
President Barack Obama took time away from the budget negotiations yesterday to talk to the country about the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. The president said he reacted first as the parent of two young daughters and he paused to wipe tears from his eyes.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I know there's not a parent in America who doesn't feel the same overwhelming grief that I do. The majority of those who died today were children, beautiful little kids between the ages of five and 10 years old.
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OBAMA: They had their entire lives ahead of them - birthdays, graduations, weddings, kids of their own.
SIMON: The president said, our hearts are broken, and he asked Americans to keep Newtown in their thoughts.
OBAMA: This weekend, Michelle and I are doing what I know every parent is doing, holding our children as close as we can and reminding them how much we love them. There are families in Connecticut who can't do that today, and they need all of us right now. Because while nothing can take the place of a lost child or loved one, all of us can extend a hand to those in need to remind them that we're there for them, that we're praying for them and that the love they felt for those they lost endures not just in their own memories but also in their communities and in their country.
SIMON: President Obama, speaking yesterday about the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.