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That's 40 years of putting himself out there, raw and unscripted, as he showed during a stop at a memorial to victims of the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech. Asked to reflect, he didn't offer canned remarks on violence or guns or public safety. The scene reminded him, he said, of the loss of his wife and daughter in a 1972 car wreck. "You know, I think of those kids, but I also think of their parents. No child should predecease their parents.
"I remember what it's like--"
Pause.
"It brings back--"
Pause.
"It brings back memories ... that call, out of the blue."
Once more, with feeling. That could be Joe Biden's bumper sticker. Always with feeling, which is just what Obama needs this year.