Emotional Obama Cries While Telling Staff ‘I’m Really Proud Of All Of You’ [Video]

President Obama became uncharacteristically emotional when thanking his Chicago staffers for their help during his campaign.

The president went to his campaign headquarters in the Prudential Building near Lake Michigan the day after he was reelected. He told the staff, many of whom were in their 20s and 30s, that their work reminded him of when he was their age working as a community organizer in Chicago.

Obama said, “It’s not that you remind me of myself; it’s that you’re so much better than I was. You’re smarter and you’re better organized and you’re more effective. What Bobby Kennedy called the ‘ripples of hope,’ when you throw a stone in the lake, that’s you.”

He added that he felt he had come “full circle” because what they had done meant that the work he is doing is important.

Wiping away tears around the three and a half minute mark, he said, “And I’m really proud of that. I’m really proud of all of you.”

The president then told his staff:

“What you guys accomplished will go on in annals of history…but the most important thing you need to know is your journey’s just beginning. You’re just starting. That’s been my source of hope. It’s been why the last four years when people ask me how do you put up with this or that, the frustrations of Washington, I think of what you guys are doing. That’s the source of my hope, my strength and my inspiration.”

A video of the president’s speech was uploaded to the White House’s official YouTube channel with the description, “Thank you. This is your victory.”