On Tuesday’s radio program, Glenn praised the family of Michael Brown – the 18-year-old shot and killed by a police officer in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri on Saturday – for pleading for nonviolence amidst all the violence and rioting that has broken out in the area.

While Al Shartpon and Jesse Jackson have been at the forefront of ratcheting up rhetoric surrounding the tragedy, President Obama took a more conciliatory approach in his remarks. On radio this morning, Glenn reacted to the President’s response.

Unlike what he said in the aftermath of the death of Trayvon Martin, Obama’s response to this tragedy had a much more demure tone. Instead of likening Brown to his unborn son (as he did with Martin), the President extended his “deepest condolences” to the family and asked people to “comfort” one another.

Below is Obama’s official statement:

The death of Michael Brown is heartbreaking, and Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to his family and his community at this very difficult time. As Attorney General Holder has indicated, the Department of Justice is investigating the situation along with local officials, and they will continue to direct resources to the case as needed. I know the events of the past few days have prompted strong passions, but as details unfold, I urge everyone in Ferguson, Missouri, and across the country, to remember this young man through reflection and understanding. We should comfort each other and talk with one another in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds. Along with our prayers, that’s what Michael and his family, and our broader American community, deserve.

Given the President’s track record, Glenn found the remarks to be acceptable, though given the extent of the violence and the scope of the Obama’s influence, he does not believe the statement was strong enough. He would have preferred the President say something like:

“What good does this do? What are you doing? This is not the way he would want to be remembered… This makes you look bad as a community. Don't do this. America will not side with people who are using something to go loot stores. It won't happen. We're better than this.

“There's nothing wrong with [his] statement,” Glenn concluded. “[But] that is what the president should have said.”

Front page image courtesy of the AP