WASHINGTON -- Declaring that "if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," President Barack Obama chose a highly personal way to join the heated national debate over the death of Trayvon Martin, the black teenager shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Florida.
Obama took care to voice no opinion on the conduct of the shooter, George Zimmerman, or any legal aspect of the case beyond a call for a thorough investigation. "The attorney general reports to me, so I've got to be careful about my statements to make sure that we're not impairing any investigation," he said.
Yet his remarks Friday could have a powerful influence on how the public views the case. It was a rare White House moment -- a president identifying himself with a victim in a racially charged shooting. More broadly, it drew attention to the way young black men are seen by a predominantly white society.
Martin's parents appeared to acknowledge that Obama's public identification with their son carried huge symbolic importance.
"The president's personal comments touched us deeply," they said. The remarks "made us wonder: If his son looked liked Trayvon and wore a hoodie, would he be suspicious too?"
Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who has been in close contact with the Martin family, expressed a view held by many black leaders, saying that being targeted for violence "is the reality of being a black boy in America." "It's a problem that has existed for generations since slavery," she said, expressing the hope that Obama's remarks might change how black men are perceived. "Every time the president is realistic about a situation, it helps the country grow and mature."
Obama's comments were not written in advance, aides said, but they came after a week in which the president has been closely following the case. Initially, the president had hesitated to speak publicly about the shooting, concerned that he would appear to be trying to affect the outcome of the case but over the week his view shifted.
"He did not want to jeopardize the independent investigation," the official said, "but he also felt that we need to ask ourselves how this could happen."
The comments shifted the White House position, which had been to keep a distance from the case. Tuesday, for example, press secretary Jay Carney had said only that "we here in the White House are aware of the incident" and that "our thoughts and prayers go out to Trayvon Martin's family, but obviously, we're not going to wade into a local law enforcement matter."
By contrast, Obama said that "it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together -- federal, state and local -- to figure out exactly how this tragedy happened."
Republican presidential hopefuls joined Obama in his call for a thorough investigation.
"What happened to Trayvon Martin is a tragedy," Mitt Romney said in a written statement. "There needs to be a thorough investigation that reassures the public that justice is carried out with impartiality and integrity."
Campaigning at a shooting range in West Monroe, La., Rick Santorum called Martin's death a "horrible case."
"It's chilling to hear what happened," Santorum said. "The fact that law enforcement didn't immediately go after and prosecute this case is another chilling example of, I would say, the horrible decisions made by the people in this case."
By CHRISTI PARSONS AND MICHAEL A. MEMOLI
Tribune Washington Bureau