Politics Put Largely on Hold After Colorado Shootings 
 
 Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images President Barack Obama cut short a planned campaign swing in Florida to fly back to the White House today. 
 
 Republicans and Democrats today toned down the politicking after the early morning massacre at a showing of the new Batman movie in Aurora, Colo., canceling events and offering condolences. 
 
 And while a few politicians, notably New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, jumped ahead to the inevitable topic of gun control, most stuck to a nonpartisan line of grief after 12 people were reported killed and dozens more wounded. 
 
 President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) separately issued calls for the nation to come together as one family after the tragedy. 
 
 “Michelle and I are shocked and saddened by the horrific and tragic shooting in Colorado,” the president said, pledging to support the people of Aurora. “As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family.” 
 
 Obama later made brief remarks at a campaign rally in Fort Myers, Fla., that was cut short. 
 
 “If there’s anything to take away from this tragedy, it’s a reminder that life is fragile. Our time here is precious,” Obama said. 
 
 Obama said politics can wait. 
 
 “There are going to be other days for politics,” he said. “This I think is a day for prayer and reflection.” 
 
 Boehner put out his statement not long after Obama released his prepared remarks. “Confronted with incomprehensible evil, Americans pull together and embrace our national family more tightly,” he said. “I join President Obama, and every American, in sending my thoughts and prayers to the victims of this awful tragedy. We will all stand with them, as one nation, in the days ahead.” 
 
 Obama cut short a planned campaign swing in Florida to fly back to the White House, and the president and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney were to address the tragedy separately in midday remarks. 
 
 The Romney campaign also said Ann Romney’s campaign events would be canceled today and that the campaign was suspending its ads in Colorado for the time being. 
 
 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also canceled a press conference he had planned for today, and other lawmakers pulled back from the political fence after the shooting. 
 
 Bloomberg, meanwhile, said Obama and Romney should say what they are going to do to deal with gun violence. 
 
 “You know, soothing words are nice, but maybe it’s time that the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they are going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country,” he said in a radio interview this morning. ||||| Associated Press President Barack Obama pauses during a moment of silence for the victims of the Aurora, Colo., shooting during an event at the Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Fla., Friday, July 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) 
 
 FORT MYERS, Fla.– President Barack Obama put aside politics as he addressed a crowd here, following the overnight shooting overnight at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. 
 
 “There are going to be other days for politics,” the president said. “This, I think, is a day for prayer and reflection.” 
 
 Mr. Obama stepped onto the stage in Fort Myers more than half an hour earlier than scheduled. The crowd was cheering, but the president was somber and quickly urged the audience to sit down. 
 
 “I was looking forward to having a fun conversation with you about some really important matters that we face as a country,” he said. “But this morning we woke up to news of a tragedy that reminds us of all the ways we are united as one American family.” 
 
 The president reflected on how the tragedy resonates with him as a father of two young daughters. “My daughters go to the movies. What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater?” he said. “Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight.” 
 
 Mr. Obama vowed whoever is responsible “for this heinous act” would be brought to justice. 
 
 “Such violence, such evil is senseless. It’s beyond reason,” he said. “If there’s anything to take away from this tragedy it’s a reminder that life is fragile… and what maters at the end of the day is not the small things, it’s not the trival things… Ultimately it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another.” 
 
 Mr. Obama led the crowd in a moment of silence to remember the victims and reflect on the tragedy. He then encouraged the audience to spend some time reflecting. “I hope all of you will keep the people of Aurora in your hearts and minds today,” he said. 
 
 President Obama gives remarks on the Colorado theater shooting. 
 
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– Politicking is mostly taking the day off in the wake of the Colorado shooting, notes Roll Call. President Obama stepped away from his stump speech in Florida to speak of the shooting, and Mitt Romney was expected to do the same later today. The Romney camp also pulled ads from Colorado. Some highlights from the president's speech, per the Wall Street Journal: "This morning we woke up to a news of a tragedy that reminds us of all the ways we are united as one American family." “My daughters go to the movies. What if Malia and Sasha had been at the theater? Michelle and I will be fortunate enough to hug our girls a little tighter tonight.” "Such violence, such evil is senseless. It is beyond reason." "There are going to be other days for politics. This is a day for prayer and reflection.”