President Again Takes On Role of 'Consoler in Chief'

He accompanied Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) from Washington to Blacksburg, where he received a briefing from Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger.

During the convocation, a young man seated directly behind the president appeared to pass out. Bush looked around to see what was happening, just as emergency personnel arrived. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said that the man, who briefly fainted, was a relative of one of the shooting victims.

After the memorial, Bush -- accompanied by first lady Laura Bush, Kaine and his wife, Anne Holton -- spent at least half an hour talking to relatives of the massacre victims. In all, Bush met with more than 50 people from at least a dozen families, aides said.

"You give it your best shot on the words," Bush said in an interview with ABC News. "And you hug and cry, and that's what Laura and I have just done."

Bush brushed aside questions about his position on gun control. In both of his presidential campaigns, he expressed support for instant background checks for gun purchases but opposition to waiting periods. He has said that the best deterrent to gun violence is strong enforcement of laws barring felons and others from carrying firearms.

"I think when a guy walks in and shoots 32 people, it's going to cause there to be a lot of policy debate," Bush told ABC. "Now's not the time to do the debate until we're absolutely certain about what happened and after we help people get over their grieving. But, yeah, I do think there's going to be a lot of discussion."

Staff writer Michelle Boorstein in Blacksburg contributed to this report.