The normally stoic Democrat had to repeatedly wipe away tears during the five-and-a-half minute talk that was caught on video and posted to YouTube.
'I'm really proud of all of you,' he said.
Minutes before: Obama is seen smiling as he hugs Jim Messina his Campaign Manager shortly before making his remarks
At one point, his baritone voice went another octave deeper as he got choked up while talking about the parallels between his own story and that of his young campaign operatives.
'I try to picture myself when i was your age, and I first moved to Chicago at the age of 25, and I had this vague inkling about making a difference I didn't really know how to do it I didn’t have a structure,' he said.
'When I come here and I look at all of you what comes to mind is not that you guys actually remind me of myself its the fact that you are so much better than I was in so many ways- you're smarter, you're better organized, you're more effective.
'I'm absolutely confident that all of you are going to do just amazing things in your lives. You’re just going to do great things
'Your journey is just beginning, you're just starting and whatever good we do over the next four years will pale in comparison to what you guys end up accomplishing for years and years to come. That's been my source of hope.'
While the President is known for his soaring oratory skills, which were out in full force on Election Night when he gave his acceptance speech to a crowded convention hall, this talk to his close aides and many recent college graduates was much more personal.
He stood in front of a lone microphone facing a room packed with staffers, with chief campaign strategist David Axelrod and campaign manager Jim Messina standing a few feet away.
'Even before last night's results, I felt that the work I had done in running for office had come full circle because what you guys have done means that the work that I'm doing is important, and I'm really proud of that, and I'm really proud of all of you,' Obama said
