Originally Posted by rubber soul

I guess it depends on the President. Someone like Reagan or Obama tended to come off as genuine while someone like Clinton maybe you wondered if he was pandering for votes. I don't know who was sincere or not with the possible exception of Trump who's an absolute nitwit who doesn't have a clue about what he's doing. Anyway, I like to think that most of the Presidents (even Clinton) meant well when they offered sympathies.