I can’t speak for this particular e-mail, but I do know that it’s a common tactic to put a shocking header on an e-mail to get people to open it. Then there’s a video or photo attached which contains malware.
There was one going around that said “Angelina Jolie dies in bizarre accident” and it was an attempt to get people to open a malware file. I’m guessing this is along those lines. If so, it’s not an attempt to get sympathy for Obama, instead an attempt to play off his fame to get people to open a malicious file.
That’s my assesment too, but since Obama is a presidential candidate, does this constitute a crime? If it was only sent to people outside, or only sent from outside the USA, is it a crime?