UPDATE: 4:30pm EST
President Barack Obama got an up-close look at the devastation wrought by superstorm Sandy on Wednesday.
Joined by NJ Gov. Chris Christie, Obama toured the ravaged area and visited a local hospital, talking and comforting those in need.
Obama told the people of Brigantine, NJ:
“Our hearts go out the families that have lost loved ones and they are in our thoughts and prayers. We are here for you and we will not forget.”
Obama praised the efforts of Christie and FEMA, saying that we’ve gotten through tough times and we’ve bounced back.
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President Barack Obama will tour the ravaged New Jersey coast Wednesday and will be joined by Gov. Chris Christie who has praised the President for his response to the superstorm.
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Politics are taking a backseat as Obama is emphasizing his role as a leader to the American people, skipping voter contact in the handful of states that will decide the election in order to visit victims of Hurricane Sandy around New Jersey – a state he’s confident in winning.
Obama plans to resume campaign travel Thursday making stops in Nevada, Colorado and Wisconsin.
As reported by the Associated Press:
The president’s actions have forced Romney to walk a careful line and make tough choices. The former Massachusetts governor must show respect for the superstorm’s casualties all along the Eastern Seaboard. But Romney can ill afford to waste a minute of campaign time, with the contest virtually deadlocked in several key states and the election six days away.
Florida is among the most closely fought and the biggest prize among the swing states, with 29 electoral votes. Without victory in Florida, Romney will have an uphill and limited path to electoral victory.
GOP running mate Paul Ryan was campaigning across his home state of Wisconsin Wednesday before planning to take his children trick or treating. Wisconsin is part of the Romney-Ryan campaign’s eleventh-hour strategy of trying to put Democratic-leaning states in play and forcing Obama to shift resources to areas he has expected to win.
As for Obama’s visit, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the President doesn’t need to come to the city, stating:
“What I pointed out to him is that we’d love to have him, but we’ve got lots of things to do…I’m not trying to diss him…But I know he had planned a trip to New Jersey and I said that’s fine; it represents the whole region, people understand the storm.”
The time for politicking is over; with the election less than a week away, the President has made the American people his top priority. That’s a sign of a true leader.
SOURCE: AP
