Obama urges resolve, patience in face of hurricane

1 of 3. U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the Hurricane Sandy situation from the press briefing room of the White House in Washington, October 29, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON | Mon Oct 29, 2012 2:56pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Monday urged East Coast residents in the path of Hurricane Sandy to heed evacuation orders and assured them the government was ready to respond swiftly, but he warned them it would take a long time to clean up in the storm's aftermath.

Scrapping campaign plans to return to Washington, Obama sought to show voters just eight days before the November 6 election that he was giving top priority to his presidential duties in a looming national crisis, rather than his bid for re-election in a tight race.

He also appeared determined to demonstrate that his administration had learned the lessons of White House predecessor George W. Bush's botched handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which inflicted serious political damage.

Rushing back from a campaign visit to Florida, Obama huddled with top aides in the White House Situation Room for an update on Hurricane Sandy, which started to batter the densely populated East Coast as one of the biggest storms to ever hit the U.S. mainland.

It was forecast to move ashore Monday night in New Jersey as what Obama called a "big and powerful storm" whose slow-moving course would affect millions of people.

With Sandy expected to bring massive flooding, power outages and other disruptions all along the Atlantic coast, Obama seemed mindful of the political risk of disgruntled storm victims on the cusp of the election, and he appealed in advance for patience.

"I'm confident that we're ready, but I think the public needs to prepare for the fact that this is going to take a long time for us to clean up," he said. "The good news is we will clean up and we will get through this."

Obama has tried to draw a sharp contrast with the Bush administration, which was heavily criticized for its slow and inept handling of Katrina as the hurricane devastated New Orleans early in his second term.

He has also sought to project the image of a president fully engaged in marshaling resources to deal with a looming national emergency. Bush was widely seen as out-of-touch during the Katrina crisis.

Obama faces political danger if the federal government's response goes awry in the final days of the election campaign, but he also has a chance to look presidential compared with his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.

Obama had blunt words for those in Sandy's path.

"When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate. Do not delay. Don't pause," he said. "Don't question the instructions that are being given, because this is a serious storm and it could potentially have fatal consequences."

Already looking to the problems likely to crop up after the storm that could become an issue before Election Day, Obama said:.

"The public should anticipate that there's going to be a lot of power outages and it may take time for that power to get back on.

"The same is true with transportation; there are going to be a lot of backlogs. And even after the storm has cleared, it's going to take a considerable amount of time for airlines, subways, trains, and so forth, potentially, to get back, you know, on schedule."

(Additional reporting by Margaret Chadbourn; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

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Obama, Romney curtail campaign events in face of hurricane

1 of 9. U.S. President Barack Obama walks to the Oval Office of the White House upon his return to Washington, October 29, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed

By Jeff Mason and Steve Holland

WASHINGTON/DAVENPORT, Iowa | Mon Oct 29, 2012 7:09pm EDT

WASHINGTON/DAVENPORT, Iowa (Reuters) - President Barack Obama suspended campaigning and returned to Washington on Monday to oversee the response to Hurricane Sandy, while his Republican rival Mitt Romney curtailed political events to show respect for the storm's potential victims.

As the storm cuts into the final week of campaigning in an especially close race for the White House, both men are trying to avoid coming across as overtly political while millions of people are imperiled by Sandy's fierce winds and driving rain.

Obama and Romney are virtually tied in the presidential contest, according to a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll released on Monday. It showed the Democrat leading by a single percentage point eight days before Election Day.

With the hurricane dominating headlines, Obama used the bully pulpit of the White House briefing room to show he was on top of the storm response effort.

He warned Americans in Sandy's path that it could take a long time before power was restored and transportation systems were running again, and he dismissed concerns of the storm's effects on the election.

"I am not worried at this point about the impact on the election. I'm worried about the impact on families, and I'm worried about the impact on our first responders. I'm worried about the impact on our economy and on transportation," Obama told reporters.

"The election will take care of itself next week. Right now our number one priority is to make sure that we are saving lives."

Obama returned to Washington after cutting short a trip to Orlando, Florida, where he had been due to appear at a rally with former President Bill Clinton.

Romney said he was in touch with federal emergency management workers about the storm.

"The damage will probably be significant and, of course, a lot of people will be out of power for a long time," he said in Davenport, Iowa. "So hopefully your thoughts and prayers will join with mine and people across the country as you think about those folks that are in harm's way," he said, urging supporters to donate to the American Red Cross.

Romney canceled further events in Wisconsin on Monday night and in Iowa and Florida on Tuesday. Those states are out of Sandy's path, but the former Massachusetts governor does not want to be seen to be focusing only on the campaign in the midst of potential national disaster.

"Governor Romney believes this is a time for the nation and its leaders to come together to focus on those Americans who are in harm's way," said Romney communications director Gail Gitcho.

SWING STATE BATTLE

Ohio is one of a handful of political swing states that will determine the winner of the November 6 election, and both candidates have spent many days campaigning there.

Obama has held a consistent, if narrow, lead in the state, and his advisers believe his support of the U.S. auto bailout will put him over the top there. Ohio is home to the nation's second largest auto industry.

But a Rasmussen Reports daily tracking poll showed Romney ahead on Monday, getting support from 50 percent of likely voters compared to 48 percent who backed the president.

Clinton, who has been a popular surrogate for Obama, continued to hold events he was to have held with the president, both in Florida and in Ohio, where he joined Vice President Joe Biden on a campaign swing.

"I support Barack Obama because I think he's got a better jobs plan and a better jobs record, a better budget plan, a better education plan, a better healthcare plan than his opponent," Clinton told a cheering crowd in Youngstown, Ohio.

Romney's running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan, campaigned in Florida, telling a crowd of 2,300 in Fernandina Beach that the Romney campaign would be turning its attention to helping people affected by the storm.

"We're staying in touch with regional leaders. We're offering assistance. We are collecting storm relief and supplies in our field offices in Virginia and Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, up and down the Eastern Seaboard," Ryan said.

Obama officials said the president's campaign schedule would be determined on a day-to-day basis. He scrapped another event scheduled for Tuesday in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and would remain at the White House, aides said.

Obama delivered pizzas to a local campaign office in Florida on Sunday night and told volunteers that the burden would increase for them because he would have to curtail his campaign activities there in coming days.

Florida, Wisconsin and Iowa also are critical swing states in the election, along with Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire and Virginia.

(Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Sam Jacobs, and Lisa Lambert; Editing by Alistair Bell and Paul Simao)

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