Obama, Republican Christie tour storm-hit New Jersey, trade praise

1 of 7. U.S. President Barack Obama (3rd L) hugs North Point Marina owner Donna Vanzant as he tours damage done by Hurricane Sandy in Brigantine, New Jersey, October 31, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing

By Mark Felsenthal

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey | Wed Oct 31, 2012 6:18pm EDT

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (Reuters) - Putting aside partisan differences, President Barack Obama and Republican Governor Chris Christie toured storm-stricken parts of New Jersey on Wednesday, taking in scenes of flooded roads and praising each other for their response to superstorm Sandy.

Riding in the Marine One presidential helicopter, Obama and Christie got an aerial view of some of the hardest-hit areas of the New Jersey shoreline, and afterward the president promised to cut through red tape to help storm victims.

Despite being a top surrogate for Obama's rival Mitt Romney in the November 6 election, Christie kept up his compliments about Obama for guiding federal support during and after the devastating storm, which also crippled New York City and other parts of the eastern seaboard.

"I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and his compassion," said Christie, known for his blunt, in-your-face political style, after the two men completed their tour.

He said the affected areas needed clean drinking water, restored power, and children back in school. "I discussed all of those issues today with the president and I'm pleased to report that he has sprung into action immediately to help get us those things while we were in the car riding together," Christie said.

Obama has suspended campaign events since Sunday while overseeing federal relief efforts and holding public events to show Americans he is focused on handling a major natural disaster instead of pressing his quest for a second term.

He returned the praise from Christie, seen by some Republicans as a potential presidential candidate in 2016.

"Governor Christie, throughout this process, has been responsive, he has been aggressive in making sure that the state got out in front of this incredible storm," Obama said, calling the Republican's leadership "extraordinary."

Obama said restoring electricity was a top priority.

"We are here for you and we will not forget, we will follow up to make sure you get all the help you need until you rebuild," he said.

U-TURN BY CHRISTIE

The storm and the government's relief efforts have prompted a U-turn in the tone of Christie's rhetoric about Obama. The New Jersey governor leveled harsh criticism at Obama during a keynote speech at the Republican convention in August.

But all that has changed with the damage wrought by Sandy, which bashed the mid-Atlantic coast on Monday and Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Christie said Obama's response to the storm damage in New Jersey was "outstanding."

With an extremely close election looming on Tuesday, Obama has remained in the public spotlight, while Romney has had to suspend campaign appearances to avoid coming across as overly political while millions of people were affected by the storm.

Romney was back campaigning on Wednesday, but his campaign seemed at a loss about how to deal with Christie's praise of Obama.

Romney senior adviser Kevin Madden, asked by reporters whether he agreed with Christie that Obama was doing a good job handling the hurricane response, said: "I believe the response is still going on so I'm not in a position to qualify the response by the federal government. I believe it's still ongoing."

Obama is set to resume campaigning on Thursday with visits to Nevada and Colorado, followed by stops on Friday in Ohio - considered the most critical election swing state.

From the air in and around the gambling resort of Atlantic City, Obama saw whole streets underwater, beachfront homes swamped by flooding and piers partially blown away.

He also saw the still-burning remnants of about eight homes set afire during the 1,000-mile (1,600-km) -wide storm, the biggest to hit the U.S. mainland in generations.

"If your homes aren't too badly damaged we can hopefully get you back in," Obama told residents at an evacuation shelter in the town of Brigantine. "The entire country's been watching. Everyone knows how hard Jersey has been hit."

(additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick, Margaret Chadbourn, and Jeff Mason; Editing by Alistair Bell and Eric Walsh)

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Biden, Clinton pick up campaign mantle for storm-hit Obama

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, February 8, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Larry Downing

By Lisa Lambert

COLUMBUS, Ohio | Mon Oct 29, 2012 9:02pm EDT

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Pulled back to Washington to address the storm pounding the East Coast just days before the presidential election, President Barack Obama passed his campaign banner on Monday to Vice President Joe Biden and the man he has anointed his "Secretary of Explaining Stuff," former President Bill Clinton.

Biden and Clinton joined forces at a rally in the key battleground state of Ohio, where they sought to keep alive the Obama campaign strategy of combining rallies and other personal contact with a push for early voting by Democrats ahead of the November 6 election.

Obama cut short a campaign trip to Florida to deal with Hurricane Sandy, threatening much of the East Coast.

"We went to Florida last night and he got up this morning and called me and said, ‘I gotta go back right now. This storm is getting out of hand, I gotta handle it,'" Clinton told the crowd of 4,800 at the Covelli Centre, an ice rink in Youngstown. "And I said 'Mr. President that is the right call'."

Clinton evoked Obama through stories and jokes, personalizing the president while running through a list of arguments against Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Clinton joked that the audience was "stuck" with him because his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, "has one of the two jobs in the government that doesn't permit you to be in politics."

Ohio is one of the "epicenters" of the election, according to Biden, and both Obama and Romney had planned on blanketing the state in the final days leading up to the election.

"If we win Ohio, we win this election," Biden said. pressing supporters to get out to vote.

Romney has caught up with Obama in national opinion polls and gained ground against the Democrat in surveys in Ohio too. A Rasmussen poll on Monday showed the former Massachusetts governor ahead by 50 percent to 48 percent.

The Republican also canceled campaign events on Monday night and Tuesday in Milwaukee, Iowa and Florida out of respect for the tens of millions in danger from Sandy.

The Democrats are sparing no effort to get people to the polls before election day, and many of their events in Ohio are targeted at building enthusiasm for early voting. According to Gallup, 15 percent of Obama's supporters have already voted and 33 percent intent to vote early, compared with 17 percent of Romney voters who have voted and 34 percent planning to vote.

Even though Biden dropped in on campaign offices and delivered a rousing speech in Ohio, he could not completely escape the reach of the storm and had to cancel events scheduled there for Tuesday.

Marilyn Ettinger, an Ohio woman standing inside the Covelli Centre as hail pounded outside, said she had already voted, but was worried that the storm would prevent others from doing the same. She had driven an hour for the event.

Ettinger said she had already missed seeing Obama at another event, in Cleveland, due to weather and was disappointed he would not be in Youngstown. "But the last time I saw Clinton was the last day before he won his second term, so I'm hoping that today I bring good luck to Obama."

(Editing By Alistair Bell and Sandra Maler)

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