Political foes join forces in adversity
WASHINGTON — Barack Obama and his erstwhile foe, New Jersey’s Republican governor, surveyed superstorm Sandy’s destruction on Wednesday as polls suggest the U.S. president has a slim but steady lead over Mitt Romney in key swing states mere days before next week’s election.
Obama and Chris Christie made an odd political couple given the governor is one of Romney’s top surrogates and has been harshly critical of the president — until, that is, Sandy decimated his beloved Jersey shore.
Christie has since heaped praise on Obama for his handling of the crisis.
“It’s really important to have the president of the United States acknowledge all the suffering that’s going on here in New Jersey and I appreciate it very much,” said Christie, with Obama by his side as they visited an emergency shelter in Brigantine, N.J., following an hourlong helicopter tour of the state’s devastated coastline.
“He has worked incredibly closely with me since before the storm hit. I think this is our sixth conversation since the weekend. It’s been a great working relationship.”
Obama returned the compliment: “Your governor is working overtime,” he told dozens of people holed up at the shelter.
“The entire country has been watching what’s been happening. Everybody knows how hard Jersey has been hit,” he said.
Romney, meantime, marginalized and muted by Sandy, tried to strike the right tone in a campaign appearance in Florida.
He once again steered clear of explicitly criticizing Obama, sticking to a largely positive message as he continued to urge his supporters to donate to the Red Cross to help Sandy’s victims.
“I will bring real change and real reform and a presidency that brings us together,” he said. “Now, I don’t just talk about change; I actually have a plan to execute change and to make it happen.”
And after he dodged repeated questions about his stance on the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Ohio on Tuesday, Romney’s campaign said Wednesday that the Republican presidential hopeful sees the value in the disaster relief agency.
“Gov. Romney believes in a very efficient and effective disaster relief response, and he believes one of the ways to do that is put a premium on states and their efforts to respond to these disasters,” said adviser Kevin Madden.
“That’s why they call them first responders — they’re first to respond, the states. Traditionally they’ve been best at responding to these disasters. But he does believe FEMA has a really important role there and that being a partner for these states is the best approach.”
Romney’s comments in a primary season debate last year — that federal funding for disaster relief is “immoral” — have come back to haunt him now that the agency is playing a critical role in helping the East Coast recover from Sandy.
The president resumes campaigning on Thursday, making stops in Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado.
A new New York Times/ CBS News poll — conducted before Sandy suggests Obama is ahead of Romney nationally by one percentage point.