Obama on Hurricane Sandy: "We're ready"
After cancelling his appearance at a morning campaign rally in Orlando, Fla., President Obama walks into the White House in a driving rain after returning to Washington to monitor preparations for early response to Hurricane Sandy, Monday, Oct. 29, 2012.
/ AP Photo/Jacquelyn MartinCutting short a campaign trip to Florida, President Obama rushed back to the White House to confer with key federal officials about Hurricane Sandy and to assure the nation that "I'm confident we're ready."
In a statement to reporters in the White House Briefing Room, Mr. Obama said he's spoken with the governors of all states in the storm's path and can say "there are no unmet needs" in advance of Sandy's landfall sometime tonight.
Obama on Hurricane Sandy: Please listen to state and local officials
The president warned that "this is going to be a big and powerful storm," but he believes all across the eastern seaboard appropriate preparations were being made.
"The most important message that I have for the public right now is: please listen to what your state and local officials are saying."
"When they tell you to evacuate, you need to evacuate," he said. "Do not delay, don't pause, don't question the instructions that are being given because this is a serious storm and it could potentially have fatal consequences if people haven't acted quickly."
He said that if the public doesn't heed the directions of officials, the storm could claim fatalities that could otherwise have been avoided.
The Obama campaign even used its massive e-mail list of contributors to convey a similar message from the president that he signed, Barack:
"If you live in the storm's path, please listen to state and local authorities about where and how to take shelter and stay safe -- and encourage your friends and family to do the same. If you are asked to evacuate, please take that seriously."
But in his White House statement, the president also cautioned the public to "prepare for the fact that this is going to take a long time for us to clean up."
"The good news is we will clean up and we will get through this."
Fearful that Air Force One might not be able to fly him back to D.C. before weather conditions made it impossible, the president scrubbed his appearance at a 10 a.m. campaign rally in Orlando, Fla., with former President Bill Clinton, who addressed the event without the candidate.
Instead, Mr. Obama rushed to the airport and was wheels up aboard Air Force One at 8:46A.M. Less than two hours later, he had landed at Joint Base Andrews and was motorcaded back to the White House. Weather kept him from flying to the South Lawn as usual aboard Marine One.
The president headed right into a meeting in the Situation Room with his storm team including FEMA chief Craig Fugate and the Secretaries of Homeland Security, Transportation, Energy and Health and Human Services, among other officials.
Eight days before the election, Mr. Obama cannot afford to have anyone accuse him of putting his re-election campaign ahead of his responsibilities as president.
But at the conclusion of his statement, he was asked by CBS News Correspondent Bill Plante about the storm's impact on the election. He said he wasn't worried about it.
"I'm worried about the impact on families and I'm worried about the impact on our first responders," he said.
He also said he was worried about the storm's impact on the economy and on transportation.
"The election will take care of itself next week," said the president. "Right now our number one priority is to make sure that we are saving lives, that our search and rescue teams are going to be in place, that people are going to get the food, the water, the shelter that they need in case of emergency and that we respond as quickly as possible to get the economy back on track."
The president has also cancelled campaign events today in Virginia and Ohio and tomorrow in Colorado and Wisconsin.
"We'll go day-by-day on his schedule," says Obama campaign manager Jim Messina. The president is focused on the storm and there's plenty of time for politics.
On a conference call with reporters this morning, Messina and senior strategist David Axelrod were newly confident of Mr. Obama's ultimate victory.
"I don't want to be ambiguous," said Axelrod, "but we're winning this race." He said he made that judgment on the basis of "cold hard data" including early voter turnout and polling.
"Data and facts are on our side," said Messina. "Spin and wishful thinking were on the side of Mitt Romney," he said.
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Romney has two of his camp buses preparing to be on the shore handing out relief supplies and helping to recover people in a few hours.
Romney was also first on the scene when Hurricane Irene struck the Gulf Coast in August, with President Obama arriving three days later after adjusting his schedule."
I guess we'll just have to wait and see when the buses get there. As far as Irene, it struck NE, not the Gulf Coast. Geeezus are you disoriented; suppose I should expect that with a RepubliCON. As far as Willard beating Obama to the scene, well, yeah, I guess, he has a house in MA, but he wasn't Governor at the time. Fact is in MA, Obama has a 20% lead, so much for Willard's wonderful record
Romney would be with Sandy as good as Bush was with Katrina. And this guy wants to be president ? God help us if enough stupid people vote for him.
Romney stumps to end FEMA and Karl Rove and his Crossroads PAC is running freaking ads in Pa. (which is under water BTW) right now bashing the President to get some votes! Are you tea baggers insane? Unreal...
Who in their right minds expect that we could microwave up who were behind the Benghazi attacks? Show me an example in America's history that was comparable and exemplified a timeline quicker than the recent investigation to those attacks.
Do you have an inkling about how intelligence works?
This election year has blown my mind, it proves that people have no idea how their government works. The commoner will quickly lend an ear to 24 hour "news" networks and not realize they're being pawned. They don't understand the difference between an editorial and a news article. They can't distinguish the news from pundit commentary.
I feel sick. I'm disgusted at the news networks that prey on this. And my faith is lost on the general public's ability to think for themselves.
I too am sick of the vile hate-propaganda media, Fox "News" especially -- and the Tea Party idiots who parrot the hate media's latest sound bite without a thought in their head about whether what they are saying is true or false (it's usually false); or whether it makes logical sense, or no sense at all (it usually makes no sense at all).
Horrifying that public debate in America has sunk to that level. No wonder the Republican Party wants to slash funding for educations -- they have a vested interest in ignorance and stupidity.
Having an idea of how intellegence words is why Benghazi is so unforgivable.
Speaking with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program on Monday, the president said that "ultimately, as commander in chief, I'm responsible and I don't shy away from that responsibility. My No. 1 responsibility is to go after the folks who did this, and we're going to make sure we get them.'
Unable to stop the truth from leaking out this president now will focus on "getting who did this". Mr. President that starts with you for not sending any help for 7 hours. If we had put fighter jets over this attack within 20 minutes we could have broken up the terrorists. We did have permission for flights. Since the fall of Qaddafi we provide for a no fly zone in Libya. We had drones in the air. Where are the videos? Come clean and fire someone Mr. President. Bet it won't be Hillary. Can you say "Sacrifice a lamb?" Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Charlene Lamb.