Superstorm disrupts final week of US presidential campaign
The White House announced Obama will not go ahead today with a campaign swing through Ohio. He plans to remain in Washington to monitor recovery efforts for the storm that practically shut down New York City and spread damage across the East Coast.
Romney and running mate Paul Ryan initially announced they were canceling events out of sensitivity for the millions of Americans in Sandy’s path. But, with only a week left to try to push Obama from office, the GOP campaign was back on last night with events in the critical Midwestern swing states of Ohio and Iowa, albeit with changes to the programme.
“We have heavy hearts, as you know, with all the suffering going on in a major part of our country,” Romney said before helping collect food donations for relief efforts. “A lot of people are hurting this morning, they were hurting last night. And the storm goes on.”
Romney spoke for less than five minutes and avoided politics at what his campaign billed as a “storm relief event” in the same Ohio gymnasium as his previously scheduled political rally and with the same entertainment from country music singer Randy Owen. The event was moved up four hours and the tone would be changed, with none of the usual attacks on the president, who was at the White House overseeing the response.
Effusive praise for Obama’s leadership came in from a surprising source — New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican who has been campaigning for Romney across the country, and a pointed Obama critic. He said in a series of morning television show interviews that Obama was in touch throughout the night as the storm struck New Jersey, including a call at midnight, and effectively expedited much-needed disaster relief.
Vice-president Joe Biden participated in the video conference from Ohio, where he was staying in a Columbus hotel until the campaign decides the moment is right to hold additional political events. First lady Michelle Obama had also called off her campaign events.
Some election centres in the affected states were shut down, but early voting continued in areas outside Sandy’s path.
Romney planned to resume an aggressive campaign schedule today, with three events in Florida with former Gov Jeb Bush and Sen Marco Rubio. He planned to return to Virginia tomorrow.
Aides say they are reviewing his plans on almost an hourly basis, but expect the campaign to get back to normal. They are still considering a plan to send Romney to New Jersey later in the week, where he could meet with victims and gauge the storm damage with Christie. The move would follow the path Romney took in the wake of Hurricane Irene following the Republican National Convention, when he toured storm damage in Louisiana with Gov Bobby Jindal, also a supporter.
At the same time, Romney aides insist they are serious about expanding their efforts in battleground states largely considered safe territory for Democrats.
The campaign is launching a statewide advertising campaign in Pennsylvania, a state that aides say is in play, although Romney had no plans to visit. Ryan planned to campaign across his home state of Wisconsin in an attempt to expand the playing field. The campaign also invited media to cover Ryan’s plane landing yesterday over the state border in Minnesota, a state that has been in the Democratic column since 1976.
Romney’s campaign grappled with how he should respond to the storm, without the official duties that gave Obama a leadership role. When the president rushed out of battleground Florida on Monday morning before a scheduled rally to return to the White House to monitor the storm, Romney aides initially said he and Ryan would continue working for votes away from the storm’s path.
But they apparently concluded that Romney could not afford to waste time out of the spotlight in such a closely fought race, with polling showing an Obama advantage in several swing states. Later Monday evening, the campaign announced the Kettering event, with local news reports saying supporters should bring food donations.
The event was set up with all the trappings of a typical Romney campaign rally. Inside, campaign staff and volunteers instead collected donations. They stacked canned goods, boxes of nappies, chocolate bars, bottled water, fleece blankets, and jars of peanuts. Romney joined them after his remarks, taking grocery bags of donations from lined-up supporters for about half an hour.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
