Obama scales back his campaigning to focus on Gustav

DETROIT (AP) — Barack Obama urged hundreds of thousands of supporters Monday to donate to the Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Gustav. The Democratic presidential nominee scaled back Labor Day speeches to unions in an effort to keep the focus on the Gulf Coast.

Obama finished his campaign schedule Monday with stops in Michigan and Wisconsin, two battleground states the campaign views as possible wins, before heading home to Chicago to monitor the hurricane situation and decide his schedule for the rest of the week.

“Instead of a speech, what I’d like to do is to ask all of us join in some silent prayer for all those Americans who are spending this Labor Day in a shelter waiting for another storm to pass,” Obama said at an outdoor rally in the shadow of General Motors’ headquarters.

Republicans have criticized Obama for continuing to campaign while the storm threatens the region hit hard by Hurricane Katrina three years ago.

“There’s a time for us to argue politics, but there’s a time for us to come together as Americans,” Obama said, trying to place himself above politics. “I know John Mc- Cain wants what’s best for the people who have been evacuated. I know George Bush wants what’s best for them, and so do I.”

In an e-mail sent to hundreds of thousands of people, Obama said, “Please give whatever you can afford, even $10, to make sure the American Red Cross has the resources to help those in the path of this storm.”