Romney, Obama talk Sandy week before vote

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney edged back into active campaigning Tuesday while President Barack Obama stayed close to the White House, rival candidates calibrating their responses to superstorm Sandy and the misery it inflicted on millions.

In a close race with one week to run, both men appealed for donations — for relief agencies rather than their own campaign treasuries.

“This is a tough time for millions of people. ... But America is tougher,” the president said during a brief visit to the American Red Cross, where he warned of more storm damage to come yet sought to reassure victims. He said he wanted “no bureaucracy, no red tape” to interfere with recovery, and suggested the military might be able to help in view of the enormity of the damage.

Romney, too, spoke of concern for storm victims. “A lot of people hurting this morning,” he told several hundred supporters who were collecting supplies for victims of the storm that ravaged parts of the Eastern Seaboard on Monday before moving inland overnight.

With the incumbency at his disposal, Obama received a briefing on the storm, presided over a telephone conference call with governors and mayors from affected areas and arranged a trip today to New Jersey, where Republican Gov. Chris Christie has praised his management of the storm disaster.

Obama’s limousine ride to the Red Cross took him only a few blocks from the White House, but he was assured of national news coverage when he spoke.