Obama, Christie survey Sandy flood damage
US President Barack Obama (R) is greeted by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie upon arriving in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on October 31, 2012 to visit areas hardest hit by the unprecedented cyclone Sandy. Americans sifted through the wreckage of superstorm Sandy on Wednesday as millions remained without power. The storm carved a trail of devastation across New York City and New Jersey, killing dozens of people in several states, swamping miles of coastline, and throwing the tied-up White House race into disarray just days before the vote.
President Obama toured the damage wrought by Hurricane Sandy Wednesday in New Jersey alongside Governor Chris Christie, a longtime critic of the Democratic leader.
Christie has changed his tune about the President since the storm ravaged the Garden State, calling Obama's response to the crisis "outstanding" on NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday morning.
“The president has been all over this and he deserves great credit,” Christie also said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
The governor greeted Obama in New Jersey on the steps of Air Force One, then boarded a Marine One helicopter to tour the storm-hit state by air for about an hour, Agence France Presse reported.
“This is a time to focus on what was a devastating storm and the terrible aftermath of that storm,” Jay Carney, Obama's press secretary, told reporters in New Jersey, the New York Times reported.
“New Jersey was by many measures the hardest hit state, I believe that’s correct. It is entirely appropriate for the president to visit New Jersey and receive updates on the efforts there to recover and to view first hand the damage inflicted by Sandy. This is not a time for politics," he added.
More from GlobalPost: NJ's Gov Chris Christie calls Obama "outstanding"
Both leaders continued their praise of one another during a press conference, a continuation of their bipartisan cooperation in the wake of the natural disaster, the New York Times reported.
“I cannot thank the president enough for his personal concern and compassion for our state,” Christie said. “He has worked incredibly closely with me since before the storm hit. It's been a great working relationship.”
“I think the people of New Jersey recognize that he’s put his heart and soul” into the recovery after the storm," Obama said of the governor. “I just want to thank him for his extraordinary leadership and participation.”
Obama will resume his campaigning on Thursday, and plans to visit Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado, the Wall Street Journal reported, pointing out that the storm "has handed Mr. Obama an opportunity to act presidential in a setting that rises above politics, even as it has kept him off the campaign trail for a third straight day."
Romney, meanwhile, was back on the campaign trail in Florida Wednesday, treading delicately around the subject of the hurricane, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.
“We come together at times like these,” he said to the crowd. “People coming together is what’s also going to happen, I believe, on Nov. 7th.”
The GOP candidate also urged people to donate whatever they could to relief efforts.
More from GlobalPost: Sandy makes life difficult for Romney
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