By JULIE PACE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama has spent months trying to balance his re-election bid with running the government.
Now, just when his campaign needs him the most, with little more than a week before the election, his official job is beckoning.
Republican challenger Mitt
Romney, too, faces questions about how to conduct his campaign as a
superstorm charges toward the East Coast. But as president, it's Obama
who oversees the federal government's preparations for the looming storm
and it's Obama who will bear the responsibility for any missteps.
With that in mind, Obama
scrapped campaign events Monday night and Tuesday morning. He planned to
return to the White House late Monday to monitor the storm and the
government's response.
"This is an example, yet
again, of the president having to put his responsibilities as commander
in chief and as leader of the country first, while at the same time he
pursues his responsibilities as a candidate for re-election," Josh
Earnest, a White House spokesman, told reporters traveling with Obama to
a campaign event Saturday in New Hampshire.
Still, ripping up Obama's
strategically planned travel schedule was something his Chicago-based
campaign was loath to do unless absolutely necessary.
In the tight race, the
candidates have few opportunities left to blitz through the most
competitive states, trying to build momentum and make a final pitch to
undecided voters.
The president's handling of
the storm could sway those late-breaking voters. If Obama is perceived
as a strong leader who shows command in a crisis, some undecided voters
may be compelled to back the president. But a botched response or a
sense that he's putting politics over public safety could weaken his
support at a point in the race where there's little chance to reverse
course.
"I think that the president
of the United States is the commander in chief. The American people
look to him, and I'm sure he will conduct himself and play his
leadership role in a fine fashion. So I would imagine that might help
him a little bit," said Arizona Sen. John McCain, who lost to Obama in
2008.
"But I'm not sure it will affect votes. People have been exposed to this very long campaign," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation."
Obama advisers say they've
learned the lessons from President George W. Bush's widely criticized
response to Hurricane Katrina. Bush was seen as ineffective and out of
touch, and his presidency never recovered.
That's why Obama's team has
moved quickly throughout the year to avoid the impression that the
president was shirking his responsibilities, even as the campaign ramped
up.
When separate crises struck
Colorado this summer - destructive wildfires and a mass shooting at a
movie theater - Obama hastily arranged trips to meet with victims and
their families. When a hurricane barreled through the Gulf Coast ahead
of the Democratic Convention, the president added a stop in New Orleans
to his preconvention itinerary.
But those decisions were
far easier than what's facing Obama's team. Back then, there was time to
add or reschedule trips. Now, with just nine days until Election Day,
time is a precious commodity and canceling trips may mean never having
the chance to make them up.
Hurricane Sandy was
expected to hit the East Coast late Monday, then combine with two winter
weather systems as it moves inland, creating a hybrid superstorm. At
least four battleground states are likely to be hit: New Hampshire,
North Carolina, Ohio and Virginia.
Obama plans to spend every
day between now and Nov. 6 on the road in most of those states and
others, though his schedule does call for him to be back in Washington
some nights.
In canceling Obama's event
Monday in Virginia, aides also considered the optics of urging thousands
of people to venture out to a political rally in the midst of a raging
storm.
Still, it was clear Obama's
team was working hard to ensure that the president could keep
campaigning as long as possible before he was needed back in Washington.
His departure for Florida,
where he'll hold an event with Bill Clinton, was moved up from Monday
morning to Sunday night in order to get ahead of the storm. Even though
Monday's late event in Virginia was scrapped, Obama and Clinton planned
to squeeze in an evening rally in Youngstown, Ohio, before the president
was to return to the White House.
Romney canceled three events in Virginia on Sunday and planned to spend the day campaigning with running mate Paul Ryan in Ohio.
If bad weather keeps people
in hard-hit battleground states from going to the polls, it could mess
up the campaigns' carefully crafted get-out-the-vote efforts.
Jennifer Psaki, Obama's
campaign spokeswoman, said the Democratic ticket was urging people to
vote early when they can, especially if it helps them get to the polls
before the storm.
"Safety comes first," she said. "And that's the case with early voting as well."
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