President Obama saw the destruction wreaked by Superstorm Sandy at first hand when he visited New Jersey today — while Mitt Romney headed back onto the White House campaign trail.
The President yesterday announced he has suspended his electioneering for another day to survey the damage and help coordinate the massive clean-up across America’s East Coast.
But Mr Romney — wary of losing any momentum — decided to restart his aggressive campaign schedule in the final week before the election with three events in Florida, a key battleground state that could decide the winner.
The reshuffling of the campaigns came as a new poll showed the race is still close, with Mr Obama seen as a guardian of the middle class and Mr Romney as a strong leader on the economy.
According to the survey by the New York Times and CBS News, the President has a one-point lead on 48 per cent. But it was conducted before Tuesday night’s storm, which analysts now believe could blow all election day preconceptions out of the window.
Mr Obama — determined to avoid the kind of PR disaster triggered by George Bush’s bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 — wants to project the image of a calm leader in a crisis.
Speaking at Red Cross headquarters in Washington yesterday, he described the storm as “heartbreaking to the nation” and sent a message to the victims, saying: “America is with you.”
Strategists from both sides suggest that if the President’s response to the disaster is seen as effective, it could buoy his once faltering campaign.
For his challenger, the balance is trickier. He must push ahead without appearing insensitive to the plight of millions of Americans in Sandy’s path.
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On a low-key trip to Ohio yesterday, Mr Romney spoke of his concern for storm victims. But at a time of national emergency he will find it difficult to score points off an opponent busy helping the nation recover from an unprecedented pounding from nature.
Historian and presidential biographer Douglas Brinkley said: “When our largest city and even the capital are endangered, when so many people are in peril and face deprivation, it’s hard to get back to arguing over taxes.”
Mr Obama’s advisers sense the storm may be a turning point in the campaign. Even New Jersey’s Republican governor Chris Christie, who toured damaged areas today with the President, praised the Democrat. “The President has been excellent,” said the Romney campaigner. “It has been very good working with him and his administration.”
The estimated £7.5 billion cost of the disaster is now likely to become a major factor in the election. Mr Romney has advocated switching responsibility for disaster relief to individual states to avoid more debts for the nation.
Mr Obama’s advisers say he will make that proposal a key talking point.
