President Obama waves to supporters upon his arrival in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, for a quick campaign stop before heading to Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn)
President Obama salutes as he boards Air Force One before his departure from Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Obama is resuming his campaign with travel to the battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Obama smiles as supporters cheer at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012, during a quick campaign stop before heading to Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Tom Lynn) 
With Air Force One in the background, President Obama speaks to supporters during a campaign event on the apron at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Mr. Obama resumed his presidential campaign with travel to the key battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Obama gestures while speaking at a campaign event at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Mr. Obama resumed his presidential campaign with travel to the key battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Obama waves to supporters during a campaign event at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Mr. Obama resumed his presidential campaign with travel to the key battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Obama stops to greet a small child in a dragon costume during a campaign event at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Mr. Obama resumed his presidential campaign with travel to the key battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Obama is handed a personal check made out to the American Red Cross from an unknown supporter during a campaign event at Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wis., on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2012. Mr. Obama resumed his presidential campaign with travel to the key battleground states of Wisconsin, Colorado, Nevada and Ohio today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Obama waves to supporters as he walks onstage for a campaign ... more >“By the end of Bill Clinton’s second term, American had created 23 million new jobs. We know the ideas that work,” Mr. Obama said.
On Wednesday, the president toured storm damage in New Jersey with Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican and Romney supporter who praised Mr. Obama’s response to the hurricane. Now back on the campaign trail, Mr. Obama tried to strike a bipartisan note when speaking about Americans’ response to the superstorm that pummeled the Eastern Seaboard Monday and Tuesday.
“When disaster strikes, we see America at its best,” he said. “All the petty differences that consume us in normal times somehow melt away. There are no Democrats or Republicans during a storm. There are just fellow Americans.”
Although Mr. Obama is campaigning full time again, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the president “will stay in regular touch” with W. Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and others “to ensure that bureaucracy and red tape are not impeding efforts to respond to communities recovering from the storm.”
Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki defended the president’s decision to resume campaigning, saying, “There’s another reality happening, which is the election that’s happening in five days.”
Mr. Obama will campaign Friday and Saturday in Ohio, Wisconsin and Iowa.
Ms. Psaki said early voting in Wisconsin favors the president, with Democratic counties and precincts casting 161,787 votes as of Thursday and 78,876 votes coming from Republican-leaning wards.
The president also picked up the endorsement Thursday of New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, an independent. Among other reasons, the mayor cited the need to address climate change, saying even if it wasn’t responsible for the flooding and storm damage in New York this week, climate change “should compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.”
“President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption,” Mr. Bloomberg said.
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Dave Boyer is a White House correspondent for The Washington Times. A native of Allentown, Pa., Boyer worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 2002 to 2011 and also has covered Congress for the Times. He is a graduate of Penn State University. Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
Susan Crabtree is an award-winning investigative reporter with more than 15 years of reporting experience in Washington, D.C. Her reporting about bribery, corruption and conflict-of-interest issues on Capitol Hill has led to several FBI and ethics investigations, as well as consequences for members within their caucuses and at the ballot box. Susan can be reached at scrabtree@washingtontimes.com.
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