TheWashington Post calls it a "hybrid hurricane nor'easter" and posts some dramatic before-and-after photos. WaPo goes on to report that the storm gave Obama a (yet another) "commander-in-chief" moment.
In a campaign notable mostly for its negativity, the historic storm provided Obama with a commander-in-chief moment a week before Election Day. The president gained a rare moment of bipartisan praise, with Democratic and Republican governors alike commending the performance of the federal government.... The collaboration between Christie and Obama provided a stark contrast from Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when President George W. Bush’s administration and that of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco (D) engaged in a bitter round of finger-pointing over the botched handling of the disaster. ...WaPo
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During the storm but far enough from it to make him look like a mouthy milquetoast, Romney gave a "charity rally" in Ohio and continued to push a lie that appalls pretty much everyone. As Dana Milbank implies, Romney continues to careen around in his stolen Jeep, running over pretty much everyone.
Mitt Romney spoke to supporters in the Ohio town of Defiance last week, but his words came from the twin cities of Duplicity and Deception.
“I saw a story today that one of the great manufacturers in this state, Jeep, now owned by the Italians, is thinking of moving all production to China,” the Republican presidential nominee proclaimed, referring to the automaker President Obama saved from dissolution with taxpayer funds. “I will fight for every good job in America.”
The truth, however, was roughly 180 degrees opposite Romney’s claim. Chrysler, which owns the Jeep label, has added about 7,000 jobs in North America since it emerged from bankruptcy proceedings in June 2009, and it continues to expand its U.S. workforce and to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in American plants.
Romney’s fiction was apparently based on a misreading of a Bloomberg News report a few days earlier, which said that Chrysler would resume production in China for the first time since parent Fiat SpA bought the company — in addition to Chrysler’s production in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio.
“Let’s set the record straight: Jeep has no intention of shifting production of its Jeep models out of North America to China,” Chrysler executive Gualberto Ranieri wrote in a statement, using italics for emphasis. ...Dana Milbank, WaPo
And then the candidate goes on to create ads repeating the lie. He may be the lyingest candidate our generation has seen, maybe ever. He lies, maybe, with assurances from Karl Rove that most people don't know or care about the difference between truth and fiction. Use whichever you want to take power. It's the party that counts, not the country.
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Maureen Dowd takes a look at the bloated egotist, Governor Christie of New Jersey, who stunned everyone with his praise of President Obama. Fox was flummoxed and got caught in its own trap.
On ABC, CBS and NBC, Christie hailed Obama as “outstanding.” On MSNBC, he said the president “has been all over this,” and on CNN, he called Obama “incredibly supportive.” The big guy even tweeted his thanks to the slender one.
Most astonishing of all, the New Jersey governor went on Fox News and spoke words rarely heard on that network: “I have to give the president great credit.”
“I spoke to the president three times yesterday,” Christie gushed. “He called me for the last time at midnight last night, asking what he could do.”
Christie also extolled FEMA, even though Romney has said it is “immoral” to spend money on federal disaster relief when the deficit is so big.
“Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy must have forgotten Christie’s self-regarding keynote speech at Romney’s convention, which had more “I” than “he” in it. Doocy asked Christie if there was “any possibility that Governor Romney may go to New Jersey to tour some of the damage with you?” The governor replied dismissively: “I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested,” adding: “If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, then you don’t know me.”...Maureen Dowd, NYT
Dowd reports that the busy team in the White House looked at Christie with astonishment. But there's no question about Obama doing his job, doing it quietly, without drama, and flawlessly. Imagine having Romney as president dealing with a disaster like this.
"No," he'd say. "Can't do a thing for you. Can't add to the deficit just to save your lives. Can't take that political risk. Can't ask for sacrifice from people like me -- people at the top of the income scale -- just to save lives of people we don't know, or to help rebuild their homes and neighborhoods."
Meanwhile Governor Christie, a Republican governor of a Democratic state, is playing it differently. He's doing it right.
... Unlike with John Boehner at a fateful moment, a flattered Christie took Obama’s calls. While Romney campaigns in Florida Wednesday, Christie and Obama plan to tour storm damage in New Jersey, a picture of bipartisanship, putting distressed people above dirt-slinging politics.And that’s a grand bargain for both of them. ...Maureen Dowd, NYT
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