The president chose Paterson for his tour because “this was a place he can visit that had particularly severe impacts,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Joining Obama were Craig Fugate, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Lisa Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; and members of the state’s congressional delegation.
Republican Gov. Chris Christie, who greeted Obama upon his arrival in Newark, has offered the Democratic president praise for his response to Irene.
“When disaster strikes, Americans suffer, not Democrats, not independents, not Republicans,” Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One. “Americans suffer, and then we come together and put politics aside to make sure that those Americans get the assistance that they need.”
In Paterson, the Passaic River swept through the once-booming factory town of 150,000. The rising river flooded the city’s downtown and forced hundreds to evacuate.
Federal officials were monitoring Tropical Storm Lee, which was dumping torrential rains across the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts. That area is still recovering six years after Hurricane Katrina.
Carney said the administration is concerned about what “has been and will be a significant amount of rainfall.”
