Obama visits storm victims while Romney campaigns

WASHINTON: President Barack Obama is emphasizing his incumbent’s role for a third straight day, skipping campaign events in battleground states to visit victims of super storm Sandy in New Jersey, a state he’s confident of winning. The president’s actions have forced his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, to walk a careful line and make tough choices
The former Massachusetts governor must show respect for the superstorm’s casualties all along the Eastern Seaboard. But Romney can ill afford to waste a minute of campaign time, with the contest virtually deadlocked in several key states and the election six days away.
After tamping down his partisan tone Tuesday at an Ohio event that chiefly emphasized victims’ relief, Romney planned three full-blown campaign rallies yesterday in Florida, the largest competitive state. Sandy largely spared Florida, so Romney calculates he can campaign there without appearing callous.
Obama’s campaign announced yesterday he planned to resume campaign travel Thursday after a three-day pause to deal with superstorm Sandy with stops in Nevada, Colorado and Wisconsin.
Authorities in northern West Virginia say two more people have died in separate weather-related accidents, bringing to at least three the number of people in the state killed due to superstorm Sandy.
Barbour County Emergency Services Director Cindy Hart says both men were in their 60s and died at their homes Tuesday.
She says one man was clearing tree debris at his home but didn’t immediately have other details on his death. Hart says another man died while shoveling snow Tuesday at his home.
Neither of the men’s names were released yesterday morning pending notification of relatives.
The storm also was blamed for the death of a 40-year-old woman whose car collided with a cement truck Monday in neighboring Tucker County.