Chris Christie calls President Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy "outstanding"

By Michael J.W. Stickings

Praise where praise is due.

He may not be much of a surrogate for Romney these days, but in his more important role as governor of a state that has been devastated by the superstorm, Chris Christie has been admirable in taking partisanship out of it, praising the president and refusing to allow his pal Mitt to turn the suffering in New Jersey into a campaign photo-op:

"The federal government's response has been great. I was on the phone at midnight again last night with the President, personally, he has expedited the designation of New Jersey as a major disaster area," Christie, a top surrogate for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said on NBC's "Today."

He added, "The President has been outstanding in this and so have the folks at FEMA."

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Christie was equally laudatory, saying "the President has been all over this and he deserves great credit." Obama, he said, "told me to call him if I needed anything and he absolutely means it, and it's been very good working with the President and his administration."

And on Fox News' "Fox and Friends," asked if Romney would visit New Jersey, Christie replied, "I have a job to do. If you think right now I give a damn about presidential politics, than you don't know me."

Romney is campaigning in Florida today, while President Obama and Governor Christie are in New Jersey together seeing the devastation for themselves, supporting FEMA's efforts, and figuring out what is needed now -- how they can lead and how they can help.

With less than a week to go to Election Day, and with much of the country facing hardship and requiring the sort of leadership the president -- and, yes, the governor -- bring to their offices, the contrast between the two candidates for president could not be more clear.

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