Hurricane Sandy: Obama hits N.J. with Gov. Christie, Romney hits trail [AM Briefing]

Hurricane Sandy: Obama hits N.J. with Gov. Christie, Romney hits trail [AM Briefing]

Gov. Chris Christie, an Obama critic, praises the president amid N.J. storm damage: ”Since Hurricane Sandy devastated his beloved state, Chris Christie, the bombastic, shout-first-worry-later Republican, has gone soft on President Obama. When a resident in this hard-hit town approached Christie on Wednesday to complain that FEMA had failed to help his neighborhood in the past, the governor assured him that his buddy in the Oval Office would make it right.” (Washington Post)

As Obama tours storm damage, Romney carefully steps back onto campaign trail: ”The presidential campaign picked up where it left off before Hurricane Sandy roared ashore, as the bitter, leave-no-attack-unsaid contest steamed ahead Wednesday with less than a week until Election Day. President Obama spent the day touring the storm-battered New Jersey coastline, and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, carefully avoided attacking him by name as he stepped gingerly back onto the campaign trail.” (Washington Post)

Fox News laments federal government’s role in hurricane relief: ‘FEMA has an ability to print money!’ (ThinkProgress)

Sandy’s closing argument: “The perplexing thing is this: Why is our moral instinct so different when it comes to natural disasters like Sandy as opposed to slow-motion man-made disasters, such as the fate of millions of poor children languishing in failing schools? Why do some bad things that are outside people’s control elicit empathy and a thirst for urgent response – and other bad things outside people’s control persist for decades in the face of de facto indifference?” writes CAP’s Matt Miller. (Washington Post) 

“Hours after service resumed Tuesday night, uptown-downtown buses in Manhattan were standing-room only. It’s a sign of health that people lucky enough not to have to deal with flooding, fire or power outages at home were up and about. But yesterday’s huge traffic jams are a warning: The city and MTA must do a bang-up job meeting the rising post-Sandy demand for transit, or Gotham will stay choked by car traffic,” writes Manhattan Institute’s Nicole Gelinas. (New York Post)

Politico’s Arena asks: Does Michele Bachmann belong in Congress?

Cato’s Jim Harper: Drug-sniffing dogs are sense-enhancing technology. (Cato)

Room for Debate asks: Europe is facing a series of secessionist movements. In Belgium, nationalists have won electoral pluralities in Flanders; Catalonia in Spain will hold early elections in November, with the Nationalist Coalition well in the lead; and a referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom is planned for 2014. The European Union did not prepare for the possibility of an internal secession. What are the legal, political and economic implications of secession in these regions and the E.U.? (New York Times)