ASBURY PARK, N.J. - President Barack Obama tried his hand at arcade football and joked Tuesday with Gov. Chris Christie, declaring the Jersey Shore is back seven months after superstorm Sandy bore down on its famed boardwalks and seaside towns.
The job of repairing the $38 billion in damage inflicted by the storm is not over, Obama said, adding that his return visit to a state he visited in the storm’s immediate aftermath was intended to show he’s still committed to putting the federal government to work. When all is said and done, Obama said, the Jersey Shore will be better and more resilient than it was before.
“You are stronger than the storm,” Obama said, borrowing a line that Christie himself uses in a federally funded advertising campaign touting Jersey Shore tourism. “After all you’ve dealt with, after all you’ve been through, the Jersey Shore is back and it is open for business.” He said his message to residents in storm-ravaged New Jersey also holds true for those in Oklahoma recovering from the May 20 tornado that killed 24 people and devastated the city of Moore.
“When we make a commitment that we got your back, we mean it,” Obama said. Gesturing to his host, Obama praised Christie for the “the great work he’s done here” in leading the recovery effort. A crowd of almost 4,000 gathered in ponchos and raincoats to see the president, who earlier Tuesday joined Christie at an arcade in nearby Point Pleasant Beach, where about half the boardwalk was destroyed in the storm.
“Republicans, Democrats, independents - we all came together, because New Jersey is more important and our citizens are more important than any kind of politics at all,”Christie said later as he introduced Obama.
The trip offered Obama a chance to showcase the widely praised Federal Emergency Management Agency at a time when attention has focused on the Internal Revenue Service and its targeting of conservative groups. The president also was able to draw attention to the kind of bipartisanship that has been harder to find in the nation’s capital.
For Christie, the president’s appearance was yet another way to showcase his beloved Jersey Shore. The Republican governor has been touting it throughout the Memorial Day weekend as a destination point that is back in business.The state has started a $25 million marketing campaign to highlight the shore’s resurgence in time for the summer season.
Obama visited those regions that have been among the first to recover. Christie has ranked the recovery of the state’s famous boardwalks as an eight on a scale of 10, but conceded that in other parts of the state many homeowners are still rebuilding six months after the devastating storm struck. Overall, the storm caused $38 billion in damage in the state, and harmed or wrecked 360,000 homes or apartment units.
In Washington on Tuesday, first lady Michelle Obama welcomed students from two New Jersey schools damaged by the storm to the White House garden, where they gathered fresh vegetables and made flatbread pizza along with students from other states.
“It hasn’t been that easy, but you guys have managed to get through the school year way on top of the game, and we’re just very proud of you,” Obama told the students from New Jersey.
Information for this article was contributed by Angela Delli Santi, Josh Lederman and Stacy A. Anderson of The Associated Press.
Front Section, Pages 5 on 05/29/2013