The day after Sandy made landfall, President Obama had this to say to the American people.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: U.S. President Barack Obama saying<br/> <br />"My instructions to the federal agency are -- do not figure out why we can't do something figure out how we do something. I want you to cut through red tape to cut through bureaucracy. There is no excuse for inaction at this point. I want every agency to lean forward and to make sure that we are getting the resources to where they are needed as quick as possible."<br/> <br />Ahead of Sandy's arrival, both candidates canceled campaign stops --- both careful not to appear too focused on politics with so many Americans in harm's way.<br/> <br />On Wednesday, Republican Mitt Romney also honored the many people along the east coast whose lives were disrupted by the storm --- by organizing a food bank in the battleground state of Ohio.<br/> <br />SOUNDBITE: Republican Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney saying:<br/> <br />"We have heavy hearts as you know with all the suffering going on in a major part of our country, a lot of people hurting this morning, they were hurting last night and the storm goes on."<br/> <br />The latest Reuters Ipsos poll shows Obama with a slim lead, 47 percent to Romney 46 percent with less than a week to go before election day.
