Nightly News   |  October 29, 2012

Storm derails presidential campaigns

Although the candidates’ schedules were thrown off by the storm, neither campaign wanted to focus on politics. In a briefing at the White House Monday, President Obama said he’s not worried about what impact Sandy could have on the election. And in Ohio, Mitt Romney emphasized the need for America to come together during times of difficulty. NBC’s Chuck Todd reports.

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>>> you're looking live at the white house on what is also a rainy and stormy night in washington. this storm has had a huge effect beyond just the distraction on the race for president. let's go to our chief white house correspondent political director, chuck todd , who thankfully is in the briefing room in the west wing tonight, away from the elements.

>> reporter: yes, good evening, the president actually woke up in orlando, florida, where he was going to do a rally. and when they woke up, they made a decision, no, the president was going to skip that campaign event, get back to air force one and get back to washington, before the weather got worse. came back here, got briefings from his homeland security director, janet napolitano . then he went through everything he learned about the storm, gave a warning to folks about the coastline, and was asked about the event.

>> i am not worried about the impact on the election, i'm worried about the impact on the election, the impact on the first responders, on the economy, and on transportation. you know, the election will -- take care of itself.

>> reporter: the reality is, we have got 8 calendar days left before the election, but the president has cancelled all campaign events tonight. and two more campaign events tomorrow. governor romney also cancelled his campaign events tonight. and cancelled alvl the events tomorrow. so we only have at best, six campaign days left, assuming they get back on the trail weapons.

>> all right, chuck todd , reporting