US President Barack Obama, locked in a tight re-election bid, will join one of his top Republican critics on a visit to victims of superstorm Sandy in New Jersey.
It will give Americans a high-profile display of presidential leadership while leaving rival Mitt Romney awkwardly on the sidelines less than a week before Election Day.
Obama will visit New Jersey, the state hardest hit by the storm which devastated much of the northeastern United States, accompanied by Governor Chris Christie.
The governor has been one of Romney's most prominent supporters, but has been effusive in his praise of Obama's response to the storm.
Though Obama has officially suspended campaigning for three days and New Jersey is safe Democratic territory, the tour with Christie offers him clear electoral advantages. Obama can appear to be in command, directing US aid and showing his concern about the storm's victims. Romney, meanwhile, must walk a careful line. Aggressive attacks on Obama could appear unseemly during a national crisis. Yet he is running out of time to make his case to voters ahead of Tuesday's vote.
Polls show the candidates virtually tied. But the winner will be determined in state-by-state votes and a handful of states that are not clearly Democratic or Republican will determine the outcome. For the moment, Obama appears to have a slight lead in the state tallies.
The Obama campaign dispatched Vice President Joe Biden to play defence in Florida on Wednesday, with stops in smaller more conservative markets of Sarasota and Ocala aimed at narrowing the margin where Republicans usually fare well.
For Obama, missing a few days of active campaigning for vital presidential duties may be a good trade, politically speaking.
To the independent and undecided voters sick of the mess in Washington, Obama appears bipartisan and positively unconcerned about his own political fate. His best friend is suddenly a prominent Romney supporter, Christie.
"The president has been all over this, and he deserves great credit," Christie, a Republican, gushed in a TV interview. By contrast, when Christie was asked whether Romney was coming to help, he said, "I have no idea, nor am I the least bit concerned or interested."
Also haunting Romney are his past statements on the federal government's role in emergency management. He has said he believes state and local governments should have primary responsibility for emergency cleanup, and refused on Tuesday to answer repeated questions from reporters about what he would do with the Federal Emergency Management Agency if he wins the election.
Asked about federal aid to help recover and rebuild from Sandy, Romney spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said: "A Romney-Ryan administration will always ensure that disaster funding is there for those in need. Period."
In a sign that Ohio looms large for the Romney campaign: a guest-filled rally in suburban Cincinnati is planned for Friday to kick off the campaign's final four days. Set to join the Romney and running mate Paul Ryan are golf legend Jack Nicklaus, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Texas Governor Rick Perry and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
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