Obama urges people in storm's path to follow local officials' orders.
- “We're dealing with a big storm and there could be significant flooding and other damage across a large area,” President Obama said Tuesday, as Tropical Storm Isaac approached the Gulf coast. He spoke before leaving Washington for a day of campaigning. "As president, I'll continue to make sure that the federal government is doing everything possible to help the American people prepare for and recover from this dangerous storm."
- The storm has forced Republicans, gathered in Tampa for the Republican National Convention, to shorten their nominating event, as party operatives struggle with the optics of holding a political show while a hurricane threatens to hit the Gulf coast.
- Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has called the emergency declaration Obama signed in advance of the storm “very limited,” a criticism similar to the one President Bush received for his response to Hurricane Katrina.
- The storm, expected to be Category 1 hurricane when it reaches New Orleans Tuesday night, comes on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, though Mayor Mitch Landrieu says he is “confident” the reconstructed levees will hold.
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