Obama balances campaign, hurricane prep

The balance between being president and being a candidate is especially tricky for President Obama these days, as Hurricane Sandy bears down on the East Coast.

With a campaign appearance this afternoon in New Hampshire, Obama convened another conference call this morning with emergency preparation aides.

"The president reiterated his direction to his team to ensure there were no unmet needs as states continue to prepare, and to keep him updated as preparations for the storm continue," said a White House readout.

Obama then proceeded to New Hampshire.

Said White House spokesman Josh Earnest: "This an example yet again of the president having to put his responsibilities as commander in chief and leader of the country first while at the same time he pursues his responsibilities as a candidate for re-election."

So far, the president has made only one minor schedule change. Having once planned to fly to Orlando, Fla., on Monday morning for a campaign appearance, the president will now leave Sunday evening,

Here is the White House readout of the conference call:

"This morning, President Obama convened a call with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Rick Knabb and Homeland Security Adviser John Brennan to receive an update on ongoing federal actions to prepare for Hurricane Sandy as it moves toward the United States mainland. The president reiterated his direction to Administrator Fugate to ensure that federal partners continue to bring all available resources to bear to support state and local responders in potentially affected areas along the Eastern Seaboard as they prepare for severe weather.

"FEMA continues to work closely with federal partners, including the Departments of Defense and Energy, and remains in close contact with state and local partners in potentially impacted areas. At the requests of states, FEMA is proactively deploying Incident Management Assistance Teams to multiple states up and down the Eastern Seaboard to ensure they have the support they need as they prepare for the storm. FEMA is holding daily operation briefings with emergency response teams in potentially affected states, and FEMA liaisons are joining state and local emergency operations centers in potentially impacted areas. FEMA is also pre-positioning commodities including water, meals, blankets and other resources, should they be needed, at Incident Support Bases along the East Coast.

"Because Hurricane Sandy could produce significant precipitation over widespread areas and has the potential to cause significant power outages, FEMA continues to encourage state and local authorities responsible for coordinating with local utility companies to do so ahead of any impacts. The president reiterated his direction to his team to ensure there were no unmet needs as states continue to prepare, and to keep him updated as preparations for the storm continue."