Obama Consoles Town Flattened by Tornado

Doug Mills/The New York Times President Obama visited victims of the tornadoes on Sunday in Moore, Okla.

MOORE, Okla. - President Obama walked among 10-foot-tall piles of tornado debris littered with children's schoolbooks on Sunday as he offered the condolences of a nation to a town nearly wiped off the map by a storm.

Standing next to the rubble that was once Plaza Towers Elementary School - and the place where seven children lost their lives when the tornado touched down a week ago - the president declared his confidence that Moore would rebuild and recover, and he pledged the support of his government, and the nation, toward that goal.

“This is a strong community with strong character,” Mr. Obama said with a grim face as he stood with Mary Fallin, the Republican governor of Oklahoma, and other local officials. “There's no doubt they will bounce back. But they need help.”

A president who is often locked in a struggle with Republicans over their disdain for expansive federal agencies, Mr. Obama has repeatedly found himself pledging the full power of the government to confront natural disasters. On Tuesday, the president will return to the New Jersey coast to witness the rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy.

In Oklahoma, Mr. Obama took a brief walk through the remains of what once was a thriving suburb south of Oklahoma City. American flags, flapping in the stiff winds of the warm spring day, were among the rubble.

But the piles also contained reminders of the lives torn apart by winds that topped 200 miles per hour as the twister cut a 20-mile path of destruction through town.

There were 2012 yearbooks from the Plaza Towers school and one workbook titled “Jamal's Surprise.” There were several waterlogged encyclopedias and a pink baby doll stroller. In another pile was a purple plastic toy camcorder and a pink child's parka. Every few feet, crumpled cars blocked the way and twisted metal littered yards that once had lawns. The only trees remaining had no bark and no leaves.

Secret Service agents stood in pairs on the roofs of military vehicles. The only sounds were the hum of a portable generator and the rush the wind.

As he has in other places struck by disaster - Joplin, Mo.; the Jersey Shore; West, Tex.; Colorado Springs; Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and the Gulf Coast - Mr. Obama was the consoler in chief, with the television cameras rolling. He promised Moore residents that his administration would stay with them - as it has, he said, in the other communities - as the Oklahomans rebuilt.

“When I say that we've got your back, we keep our word,” Mr. Obama said outside the school.

The president's visit symbolizes the money and resources of the federal government. More than 450 federal employees remain in Oklahoma a week after the tornado ripped through Moore. Officials said about 4,200 people had registered for a total of $3.4 million in immediate aid made available by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Rebuilding will probably cost billions, with a portion coming from the federal government.

For Mr. Obama, natural disasters like the one in Moore provide a tangible example of his political philosophy - how a robust investment in government can provide returns for its citizens. The grim aftermath of each crisis can test the Republicans' opposition to such policies.

Governor Fallin has repeatedly said that the federal government is bloated and inefficient and needs to be reduced in size and ambition. In her State of the State address in 2012, she disparaged the federal government, making no exception for agencies like FEMA.

“Our success stands in stark contrast to the record of dysfunction, failed policies and outrageous spending that occurs in Washington, D.C.” she told state lawmakers. “In Oklahoma, we could teach Washington a lesson or two about fiscal policy and the size and proper role of government.”

But faced with financial and logistical damages that are beyond the resources of her state, Ms. Fallin has acknowledged the need for federal assistance. In an interview with Glenn Beck on his Internet show, the governor explained the need to work with the federal emergency agencies.

“FEMA was very good to respond, and the president did call yesterday, and they did give us notice last night that our federal emergency disaster declaration was approved,” she said.

In his remarks in Moore on Sunday, Mr. Obama made a point of noting that federal funds had not only paid for disaster relief efforts, but also for the training of local and state police officers and firefighters that helped them to respond quickly after the tornado struck.

“We've got to make sure that those resources remain in place,” Mr. Obama said before visiting with law enforcement officials at a firehouse that now serves as a recovery command center. “We can't just wait until the disaster happens.”

In recent days, Republicans in Congress have seized on a series of controversies involving the Justice Department, the Internal Revenue Service and the State Department, in part to argue that Mr. Obama presides over a government that has grown too big to control.

Other fights are looming in Washington over the deficit, the automatic budget cuts known as sequestration, and the president's proposal for increased preschool spending, a higher minimum wage and a new commitment to infrastructure projects.

Those arguments will continue over the next several weeks as the two parties bicker over the proper size and role of government. The president and the Republicans in Congress may yet battle over the cost of providing long-term assistance to disaster victims.

But in places like Oklahoma, the differences have narrowed for now. Faced with the destructive power that nature can wield, both parties seem more than willing to embrace the need for a well-financed government that can respond quickly.

In his remarks, Mr. Obama recalled hearing that a Bible had been found after a tornado touched down in Oklahoma the day before the one that hit Moore. The Bible, he said, was open to a passage: “A man will be as a hiding place from the wind and a cover from the tempest.”

“It's a reminder,” Mr. Obama said, “as Scripture often is, that God has a plan.”