its a tricky situation...
don't know what the toe sucker is thinking, but he is hedging his bets just in case...
don't be faint of heart....a large number of people have already voted and most have already made up their minds...
You do not praise Obama in advance, because he will think he finished.
He could have graciously declined the photo opporunity with the president citing his having to deal with the emergency, as did Bloomberg (who actually supports Obama).
He certainly didn't need to crow about what a great guy Obama is in view of the election just around the corner, especially when it was obvious the Obama campaign saw the storm as a heaven sent opportunity.