President Obama greeted residents of Wayne, N.J., while touring damage caused by Hurricane Irene
 
President Obama arrived in New Jersey on Sunday to survey some of the worst flooding from Tropical Storm Irene, while communities in the northern part of the state struggled to clean up the muddy mess left behind from the storm.
 
Obama landed at Newark Liberty International Airport at noon and was greeted by Gov. Chris Christie and Senators Frank R. Lautenberg and Robert Menendez. He then boarded Marine One to fly northward to survey storm damage, landing at Essex County Airport before heading to this working-class city. One person along his car route held up a sign that pleaded, “Help Us.”
 
Obama arrived downtown about 1:30 p.m. Residents lined the sidewalks along Main Street, in some places standing several people deep, and the president’s motorcade was met with loud cheers as it passed through, reports The NY Times.
 
“The entire country is behind you,” Obama said, standing shoulder to shoulder with New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie.
 
While some members of Congress, like Rep. Eric Cantor, Republican of Virginia, have suggested that disaster relief spending be offset by cuts from elsewhere, Obama said that all the necessary resources would be brought to bare to help those affected by the storm.
 
“We are going to meet our federal obligations,” Obama said. “We’re one country.”
 
The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, told reporters aboard Air Force One that Obama planned to meet with local officials, and also wanted to get an assessment of the damage from federal emergency management officials who have been on the scene since the hurricane swept through the Northeast last Sunday, The Associated Press reported.
 
Carney said that Obama chose to visit Paterson because “this was a place he can visit that had particularly severe impacts,” adding that the president was also keeping tabs on Tropical Storm Lee, which made landfall in Louisiana on Sunday.
 
Paterson, which with about 150,000 residents is New Jersey’s third-largest city, was devastated by flooding last week after the Passaic River overwhelmed its banks and submerged entire city blocks. Hundreds of people were evacuated, adding another layer of distress to a struggling city that already was battling high unemployment.
 
On Sunday, orange-and-white plastic barricades blocked off parts of Paterson’s downtown in preparation for the president’s visit, and residents traded theories on where Obama might visit during his time here.
 
Obama planned to tour the city with Christie; Lisa Jackson, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency; W. Craig Fugate, the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and members of New Jersey’s Congressional delegation.
 
Christie has been a blunt critic of the president in the past, and some Republicans have urged him to run against Obama next year, a call that he has repeatedly brushed off. But Christie has had nothing but praise for the president in recent days, complimenting his administration’s focused response to the storm.