Comforter-in-Chief in NY [View all]

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President Barack Obama talks with residents on Cedar Grove Avenue during a walking tour of Hurricane Sandy storm damage in Staten Island, N.Y., Nov. 15, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)




President Barack Obama meets privately with Damien and Glenda Moore at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center tent in Staten Island, N.Y., Nov. 15, 2012. The Moore’s two small children, Brandon and Connor, died after being swept away during Hurricane Sandy. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

"I had the opportunity to give some hugs and communicate thoughts and prayers to the Moore family," Obama said of Damien and Glenda Moore. "They lost two young sons during the course of this tragedy. And obviously, I expressed to them, as a father, as a parent, my heartbreak over what they went through. And they're still obviously a little shell-shocked."

Obama said the resiliency and generosity of the Moores, who had lavished praise on New York police lieutenant Kevin Gallagher "for staying with them and doing everything he could so that ultimately, they knew what had happened with the boys, and were able to recover their bodies, and has been with them as a source of support ever since.

"That's not in the job description of Lieutenant Gallagher. He did that because that's what so many of our first responders do," he added.
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/obama-meets-parents-lost-sons-sandy/story?id=17728256#.UKYqxWes_n4

President Barack Obama talks with residents in a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center tent in Staten Island, N.Y., Nov. 15, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)


























New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg points out areas on a map of the region during an aerial tour of Hurricane Sandy storm damage, aboard Marine One in New York, N.Y., Nov. 15, 2012. Joining the President, from left, are: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan; Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano; and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)




Sheila Traina, whose home was completely demolished by flooding from Hurricane Sandy in New Dorp Beach, holds a letter written by her 11 year-old granddaughter Maggie Traina to President Obama who visited victims of the storm in Staten Island, November 15