We're getting a reminder here of how fiercely competitive this race is. Even as his party's convention is going on, Mitt Romney, campaigning in Indiana and President Obama, of course, not taking the week off - as rival candidates sometimes do during the opponent's convention. He's been making his case the last couple of days in college towns, trying to energize young voters.
And NPR's Scott Horsley is on the road with the president.
It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.
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And I'm David Greene.
One thing we've heard from people along the Gulf Coast is it happened so fast. That's how many have described rising flood waters in several parishes in Louisiana.
Just to keep us up to date here on Hurricane Isaac, it's become a tropical storm and forecasters expect to downgrade it to a tropical depression by this evening. That is small comfort, though, to people facing the storm's strong winds and heavy rains. States as far north as Ohio could feel Isaac's effects.
Marlaine Peachey works in the mayor's office in Mandeville, La. During severe weather she mans the office 24-7. She tells Steve Inskeep that Hurricane Issac was a water event they didn't expect.
Originally published on Thu August 30, 2012 5:26 am
Even though Isaac has been down graded from its hurricane strength, it hasn't lost all its punch. The storm continues drench Louisiana and Mississippi, and it's making it difficult to restore electricity and to get a full sense of damage.