Mitt Romney says he went to Louisiana today to learn, and to draw attention to the plight of residents who've been flooded out of their homes by Hurricane Isaac.
On his first trip after the Republican National Convention, Romney met along a highway with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (JIN'-dul) and talked about the challenges facing the stricken area. His motorcade inched through water that, at some points, was a foot or more deep.
Isaac has left more than 800,000 in Louisiana people without power.
At one point, Romney and Jindal talked to a man in waders and a straw hat who was holding a neon yellow sign that read, "Mitt Is Our Man." The man complained about the area's lack of protection from flooding.
With Romney in Louisiana, running mate Paul Ryan traveled solo to the key battleground state of Virginia, telling supporters in Richmond that after four years of economic troubles, it was time for a change.
The White House says President Barack Obama had made his decision to visit Louisiana on Monday before Mitt Romney's announcement that he would be going to the state today to see damage from Hurricane Isaac.
Obama will also be examining water and wind damage from the storm. He will be arriving in Louisiana after a campaign stop in Ohio earlier in the day.
Obama spokesman Jay Carney, when asked about Romney's trip to the area today, said it's "always important to draw attention to the fact that individuals and families and business owners are profoundly affected."
Isaac reached hurricane strength as it made landfall earlier this week. It coincided with the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and it struck as the Republican National Convention unfolded in Florida. (AP)
