Romney faces scrutiny on aid in storm’s wake

WASHINGTON: There’s nothing like a natural disaster to test the depth of politicians’ preference for small government.
So Mitt Romney’s on the hot seat after superstorm Sandy battered the East Coast. Only last year, as Romney tacked to the right while battling for the GOP nomination, he appeared to suggest in a GOP debate that the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be shuttered and its responsibilities left to the states.
Now, a week before Election Day, in the wake of a massive disaster, Romney’s campaign is reassuring voters that his administration wouldn’t leave disaster victims in the lurch.
Campaign spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg instead promises that “a Romney-Ryan administration will always ensure that disaster funding is there for those in need. Period.”