PHOTOS: President Obama and Gov. Christie tour the Jersey Shore

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(Gallery by Star-Ledger Staff)

ASBURY PARK — President Barack Obama has returned to the Jersey Shore.

More than six months after touring the area with Gov. Chris Christie in the wake of Hurricane Sandy's destruction, Obama and Christie are surveying the Shore's recovery today.

UPDATE:

Obama talks recovery in Asbury Park after Shore tour

The president landed at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst at 11:08 a.m. After a few hours with the governor, Obama began speaking at Convention Hall in Asbury Park around 1:25 p.m.

3:10 p.m.: Air Force One has left Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst en route back to Washington.

2:53 p.m.: The president's helicopter has arrived back at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

It’s pouring rain. The president has not yet left on Air Force One.

Barack Obama in Asbury Park 37 Gallery: Barack Obama in Asbury Park

2:34 p.m.:. While Christie was busy introducing his presidential guest outside the Convention Hall in Asbury Park this afternoon, his Democratic opponent in November's election was in a much-less-visible place.

State Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex) sat well behind the podium from which Obama spoke. She was underneath an overhang of the Convention Hall, alongside state Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen).

But the Democrat said she did get to meet with the president for five minutes before he took the stage. She said she told him of all the work that remains to be done in Middlesex County, where she is a state senator.

"He said, 'i like Senators,'" she said, quoting Obama, a former state-senator from Illinois. "I told him I'd like him to come to Middlesex County and see the inland part of the state. The inland areas in particular are still recovering. People are still out of their homes."

She noted that Obama's speech was inspiring.



"It was uplifting. He was so engaging, as always." Buono said. "It was great just to be here. I used to come to Asbury Park as a kid and I looked forward to the one week my family would spend down here every summer. I was experiencing some childhood memories."

Buono said last week she was not upset that Obama would be touring the state with Christie, her Republican opponent.

On the other side of the crowd, state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos (R-Monmouth), a good friend of Christie’s who unsuccessfully challenged Sen. Robert Menendez for his seat last year, sat in the front near the center of the crowd.

The tour group then moved to an arcade called "TouchDown Fever" to try to win a stuffed bear by tossing a football through a tire. Obama tried and missed a few times. On his first throw, Christie threw the ball through the tire. Obama gave him a high five.

"That's because he's running for office,” the president said.

The man behind the counter gave Obama a "Chicago" bear.

Obama and Christie shook hands along the boardwalk. At one point, the president just held up both hands while a line of kids slapped him five.

The skies were overcast, and a steady drizzle continued to fall.

The two lingered on the boardwalk while reporters and cameras waited.

12:29 p.m.: As stinging rain falls, hundreds of people have been ushered onto scaffold seating in front of Convention Hall, where the president will speak outside of the main entrance. Hundreds more have gathered on the beach next to the scaffold.

Jack Lehman of Allenhurst took his 10-year-old nephew Tom Glynn to catch Obama's speech. The weather didn't stop them, they said.

"You'd come to a football game in the rain," Lehman said. "Why not to see a president?"

Lou Venturelli of Hamilton said it was also important to support Obama in the wake of recent scandals that have affected the White House, including how the Internal Revenue Service is accused of targeting conservative groups. But Venturelli said he is not partisan — he also supports Republican Gov. Chris Christie.

"I think that's the America we all hope for," he said.

Meanwhile, Sam & Dave's 1967 hit "Soul Man" came on over the loudspeakers on the boardwalk, causing a group of people waiting in the rain to dance and clap loudly.

12:10 p.m.: The motorcade left the Sea Girt landing area at 11:57 a.m. Residents lined the local streets and Route 71 to view the motorcade. A large group of school kids waved American flags in Brielle as the cars passed.

The motorcade crossed into Point Pleasant Beach, heading off highway toward boardwalk. Then the cars parked, and the group headed to Jenkinson's Boardwalk.

Before the motorcade crossed the bridge into Point Pleasant Beach a man outside a bait and tackle shop had a sign that said Obama with the name crossed out. He gave the motorcade the middle finger as it passed.

Noon: People are starting to be allowed into Convention Hall for Obama's speech. There are at least 2,000 people in a line that stretches down Ocean Avenue from the Wonder Bar to the carousel house.

Rumu Dasgupta got up at 6 a.m. and traveled with her family from Freehold. She also attended Obama's inauguration in 2009.

"This was an historic opportunity to see a sitting president," she said. "You don't get to see that too often."

Rain is still falling as about two dozen news vans are parked outside. Police and secret service agents are checking bags.

11:50 a.m.: Marine helicopter landed and motorcade is on the move to Sea Girt.

11:50 a.m.: Servicemen and women on the airport tarmac at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst were a bit star-struck as they met and shook hands with their president.

There was some applause — and many pictures taken by the crowd, which numbered fewer than 100.

Army Staff Sgt. David Gomez, 30, said he only knew he was going to be on a “special detail” today. When Gomez found out he’d be meeting Obama, he was convinced it was a joke.

“I thought they were joking,” Gomez said. “My friend right now is texting me and telling me to send him pictures.”

Air Force Tech Sgt. Andrea Sierra said she was also surprised at who the guest was. She got a call Monday ordering her to be on standby for an unspecified detail.

Then, Sierra was shaking hands with the Commander in Chief, she said.

“It was surreal. He looks exactly the same in person,” she said.

The president’s handshake was firm, and strong, Sierra added.

11:40 a.m.: The rain keeps coming — light but steady.

More than a few of the thousands waiting in Asbury Park for the president’s arrival said they were a bit surprised to learn that his speech will be held outside.

But as they made their way to stands set up along the beach, they said the excitement of seeing the President outweighed any disappointment of having to wait out in the rain.



Beverly Brown, 62, of Sicklerville said she was thrilled for the chance to see Obama.

"The president has never been this close to me," she said.

But Brown said the recovery from Sandy is taking longer than she would like

"A lot still needs to be done," she said.

11:30 a.m.: Obama's visit also has given an opportunity for a little bit of New Jersey politicking.

Christie's Republican challenger and a group that has aired ads slamming the governor has used the president's visit as a chance to remind voters the primary election is one week away.



Seth Grossman, a lawyer from Atlantic County, called today's presidential visit Christie's "third bailout" of Obama following the president's visit days after Sandy hit and Christie's criticism of Republicans in Congress for delaying a vote on the federal relief package.



By joining Obama at the Shore, Christie is essentially "giving him 'Republican' support at a time when even liberals are fed-up with his blatant misuse of the IRS, and outrageous abuse of a Fox news reporter," Grossman said in a statement. "Christie is sure he will get away with this. Christie made a deal with Democrat Senator Steve Sweeney and Assembly Democrats for Christie Republicans to take a dive so that Democrats keep control of the NJ Senate and Assembly."



Grossman said for Republicans, Christie is the "lesser of two evils" when compared to his likely Democratic challenger state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-Middlesex).



On the other side, One New Jersey, a left-leaning group, pointed to issues unlikely to come up during today's visit.



"President Obama knows what it takes to look out for the middle-class and working families," spokesman Joshua Henne said in a statement. "And he is coming to New Jersey as the unofficial start to the summer season begins -- because he still has our state in the forefront of his mind. However, it's a fact that the same problems facing New Jersey's middle-class and working families before Sandy hit the state both remain and are holding our state back."



Seven months after Sandy, One New Jersey said Obama should ask Christie about climate change, early voting. a no-bid debris cleanup contract awarded to the politically connected firm AshBritt, the state's minimum wage and Christie's starring role in federally funded tourism commercials.

11:20 a.m.: With a pat on the shoulder, the president greeted the governor.

Obama and Christie exchanged pleasantries, then walked along the airport tarmac, where the Commander in Chief said hello to a waiting crowd of mostly military service members and their families.

Within minutes, upon shaking hands with the waiting crowd, Obama walked into a helicopter with Christie.

Obama put a hand on Christie's back and let him enter the helicopter first.

The helicopter has taken off.

11:08 a.m.: Air Force One has landed at McGuire Air Force base.

Gov. Christie is waiting to greet Obama at the terminal.

10:55 a.m.: In Asbury Park, more than 1,000 people have already showed to the area around the Convention Hall some three hours before the president is scheduled to give a speech.

Boardwalk access is restricted — and people are lined up along streets parallel to the oceanfront area. Barriers have been put up along some roads.

A light drizzle has been steadily falling — and the line is starting to move.

10:25 a.m.: The president is expected to touch down in New Jersey at 11 a.m. — and security is preparing.

In the last minutes, about a half-dozen helicopters landed on the runway on which the president will land at McGuire Air Force Base.

Security measures are visible as the wait continues for Obama.

10:15 a.m.: Obama's visit to the Jersey Shore is a bit more upbeat, compared to other recent stops on his itinerary over the last few months.



The president visited Oklahoma and the scenes of tornado destruction on Sunday, pledging his support to the community of Moore. During his visit he spoke at the devastated campus of Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven school-age children were killed in the powerful storms.

But Obama has visited many scenes of death and destruction in the months since his re-election in November. The president traveled to Newtown, Conn., in the wake of the school shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children and six educators. He went to Boston after the deadly marathon attack. And he paid respects to the 15 killed in a fertilizer plant explosion in the city of West, Texas in April.

Obama last visited the Jersey Shore just days after the storm - and just days before his victory over Mitt Romney, the Republican challenger. Today's visit is expected to highlight the progress the Sandy-devastated areas have made over the last few months.

9:50 a.m.: Officials are preparing for a closure of Route 71 and other roadways, according to authorities.

Cones are lining the highway heading south from Sea Girt toward Point Pleasant — and residents are being instructed not to have any cars in their driveways along the route, onlookers said.

Dozens of state police vehicles left the state police academy in Sea Girt and headed south on the highway at 9:30 a.m.

Several municipalities have said that drivers should expect to see Route 71 closed for extended periods today, due to the president’s tour with the governor.

9:40 a.m.: People are already lining up on Ocean Avenue for the president's arrival in Asbury Park.

The line to hear Obama speak is growing outside the Convention Hall. He is expected to give a speech about 2 p.m., officials have said.

People in the crowd are excited to hear what the president has to say, six months after he was last at the Jersey Shore, in the wake of the destruction from Sandy.

Gilberthe Jean-Baptiste, 36, is waiting — and excited. The Neptune resident is currently displaced from her home, which was damaged in Sandy and is still being rebuilt. She is waiting with her 3-year-old daughter and her mother — and she’s aware of the importance of the historic visit, she said.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hear the president speak,” she said. “This is a huge sign of hope for the people of this city.”

Several people protesting Christie have also been spotted in the crowd.

9:15 a.m.: President Obama and Governor Christie head to the Shore today with much different political momentum.

The president has had a difficult few weeks, due to controversies surrounding the Internal Revenue Service’s alleged targeting of conservative groups, the Justice Department’s review of journalists phone records, and ongoing criticism of the administration’s handling of terror attacks last fall before Obama won re-election to a second term.

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Christie, on the other hand, has been dominating New Jersey polls for months — and has been rumored to be a contender for a 2016 run for the Oval Office. He appeared on the "Today" show on Friday and maintained visibility throughout the holiday weekend as perhaps the biggest cheerleader for the Jersey Shore during the first unofficial weekend of the summer tourist season.

Christie said that his future in politics — perhaps as a Republican presidential candidate — was not a concern when it comes to the Democratic president’s arrival.

“The fact of the matter is, he’s the president of the United States, and he wants to come here and see the people of New Jersey,” the governor said. “I’m the governor. I’ll be here to welcome him.”

9:00 a.m. — Officials are preparing for the arrival of the president today. Be aware traffic will be spotty around Convention Hall — motorists might want to look for alternate routes through Asbury Park and other parts of the Shore that the governor and president will tour.

The Star-Ledger's Brian Donohue, Dan Goldberg, Brent Johnson, Andre Malok, Andrew Mills, Michael Monday, Eugene Paik, Jenna Portnoy, and Patti Sapone will be on scene to provide updates as they come. Star-Ledger staff writers Seth Augenstein and Jeff Goldman are also contributing to the report.

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