Obama - 48.56, Romney 48.49 (So like… its still tied nationally) http://abcn.ws/RuUNgp But more swing state polls out today show Obama swing state strength - CNN / ORC reflects a slight lead in Colorado. NBC / WSJ / Marist suggests leads in New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconsin.

The Rising Oceans and Barack Obama - In 2008, at the end of a long primary fight, then-Sen. Barack Obama gave a triumphant speech in St. Paul, Minn., in which he said it could be a pendulum-like moment for America.

If Americans would work for it, he said, acknowledging his own limitations, that June was the moment to which "generations would look back" and say, among other things, "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal."

In a weird way it could be Obama's failure to deliver on that singular promise about the rising of the oceans that saves his presidency for a second term.

The hurricane jarred this presidential race for a few days. If Obama wins next Tuesday, it won't be because of Sandy. But that will be a large part of the narrative.

Mitt Romney mocked that speech about the slowing "rise of the oceans" back in August.

"President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. MY promise…is to help you and your family," Romney said at the Republican National Convention.

Nothing Obama could have done on climate change as president would have prevented a hurricane. But despite the fuel efficiency standards Michael Bloomberg cited in his lukewarm endorsement of Obama, the president hasn't accomplished too much on climate change. House Democrats walked a legislative plank to pass a cap and trade bill. That alone didn't cost them the House in 2010, but it certainly didn't help. That bill to tax carbon emissions couldn't get out of the Senate and Obama had used up all his political capital on the stimulus and Obamacare.

On the stump, the President is more likely to talk about "green jobs" as an economic argument than an environmental one these days. If he's re-elected, he'd be better able to do anything about greenhouse gas emissions through executive power and the EPA, not through building a centrist coalition like the ones Michael Bloomberg pined for in his endorsement of Obama.

More on Bloomberg's grudging endorsement - http://abcn.ws/Q9pucv (Mary Bruce)

How else without Sandy could climate change, largely absent from the national discourse in this election , become part of the conversation with 5 days to go ?

If not for Sandy, Obama would not have been chummy with Chris Christie this week. If not for Sandy, Bloomberg may not have endorsed Obama today, citing both the storm and climate change.

None of those things on its own will win this election. And this election is not yet won : The latest ABC News / Washington Post poll suggests the national race is still tied.

But Obama's lead in swing states, according to many polls, persists. And his swagger today, wearing an official-looking bomber jacket with the executive seal to rallies, was evident.

Travel News - Romney Will Campaign in Pennsylvania Sunday - His first visit there since Sept. 28, per Emily Friedman

George's Bottom Line - Will The Storm Affect Voting? - http://yhoo.it/TemPuZ

If Its Yellow, Let It Mellow - RT @GovChristie: Try to conserve your waste of water - our systems are too weak right now to be holding all of that waste. #Sandy

Romney Bright Spots - Langer's Poll Write-up - More likely voters think the economy would improve under Mitt Romney than under Barack Obama - but they disproportionately blame Obama's predecessor for its troubles in the first place, an example of the mixed sentiments that undergird the deadlocked 2012 election. Fifty-four percent in the latest ABC News/Washington Post tracking poll express at least some confidence the economy would improve under Romney; fewer, 47 percent, think the same if Obama's re-elected. Then again, far fewer in either case are "very" confident of economic gains - 19 percent if Romney wins, 21 percent if it's Obama - hardly a rousing endorsement of either. While Obama falls 7 percentage points short of Romney in this measure, he does far better in another: Despite his tenure at the helm, just 36 percent of likely voters say Obama is chiefly responsible for the country's current economic problems. Fifty-one percent instead still blame his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush, three years and nine months after he left office. http://abcn.ws/RuUNgp

Obama, Biden Now Sing Different Tune on Medicare 'Cuts' - Democrats have defended the $716 billion in Medicare savings in the health care law by arguing that seniors would not be affected because the only spending cuts would be in future payments made to Medicare providers - there would be no cuts whatsoever to actual Medicare benefits. http://abcn.ws/TWhua4 (Jonathan Karl)

'Secretary of Business' - Executive Assistance - Today both GOP contenders were mocking President Obama's suggestion, made in an MSNBC interview earlier in the week, to create a "Secretary of Business." http://abcn.ws/Q9oUeJ (Shushannah Walshe)

The Benghazi Drip-Drip-Drip - As he left his Marine One helicopter Wednesday evening and walked to the residence of the White House, President Obama did not respond to a question shouted out by ABC News's Mary Bruce about when he would begin to provide answers to the numerous questions building up about what exactly what went wrong in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012. http://abcn.ws/Q9pucv (Jake Tapper)

Joe Biden Keeps Things Light Despite Own Mistakes - Surrounded by volunteers in the middle of a campaign field office in Davenport, Iowa, Wednesday night, Biden poked a little fun at himself for a recent mix-up he made when he confused what state he was in during a campaign stop in Marion, Ohio, last week. http://abcn.ws/QXk5SJ (Arlette Saenz)

Military Airlift Brings Gear to Help With Sandy Repairs - The Pentagon has begun an airlift of 69 vehicles from California to help restore power in New York and New Jersey in the wake of superstorm Sandy. http://abcn.ws/RwtH50 (Luis Martinez)

Where Obama and Romney Stand on the Big Issues - Before you head to the polls - now or on Nov. 6 - have one last look at the candidates and "where they stand" in this handy primer. http://abcn.ws/X3V1yu (Greg Krieg)

Romney Spanish Language Ad Ties Obama to Hugo Chavez - http://abcn.ws/Y9m1vf

Obama Kicks Off Closing-Argument Tour in Wisconsin - President Obama is officially back on the campaign trail in full swing, delivering his closing argument at a chilly tarmac rally here - steps from Air Force One - after an unprecedented and unanticipated two-day pause in the home stretch thanks to Hurricane Sandy. http://abcn.ws/ToPlYv (Devin Dwyer)

Romney Attacks are Back, Pol Mocks Obama's Secretary of Business Idea - Mitt Romney's campaign was back in full swing today in the battleground state of Virginia. The Republican candidate criticized President Obama again after a brief post-hurricane hiatus from negative attacks. http://abcn.ws/ShUFhF (Emily Friedman)

Obama, Romney Make Up for Sandy With Speed-Campaigning - With less than a week to Election Day, and after 72 hours mostly lost in deference to Hurricane Sandy, the presidential candidates today are spending almost as much time in the air as they are on the ground. http://abcn.ws/X3IMSv (Greg Krieg)

Romney Says He Supports FEMA - With so much attention this week on Hurricane Sandy and the response to its ravaging, year-old comments by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney suggesting that disaster relief should fall more to the states and the private sector have received new scrutiny. http://abcn.ws/ShUFhF

Confidence Wars: Why Both Sides Say They're Winning - At the five-day mark before Election Day, both the Romney and Obama campaign not only think they can win, but are convinced that they will win. http://abcn.ws/SeXfVq (Michael Falcone and Amy Walter)