Obama: ‘I've Never Seen Devastation Like This’

Barack Obama toured the tornado-ravaged town of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, today, expressing amazement at the wreckage and promising help for those left rebuilding. "I've never seen devastation like this," the president said. "We're going to make sure you're not forgotten." Obama has declared a major disaster in the state and ordered federal aid for it, the AP reports. He was accompanied Michelle Obama, as well as Gov. Robert Bentley, Mayor Walter Maddox, and Sen. Richard Shelby.

Shelby and Bentley are Republicans, but there wasn't a hint of party politics. "What's amazing is when something like this happens, folks forget all their petty differences," Obama said. "When we're confronted by the awesome power of nature and reminded that all we have is each other." The storms killed about 300 people in six states. (More Barack Obama stories.)