President Obama reflects on Hurricane Sandy in weekly address

President Barack Obama hugs Donna Vanzant, the owner of North Point Marina, as he tours damage from Hurricane Sandy in Brigantine, N.J., Oct. 31, 2012. (Video as prepared is unembeddable. To watch directly on YouTube, click here.)

This week, we have been humbled by nature's destructive power. But we've been inspired as well. For when the storm was darkest, the heroism of our fellow citizens shone brightest.

The nurses and doctors at NYU Medical Center who evacuated fragile newborns, carrying some down several flights of stairs.

The firefighters in Queens who battled an inferno from flooded streets, and rescued people from an apartment building by boat.

In his last weekly address before Election Day, President Obama talked about "one of the worst storms in our history" and how the federal government is going to be helping out stricken regions and residents every step of the way.

From the earliest hours, I ordered that resources be made available to states in the path of the storm as soon as they needed them. And I instructed my team not to let red tape and bureaucracy get in the way of solving problems ' especially when it came to making sure local utilities could restore power as quickly as possible.

He outlined the steps the government took in the preparation stage, and in the hours and days in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. He saluted first responders and local and state government workers who facilitated aid to victims.

And he made one of the simplest'and arguably the greatest'argument for the purpose of big government:

And as President, I promise them this: your country will be there for you for as long as it takes to recover and rebuild.

A good message at a good time.

To read the transcript in full, check below the fold or visit the White House website.