President Barack Obama has travelled to southern Louisiana to meet those affected by Hurricane Isaac, a day ahead of the Democratic National Convention.
Mr Obama took time out of his campaign trail to fly into New Orleans to meet local authorities, rescue workers and victims of the big storm which ploughed in off the Gulf of Mexico last week.
Authorities say a quarter of a million people are still without power in Louisiana and Mississippi after Isaac struck.
Mr Obama said his government would do all it could to help people get back on their feet.
He also praised the co-ordination of federal, state and local officials and pointed out that his administration issued disaster declarations well in advance to ensure officials were able to respond quickly.
In highlighting the work, Mr Obama was drawing a contrast with President George W Bush's widely criticised response to Hurricane Katrina seven years ago.
Around 1,800 people died in Katrina, and the botched government response caused devastating political damage to the second term of the former president.
Isaac was much less devastating, and flood defences put up around New Orleans since 2005 have protected the city.
Speaking in St John the Baptist parish, where many homes and businesses were flooded, Mr Obama said: "I want to commend everybody who's here in what they've done in ensuring lives were saved.
"Although there was tremendous property damage, people were in a position to get out quickly and as you can see, folks are on the ground clearing out the debris.
"I want to particularly thank (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) and the state and local authorities because sometimes in the past we haven't seen the kind of co-ordination that is necessary in response to these kinds of disasters."
His visit came after Republican candidate Mitt Romney made a surprise tour of the storm damage on Friday .
Mr Obama's campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that while the Mr Obama and Mr Romney visits provided a chance to meet residents, there were "some clear differences in what the different sides of this election are presenting".
