President Barack Obama: Mr. Mayor [Walter Maddox] was pointing out that there’s a lot of national media down here right now. the mayor expressed the concern that perhaps the media will move on in a day, a week, or a month, and that folks will forget what’s happened here, and I want to assure him that the American people all across the country are with him and his community and we’re going to make sure that you’re not forgotten and that we do everything we can to make sure that we’ve rebuilt.
Expressing amazement at the destruction all around him, President Barack Obama on Friday stepped through the wreckage left by rampaging tornadoes and pledged help to those who survived but lost their homes in a terrifying flash.