Nobody expected the last days of the campaign to be impacted by anything but a man made October surprise – and there were many of those predicted. Donald Trump tried one on President Barack Obama last week, and that appears to have fallen flat. Attorney Gloria Allred has been hinting at one for Gov. Mitt Romney in recent days, but nobody appears to be very interested in that either.
But Hurricane Sandy, now that was a surprise that nobody was expecting.
As everybody hunkers down to withstand what is being described as “the storm of the century,” media outlets such as Bloomberg Business Week have been speculating on just how much of an impact the storm will have on the election and the two campaigns.
While obviously the most critical issue is the safety of the people in the eye of the storm, both Obama and Romney are going to have to work through it and still keep some focus on the election. While Obama is likely to get some benefit by being the president in a time of crisis, it could also give Romney an edge. He is able to spend more time other swing states while the president is sidelined with the job of being president. Voter turnout could also be an issue, but for whom?
So which candidate do you think is most likely to be impacted by what has been described as “the perfect storm.” Perfect for whom?
I don't know if this benefits one candidate over the other at this point in the race but it certainly highlights some very basic differences between the two. Romney is on record as being for dismantling FEMA and leaving states to their own devices when it comes to disaster management. Quite a contrast to Obama's universal concern.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/30/mitt-romney-fema_n_2044213.html But here he is discussing how he wants to get rid of FEMA: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/28/mitt-romney-fema_n_2036198.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular And of course it wouldn't be a complete coverage on an issue and Romney's views, without bringing in the original flip flop of his days as Governor, when he opted out of financing this at the state level, but requested the national assistance... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/30/mitt-romney-flooding_n_2042886.html?ref=topbar
I suppose we will have to wait on those answers like we are waiting on Obama to allow further investigation into Fast and Furious. The administration plays fast and Americans are furious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqrJPGmBBMA
I don't think so. Romney's momentum flat-lined immediately after embarrassing himself in the second debate. By the third debate, Obama was regaining lost ground and has continued to do so. Hurricane Sandy temporarily paused the election, but it didn't change the dynamics of it. If we want to designate an October surprise, then I nominate Romney's decision to lie to Ohio voters about Chrysler replacing American workers with Chinese workers. That's a self-inflicted wound that is likely to put the proverbial nail in Romney's proverbial coffin.
“We cannot—we cannot afford to do those things without jeopardizing the future for our kids. It is simply immoral, in my view, for us to continue to rack up larger and larger debts and pass them on to our kids.” . . . Mitt Romney's words http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/01/romney-on-fema-then-and-now/ Will the real Mitt Romney please stand up, please stand up, please stand up . . . (my apologies to Eminem) :D :D :D
"The campaign decided that it would stage a photo op of Romney accepting food donations from supporters and loading up a truck with food after the event. But campaign staffers soon began to worry about the last minute nature of the call for donations, and worried that people wouldn't show up with anything. To ensure that Romney wasn't left without any donations and an empty truck, BuzzFeed reports that the campaign went out the night before the event and spent $5,000 at a local Wal-Mart. They bought up supplies like granola bars, canned food, and diapers. These items were then used as props to put on display while they waited for the real donations to show up. . . . the Red Cross didn't even want the items that Romney's campaign collected. They'd have been better served with a $5,000 donations." http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/19290
"Mitt Romney Staged His Own "Relief Rally" By Buying $5,000 Worth of Donation Props" http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/19290