In the wake of yesterday's storm Sandy, there has been a lot of speculation about how the weather event would impact the Presidential election. Even prior to the storm, The Week predicted that the bad weather would have major consequences. Multiple sources agree that Sandy would reduce early voting and disrupt planned campaign events by both candidates. The Week also sees the potential for President Obama to either "shine or stumble," depending upon how well (and how quickly) he responds to the needs of people and communities affected by the storm. To that end, Mr. Obama scored big by earning the vociferous praise of Republican New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie. Christie also indicated that he didn't want Governor Romney to accompany him in his inspection of New Jersey's devastated areas because he didn't want to politicize the misfortune of his state's citizens. Oh snap.
On a Radio Free Europe site, Ron Synovitz writes that "Sandy could be (an) October surprise in (the) U.S. Presidential vote." He takes note of the factors mentioned above and adds that a decrease in the number of opinion polls could have an influence on voting, at least on the part of people reactive to those data. He also expresses concern about potential problems with the functioning of electronic voting machines (presumably if they are exposed to moisture).
Reuters discusses the dangers and opportunities open to each of the candidates in the days ahead as a consequence of the storm. Depending on his response to the current crisis, Obama can emerge as either a hero who epitomizes strength of leadership or as ineffectual and callous, as it seemed George W. Bush was in managing the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Gov. Romney must be careful to avoid appearing insensitive to people's suffering by resuming campaigning too soon. He also must avoid (once again) criticizing a sitting President in the midst of a crisis.
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