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Will Sandy impact the US presidential poll?
Wednesday October 31, 2012 04:48:31 PM,
Arun Kumar,
IANS
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Washington: As America
copes with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy leaving a vast trail
of destruction, speculation is rife as to how it would impact the
outcome of the tight race for the White House.
Would a display of leadership help President Barack Obama regain
his lost momentum or would a misstep aid the Republic challenger
Mitt Romney. Tthat was the question being asked by the chatterati
as both campaigns cancelled events to focus on Sandy's victims.
Saying that "The election will take care of itself next week",
Obama has plunged wholeheartedly into his role as
commander-in-chief after leaving the campaign trail to earn some
rare praise from a harsh Republican critic, New Jersey Governor
Chris Christie.
Describing the president's handling of the disaster as
"outstanding," Christie, who was the keynote speaker at the
Republican convention in August, told NBC Tuesday: "The federal
government's response has been great."
Romney has also cancelled events and attended what his campaign
billed as a storm relief event Tuesday morning in the battleground
state of Ohio to help collect donations for victims.
"The president's decision to focus on the crisis could help him at
the polls. Yet if the storm has a significant impact on early
voting - a key part of his campaign strategy - that could depress
turnout by Obama's supporters," the Washington Post said.
President is "mindful that his performance leading the federal
government response could become a major boon or liability to his
re-election chances," suggested McClatchy, a leading newspaper and
Internet publisher.
But New York Times' poll watching blogger Nate Silver said the
effects of Hurricane Sandy on the election are hard to predict.
But the storm is likely to have an impact on the volume of polling
in the meantime.
Politico, an influential site focused on politics listed as many
as five different possibilities ranging from it could slow
Romney's momentum by lessening his ability to campaign in states
affected by the storm to giving Obama a natural advantage as he
exercises his duties in response to the emergency.
The news site also suggested it could affect last-minute TV ads,
as people without power won't see them, but it won't affect early
voting much, as most of the states in the storm's path allow such
voting only for absentees. On the other hand, it could hamper
Democrats' efforts to get out their vote.
Looking at the somewhat contradictory multiple choices offered by
the various commentators based on their hues, Washington Post's
Dana Milbank commented wryly: "In other words: Nobody had any
idea."
(Arun Kumar can
be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)
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