At the height of the storm, Sandy reached 1,000 miles across, producing waves as high as 40 feet. Sandy continues to displace tens of thousands of people along the East Coast, primarily in the New York and New Jersey area.
With the storm rampaging up the East Coast just one week before November 6th, Hurricane Sandy has left in its wake more than physical damages to this country. Many pundits are saying that the super-storm has in many ways directly impacted both campaigns and ultimately the 2012 presidential election.
Sandy put a hold on campaign activities as both sides were forced to cancel events. For obvious reasons, the storm was on the forefront of states' agendas, causing polling locations to be moved and early voting to be suspended in the places most affected.
An event has tragic and attention-grabbing as Sandy had both the public and the news media focused on the natural disaster and distracted from the election. With politics ignored by the media so close to the election, it begs the question of how exactly will the hurricane impact the outcome of the election?
Natural disasters have always put pressure on the federal government to respond quickly and efficiently to the chaos and destruction that it leaves behind. Some say the response by the Obama administration could tip the polls either way.
In his recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Michael Tanner reported on the response of the federal government and FEMA to the storm:
"The government's initial response to Hurricane Sandy has received widespread praise. In particular, officials in the hardest hit areas have noted that FEMA has done a much better job than in previous disasters at pre-positioning equipment and supplies. However, it is far too early to give final grades. Already questions are being raised about whether federal assistance is being directed to the most needy areas first."
This generally positive feedback to the job done by FEMA could reflect well on the Obama administration as citizens are reminded that he is still the Commander in Chief and that he is capable of performing as such.
In a recent interview with Karl Reve, a Republican strategist, said that the storm has presented "advantages and a minor disadvantage" for the president and a "subtle disadvantage to Romney."
Reve, who served as the deputy White House chief of staff for the Bush administration, said, “Obama has temporarily been a bipartisan figure this week. He has been the comforter-in-chief and that helps,” Rove said. The slight disadvantage for Obama, Rove said, “is that people in Eastern coastal communities are going to be preoccupied by issues of getting food to eat and having a roof over their heads; some of them won’t be thinking as much about the election.”
Ultimately, we will not be able to asses the real impact of Sandy on the election until the votes are counted and a verdict is reached.
Infographic by Tim Wallace and Jaweed Kaleem.
INFO GRAPHIC: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/hurricane-sandy-vs-katrina-infographic_n_2072432.html?ref=topbar
INFO GRAPHIC #2: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/10/30/nyregion/hurricane-sandys-aftermath.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/04/haley-barbour-hurricane-sandy-broke-romneys-momentum/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2012/11/02/hurricane-sandy-helped-obama-politically-karl-rove-says/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/superstorm-sandy-recovery-weather_n_2072063.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204846304578090873245350506.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/04/ed-gillespie-fema-sandy_n_2072280.html
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