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Columbus
Dispatch
Storm
affects presidential race
By
Joe Vardon
Tuesday October 30, 2012
U.S.
President Obama arrives at
Joint Base Andrews outside Washington after cancelling a campaign event
in
Florida due to bad weather in Washington area.
AVON
LAKE, Ohio — President Barack
Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney both face dangers as they
attempt
to steer their ships between superstorm Sandy and the race for the
White House,
which ends one week from today.
“It’s
the classic double-edged
sword of governing,” University of Virginia political science professor
Larry
Sabato said. The national political expert’s state is key for both
campaigns
and was directly affected by the storm’s path.
“Obama
can assume a take-charge posture
as the incumbent president, but he’s also responsible for all foul-ups
in
disaster relief,” Sabato said. “And you don’t want dissatisfied, surly
people
voting if you’re the incumbent.”
The
president left the campaign
trail yesterday to coordinate disaster relief from the White House.
Romney, out
of respect for those in harm’s way, also canceled campaign appearances.
Sabato
said Romney, as the
challenger, is largely left to the sidelines and “benefits from
lingering
problems” with federal response efforts. He said he expects Obama
understands
this and is “gearing up a massive rescue and relief effort, to the
extent
possible.”
Sen.
John McCain, who stopped by
Romney’s Columbus headquarters yesterday to address volunteers, said
that from
a political perspective, the hurricane “might be beneficial to the
president
because we have continued to see a momentum for the Romney campaign
since the
first debate.”
The
Arizona senator was the 2008
GOP presidential nominee.
Obama
canceled his two campaign
stops yesterday — including his Ohio visit in Youngstown with former
President
Bill Clinton, sending Vice President Joe Biden in his place. Obama also
called
off today’s visit to Green Bay, Wis., and both of Biden’s Ohio stops
for today
— to Kenyon College and the College of Wooster — were canceled.
Romney
campaigned at Avon Lake High
School yesterday morning, but he canceled an evening event in Wisconsin
and
today’s event in Lima. He will have a “storm-relief event” today at the
James
S. Trent Arena in Kettering at 11 a.m. He’ll be joined by NASCAR legend
Richard
Petty and country star Randy Owen.
The
wind-driven rain didn’t
dissuade the 4,432 — a record — who showed up to cast early ballots at
the
Franklin County voting center yesterday. And early voting can continue
even if
the high winds forecast for today and Wednesday knock out power,
according to
the Franklin County Board of Elections.
Read
the rest of this article at the Columbus
Dispatch
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