President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney looked to console the nation and show leadership Tuesday after a devastating storm struck days ahead of election day.
Both candidates scaled back their White House campaigns as Sandy carved a path of destruction across the US eastern seaboard on Monday, with Obama returning to the White House to lead the disaster response.
Now they will have to tip-toe back onto the campaign trail, resuming their closely-fought battle for the White House and showing leadership in a time of crisis without being seen as exploiting suffering for political ends.
Romney, who cancelled some campaign appearances Monday, was set to attend a storm relief event Tuesday in Ohio, a key battleground state, at the same place where a campaign event had been announced before the storm.Obama can meanwhile harness the power of incumbency by directing relief efforts and
addressing a storm-battered nation from its highest podium.
Coming so close to the neck-and-neck election on November 6, the historic storm threw closely planned campaign strategies into disarray as it threatened to dampen early voting, and drown out the candidates’ closing arguments.
{{/usCountry}}Coming so close to the neck-and-neck election on November 6, the historic storm threw closely planned campaign strategies into disarray as it threatened to dampen early voting, and drown out the candidates’ closing arguments.
{{/usCountry}}Political scientists believe natural disasters can hurt an incumbent’s reelection chances as voters often blame whoever is in office for adversity.