The October Surprise many media pundits said would occur did not appear as a political Molotov cocktail in the waning days of the election, but rather as a nasty bitch of a storm named Sandy.
The last week of any election cycle is always a calm before the storm in which there is not much more to say, and the media grasps for any sliver of a percentage point's difference between a myriad of polls.
However, many in the media wonder always what the lasting impression will be to the electorate at large before they head to the polls. Many believed it would be the monthly jobs report, released Friday, which showed the rate holding pretty much steady at 7.9%, still below the 8% threshold (as the media deems the threshold, anyway). Or perhaps a gaff by one of the candidates on the campaign trail would seal the deal.
It was neither of these elements. On Wednesday, President Obama and New Jersey Governer Chris Christie appeared on the ground on the Jersey shore to survey the damage, meet those who were affected by Sandy, and hold a press conference. Many on the right have thrown brickbats at both men claiming this was political posturing. This was genuine.
Whatever your political persuasion, this was a case of two men from polar opposite political spectrums reaching out to one another in a time of crisis. Lower Manhattan, Long Island, New Jersey, and many areas along the Eastern seaboard lay in ruins, without power, without food, and for many without homes. In some ways (and this is saying something coming from me, who barely dodged moving to New Orleans two months before Katrina and is still moved by it six years hence), this was worse than Katrina. And it's been amazing to me that for a major city and artery of this country that after Thursday, the media coverage of this event has been pretty scant--"those people," like it's not part of us. When I've taught essays about New Olreans and Katrina, the attitude arises that that region and the citizens asked for it in an odd way, because of geography, income, etc. Many would say that with 9/11 the calvery came out to help, but where is that contingent now in the very same region that so affected and still echoes in our consciousness throughout our country, a flashpoint if you will?
But I digress somewhat. Say what you will of Obama and Christie but they both reach out to people in a time of need. Obama, a cool, academic customer who is rather insulated by the system but is paradoxically more comfortable and laid back speaking to and meeting common people, so he was in his element on Wednesday when he met with many New Jersians. (And rememember back in July after the shootings in Aurora, CO, Obama reached out to many who had been wounded, primarily in private). So was Christie, more blohard at times but always one to speak his mind with passion (and I appreciate this, despite not being a member of his party), but always with the needs of the citizens of his state placed first. At least they both got off Marine One to reach out to people...
Where was Mitt Romney during all of this? In a town in Ohio (Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, baby!) at an orchestrated photo-op where he had cases of canned goods trucked in to set up an event to look like the citizen of Ohio were contributing food for those affected by Sandy. And this is emblematic of the Romney campaign: canned, forced compassion that is a bit out of step with reality. Why didn't he go to the East coast, his presumed home area (or is it Michigan, I can never keep it straight), and survey the damage or speak to citizens in need instead? A friend pointed out that he is not the President (yet) and not in a position to do this. I think if Romney had done this, it would have created perhaps the impression that many had hoped to see at some point on the campaign trail: a moment of honest compassion.
Sidebar: Where the hell is Vice-Presidential Candidate Paul Ryan? I've not seen him a week after the Republican Convention, when he made a joint appearance with Romney. Is Romney backing off of his choice? Notice that Ohio Senator Rob Portman has been connected at the hip of Romney for much of the time post-Convention? Methinks Mittens may have felt a twinge of regret here in not choosing him...
But the famous final scene (sorry, Bob Seger), I believe, will be of two men from opposite spectrums dispensing with the political and showing their honest, unguarded selves. This wasn't a political event in and of itself (though the aftermath of Sandy is nothing but political for Bloomberg and the boys, so let the games begin), but one where human need was placed above all. Will this joint appearance solve the very complex problems of a region never having seen a weather anomoly such as Sandy? Of course not. But it's a start, one that showed President Obama doing his job and looking presidential. This is what compassionate presidents do.
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