It was a bad 'Frankenstorm' and no mistake. People lost their lives and there was huge property devastatation...but speaking in political terms only, Mitt Romney must be spitting feathers on a grand scale. The momentum was entirely with him before the storm..the polls were showing him in an extremely good light and gaining ground hand over fist. The very last pre-storm polls showed him in the lead for the race to the White House. The 'swing states' were all up for grabs. Various states already align themselves with this candidate or that, but the swing states are basically 'dont knows'...yet to be convinced.
But Mitt was on a running roll pre-storm and Barack Obama was reeling uncomfortably on the back foot.
But then ...the storm of storms. The news media lost all interest in the election and focused entirely on the massive storm. They did this for a week before the storm arrived...and the election was well nigh forgotten. And it is still off the front pages, but maybe today, when both candidates get back in the fray...the election will be back on those front pages again.
However the storm may well have worked in Obama's favour despite the suspension of electioneering, despite the moritorium. Mitt Romney was off the news as he had no role to play, and his bandwagon stopped rolling. However the president was seen very much ON the news and looking very presidential as he toured the destruction.
Pundits expect that the polls will now swing back in Obamas favour following his high profile tour in Air Force One and the back up close encounter tour in helicopter Marine One. Barack will have been featured heavily on TV nationwide chatting to victims in concerned and contrite mode. As the election is next tuesday...full coverage on the BBC...it looks like Mr Obama could shade it unless Romney pulls off one heck of a last minute media coup.