Obama's biggest challenge - Frankenstorm Sandy. Take a look.

[kstewart33]

Call me a Debbie Downer, but I'm concerned about this storm. Check out the Weather Channel's maps:

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/tropics-scenarios-us-threat-20121022

and the Storm Tracker:

http://www.weather.com/

Key concern: impact on Pennsylvania. Obama must have a large turnout in the cities to win the state. PA has no early voting. Rural areas will be affected, but likely the cities will be affected much more as power outages will affect the ability to get to the polls.

True, the storm should hit about a week before the election, but still. If the outages are as severe and as multiple as expected (trees with leaves with be the most likely to be uprooted), it could be at least a week before a lot of the power is restored.

Thoughts about this and about other states potentially affected?

[WI_DEM]

1. Not much we can do about Mother Nature. Glad it's next Sunday going into

Monday and Tuesday rather than the following week. Keep our fingers crossed and hope that the storm doesn't impact as much as predicted.

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. Some people prefer to focus on shit we can't do anything about

It's a weird flaw in the leftist psyche, a survival of either the old Greek notion of fate, or of the Marxist notion of determination (those may be the same, in fact). Whether it's "stolen election software," "massive global conspiracies," or "weather system," the details don't really matter. The goal of this thought is to evacuate the polis of any agency, to remove the ability to act from analysis.

It's not really that worthwhile to engage these discourses. It's only a shame that they invade activist space.

[Arkana]

2. It's happening a week before the election. Most places will have power back if they lose it in time

for Election Day.

[tessar]

23. Not necessarily. It's impossible to predict.

A Cat 1 wiped out power for weeks in Florida.

[leftynyc]

3. The only places

that would have power out for more than a couple of days are outside the cities - where mitt's folks are so unless you're worried about them, stop worrying.

[blazeKing]

7. ^^This

Cities will be fine, it's the rural that may get screwed.


And guess who that hurts? Money Boo Boo

[justiceischeap]

4. We're used to "weather" on the East Coast

We get rain, snow, hurricanes... we'll figure it out if it impacts the electrical grid.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. There were people who were still determined to vote after walking past others

who were hung on trees and mutilated trying to do the same.

[blazeKing]

6. PA will be fine

Philly may get it pretty bad but they'll be back before the election.


It's the coastal areas like NYC/NJ/Del Marva/Norfolk that will get it bad and possibly many inland rural areas

[meow2u3]

24. The Pennsyltucky portion of PA may be pinned at home

That's where the repukes live.

Fortunately, I live within walking distance of my polling place.

[kstewart33]

9. Okay, message received. I'll pack my worries away and wait til Monday.

By then, we'll know what's going to happen. Expect the storm to dominate news coverage next week - wonder how that will affect campaigning and MSM.

[woodsprite]

10. I have an Accuweather and a Weatherbell account. Something I have to continually do

is remind myself that they are VERY conservative. I know that it has the potential to be a dangerous storm, but most of their meteorologists tend to hype it up a bit (could be an understatement ), and seem to be doing it regarding the election as well. Sometimes the thought is just tossed in at the end of their forecast statements. Here's hoping AW's Henry Marguisity has jinxed this storm by putting on his 'Big Daddy' hat already. It works that way with snow storms, maybe it'll be that way with this one.

It's true that there are places without early voting (DE is another one) and places that would be totally disrupted if electricity is still out 1 week after the storm. I don't know which to be more concerned about, that scenario, or that it would be giving the repubs more time to manipulate the vote. I'm hoping no matter what the storm does, that something really devastating comes out about Romney/Ryan between now and the election -- something big enough to send all the voters possible to make it a total Obama landslide. Something that would send Willard scurrying back to his rathole.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

11. Holy shit, the election is one week after the storm is supposed to hit

Stop it.

[kstewart33]

15. And how long does it normally take for power to be restored after a huge storm like this? nt

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

16. Normally, a day or so

The extreme is a week like last year. And that's what gets reported.

[Maximumnegro]

17. Yeah this is the Northeast not the South

Pennsylvania has all kinds of stuff like infrastructure and planning. Fancy stuff like that.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

19. There are fuckups everywhere

Some people here in RI went a week, and we didn't even get slammed that hard. My power was only off for about a hour after the storm passed.

[Maximumnegro]

20. Comment about infrastructure and planning

still holds.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

22. Agreed on that

Most places will be fine.

[LisaL]

12. If a state is under emergency I am pretty sure the governor has the ability to postpone the

election in that state.

[ksoze]

13. That is far from Obama's biggest challenge

GOTV > Storm a week before election

[Jersey Devil]

14. Not a big deal up here

We have bad Noreasters all the time. Even if power went out for several days I'm sure generators could run voting machines and as far as getting to the polls, when power goes out there is almost always a gas station within a few miles that has power (or a generator).

[Maximumnegro]

18. What does Andrea Mitchell have to say about it?

[Cha]

21. LOL yeah, I'm dying here with bated breath!

[underpants]

25. We have a week. A week makes all the difference

[Rosa Luxemburg]

26. Romney is pointing the hurricane at VA, PA, MD, and NJ!