Hurricane Sandy and the Election

If you watched any news at all yesterday, you probably saw the constant loop of storm updates sprinkled with election news. In print and on TV, reporters kept talking about the potential impact of Hurricane Sandy on the election. This was bothersome to me, knowing many people's lives were at stake and for some, life as they know it would be altered by this storm.
I think it goes without saying that there is likely to be some impact on the election based on how  the President handles this disaster. There is likely to be some impact because campaigns were cut short and early voting was closed for two days. Bottom line, though, is that is not what matters.

President Obama addressed this very well when he said, "I’m not worried at this point about the impact on the election,” Obama said in a short briefing, in a response to the only question he answered. “I’m worried about the impact on families, I’m worried about the impact on our first responders, I’m worried about the impact on our economy and on transportation. The election will take care of itself next week. Right now, our No. 1 priority is to make sure we are saving lives, that our search-and-rescue teams are going be in place, that people are going to get the food, the water, the shelter that they need in case of emergency and that we respond as quickly as possible to get the economy back on track.”

In an event of a natural disaster this large, extraneous worries, including reelection, need to be put on the back burner. The Presidency is supposed to be about being self-less. Many presidents spend their entire term trying to get reelected, campaigning, and schmoozing, and whatever else, but a president who puts that aside for the common good is a president that will demonstrate he is a leader.

Thoughts and prayers with those impacted by this large storm,

--Megan