Hurricane Sandy Drives Long Island Back to Stone Age

    Hello Diary of a Republican Hater nation! Or so I like to call you..

    It's crazy how anti-climatic this week has turned out to be. Here we are, just a week till the election and all of a sudden I'm cut off from all civilization here in Long Island, New York.

    Though I can't say I would ever choose this-there has been some upside. While I've not written a Diary of a Republican Hater blog in 5 days-a record I'm not too excited about-I have found the time to read Milton Friedman's "Monetary Mischief" from cover to cover. The book confirmed a few things I suspected. On the one hand Friedman is very good pleasant writer and expositor of his views.

     Nevertheless he's also all salesman as Peter Temin-who I'm now reading-does a good job of showing.

    So while I certainly am not one to preach taking a break from the Internet, cell phones, cable, and even lights and hot water, it did enable me to finish something in a day it would normally take me a week to complete.

    I'm also happy to see the President's increased his lead in my absence from civilization. As Greg Sargent puts it, Romney's main hope at this point is that the state polls are systematically wrong.

    http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/31/oct-30-what-state-polls-suggest-about-the-national-popular-vote/

    While I've been buried all week-and still am, alas. I still don't have power, cable, and Internet-I'm at someone's house who has it-Obama is looking strong going into the finish line.

     "Buoyed by good storm reviews and good campaign news, President Barack Obama emerged here as an optimistic populist, pledging to be “a champion” for the middle class and voiceless in Washington."

     "With a fresh endorsement from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and continuing praise from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Obama told 4,500 people here that he would be their fighter against “the folks at the very top of this country.”

     Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83167.html#ixzz2B1QcZChD

 

     The one thing I wonder about is whether or not Sandy will delay voting. The best I can tell is: no one knows yet. Over all, it helps for the President to be doing, well, Presidential things with just one week left. Romney also put his foot in his mouth early by suggesting Fema should perhaps be cut back:

     "For Romney, already under fire due to recent Sandy-related questions on whether he would cut funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the added attention and screen time that President Obama has been receiving as he tours storm-ravaged states this week could be a critical blow to his campaign, taking attention away from his efforts to gain more momentum in critical swing states and other states."
     "Obama and Christie-a Republican who has vocally criticized Obama during the campaign-have been working hand-in-hand since the aftermath of the storm to bring relief to New Jersey residents, with Christie praising Obama and their "great working relationship," adding that the president "sprung into action immediately," ABC News reported Wednesday.

     "According to a recent ABC News poll, 78 percent of 1,288 likely voters between Oct. 27 and Oct. 30 rated Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy as "excellent/good."

     "Even Republican supporter and billionaire Donald Trump told CNBC's "Closing Bell" Thursday that the hurricane may have shifted the momentum towards Obama."

    "I think it would have absolutely been Mitt Romney except for the Hurricane," Trump said of Tuesday's election. "I think the Hurricane has had a profound effect and it's going to help President Obama a lot."

 

    Read more at http://www.latinospost.com/articles/6330/20121101/hurricane-sandy-2012-aftermath-election-delay-voting.htm#hJyeRHO7bod1bXTg.99