Is Hurricane Sandy the big October surprise for the U.S. presidential elections? The storm threatens to damage the eastern coast of the U.S. this week. Who knows, perhaps the storm will be the thing that most influences these elections, among the closest and most expensive in history. Sandy could influence the elections for a few reasons. About 18 percent of the electorate has already voted, and estimates say 40% percent of the population will vote before Nov. 6. Democrats are worried that President Barack Obama won't succeed this time in inspiring the masses to go out to the polls on election day, so they are urging voters to go to the polls early. Even Obama himself has already voted, and has become the first incumbent president to do so before elections. Sandy could have a positive effect on the Democratic candidate. America remembers the trauma of Hurricane Katrina; Obama will try to show the nation that he knows how to manage crises. But he must not fail. He needs to provide a contrast to the unresolved question of why more aid wasn't sent to the American Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. That was a big enough failure for the administration. For the Democrats, the weekend was encouraging overall; data on economic growth improved and the Reuters/Ipsos poll on early voting said that Obama was leading Republican challenger Mitt Romney 54-39. Romney, who of the two candidates seems to have the better understanding of economic issues, is not so excited to see this data on economic improvement. For him, they simply reveal to what extent Obama failed to boost the U.S. economy. With regard to early voting, the Romney camp has different numbers. The New York Times reported on Saturday that Obama now has 185 sure electoral votes and a further 58 almost assured, while Romney has 180 sure and 26 almost assured. In other words, Obama leads with 243 to Romney's 206. There are still 89 electoral votes in seven swing states: Ohio, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Virginia and New Hampshire. This is why Obama declared on MTV: "In 2000, Gore vs. Bush, 537 votes [in Florida] changed the direction of history in a profound way and the same thing could happen."
