(CNN) - Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Sunday argued Superstorm Sandy not only wreaked havoc on the Northeast this week, but blunted Mitt Romney's campaign as well.
"The hurricane is what broke Romney's momentum. I don't think there is any question about it," he said on CNN's "State of the Union."
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Barbour, a Republican, said the barrage of news coverage surrounding the storm replaced the political debate in the final days leading up to the election. He added, however, he doesn’t blame the media for covering the storm.
"Any day that the news media is not talking about jobs or the economy, taxes or spending, deficit and debt, Obamacare and energy, is a good day for Barack Obama," he continued, adding the news "blackout" on those issues has helped the president.
"Whether it will be good enough remains to be seen," he said.
Both candidates took a pause from campaigning at the beginning of the week, as the storm ravaged the U.S. East Coast. President Barack Obama monitored the storm from Washington, then traveled to New Jersey to survey the damage with Republican Gov. Chris Christie.
Romney, meanwhile, focused on relief events the day after the storm, raising money and donations for victims. He resumed campaigning on Wednesday, while Obama went back on the road Thursday.
As of Sunday morning, Superstorm Sandy is blamed for at least 111 deaths in the United States.
From CNN Politics
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Romney lost momentum because he is marching back to the '50's with his tough non-negotiable talk on all issues. Wake up Republicans -we now live in a more diverse world – grow up and begin to function in it.
Blame it on Halloween.
Glad I got out of Mississippi 17 years ago. Gotten worse since. Only thing my family has left is the cemetery plot on the coast that I visit. If I had the money I would move the caskets out of there as well. Then I wouldn't have a reason to even visit.
He's correct, the storm took a shared media spotlight off Romney and Obama and gave it to New York and the storm victims. How dare those storm victims take the spotlight! Chris Chistie – 2016!
It is unbelievable that this murderer pardoning gasbag is sought out or listened to as far as his opinions on public affairs. On his way out of office as G'ubner of Mississippi he [pardoned over 200 felons, including convicted MURDERERS without giving the victims or their families any chance to be heard. In fact the public notices required for pardons were not even given. One can only think back to then Good Ol' Haley was pontificating about "Law and Order" and such and how the zDemocrats were soft on crime.
Since their release numerous of these felons have been rearrested, including one multiple DUI convict who had already killed who was involved and charged in a fatal DUI accident which occurred while he had been released but before the pardons were finalized. But Good Ol' Halley din't know about dat.
If Reptile Romney and Lyin' Ryan and the Grand Oil Party lose, it won't be because of Hurricane Sandy, it will be beacsue Americans aren't as uninformed or ignorant as the Haley and his thug cronies hoped we were.
@Brian:
You obviously have no conception of the depth to which Shrub brought the economy, or of how important the capture/killing of OBL was, to name only 2 extremely good reasons to vote for President Obama. However, imho the most important reason for voting for him is because electing Romney validates the the republicans' strategy of making President Obama a one-term president their MOST important objective. If this happens, congress will only become even more partisan (as hard as that is to believe.) Where does it stop? I say it stops here! Show the republican'ts that this strategy is not only childish, but it has repercussions – namely that we will not elect people who insist on acting worse than 4-year-olds.
Insurance Companies consider damage caused by Hurricanes to be an"Act of God". So, we can assume that the insurance companies realize that God wanted Mitt Romney to lose Momentum...not Sandy the Storm independently....Wow! God has spoken...and Mitt Romney and the Insurance Companies will have to answer...no doubt!
Making excuses for Romney's loss, Barbour? Obama has been gaining momentum ever since about October 24th, according to Nate Silver. Haley Barbour is a prime example of a fat-cat politician who made himself rich off of lobbying money–he's one of them who puts the "greedy" in the Party of Greedy Old People." Obama/Biden for more years!
That's it blame mother nature for Romney being a lying sorry presidential candidate.
Well, for those ultra Christians, who believe the election is in the hands of God....what should this tell you?
Anyone who would let convicted murderes go free has zero credibility about anything. This man should be in prison.
Get a grip! Mitt broke his own momentum with a lack of message and plan. Maybe god just does not like Mitt, either. LOL. Either way, he come the excuses because a lose is imminent.
You never will see a conservative take any personal accountability. They always blame others.
It wasn't just the storm that hurt Romney, it was the lie about Jeep. When Chrysler had to come out and refute Romney's lies about Jeep's manufacturing being sent to China(when, in fact, it was only Jeeps being made to sell in China that are being made there), people began to realize what brazen liars Romney/Ryan really are.
It was anything but the candidate and his party's positions on issues, right Haley?
What Barbour and others fail to recognize is that the storm isn't a "distraction", but part and parcel of the issues that face this country. We've seen the President's response and his ability to work with Governor Christie, despite Christie having launched blistering attacks against the President as recently as 2 weeks ago. It also brings to light the difference in ideologies regarding FEMA and assisting citizens in need. Romney has called for the abolition of FEMA and replacing it with private businesses. The President supports FEMA and staffed it with competent people. In comparing the responses to Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy, it's readily apparent the President's approach is the wisest choice.
Mississippi is always a red state, except when the republicans there are able to silence the black community from voting. They're so successful at it that you think it's a blue state.
I thoroughly enjoyed the above comments. And I"m so glad to see that so many people see thru all the crao handed out by the GOP! It's good to know that so MANY others share my exact feelings! Thanks people!!!
There are a lot of republicans who seem to have been asleep for the 8 years prior to Obama.
Those folks think the economy was great (no unemployment, no deficit, no debt, no social issues, no inequality,...) until Obama took office. Not by a long shot.
But, if you cannot think for yourself, if facts just confuse you, if you are self centered and greedy, then please vote for Mitt.
If you are part of the 1%, then Mitt is best for you and your bank account.
Just one thing to ask of you: if you are thinking only of yourself, if you are unwilling to help the poor and the sick and complain they do not pay enough for the little they get, then , could you stop calling yourself a Christian?
thanks.
So Haley you are saying that an "act of god" delivered the presidency to Obama. I just wanna make sure I understood that correctly. Sounds a bit like the claims made by 700 Club founder Pat Robinson's statements after Katrina.
I and every other rationally minded person in this Country can only hope,and pray,that Haley Barbour,and Karl Rove are spinning the storm because they're seeing internal numbers they aren't liking very much.This truly is a watershed Election.We can work forward on the rebuilding of our Country and economy.Or we can let the bitter,racist ,hate filled side drag Us back to the "me" philosophy they live for.I don't think this Country could survive four years of Romney's guilded age policies.
Following Gov. Barbour's logic, then this means that God does not want Romney in office. Can't argue with the Almighty.
Sorry Brian, but when I ask myself if I am better off than I was 4 years ago (except for the fact that I am recovering from painful injuries from a recent car accident), I have to say yes. Quite sgnificantly so. Record corporate profits and strong stock market have sent our retirement sky high. Our salary is up and taxes are down. Economy is heading in the right direction (albeit slowly, but I do think part of that is due to the obstructionist house as well as where we started and the direction we were headed. Just the way it is. I did not vote for Obama in 2008, but I will do so on Tuesday.
Yesterday it was Karl Rove on POLITICO saying the exact same thing as Haley Barbour today. Rove said he felt Gov. Romney will win, but it sounded more like he was prepping for a loss. Now Barbour is doing the same thing.
Uh-Oh Gov. Romney, you better prepare to abandon ship, because the rats are already starting to jump overboard.
@ Claudia, TX. Excellent post!