John Kerry believed he would have been the 44th president of the United States had it not been for the surprise surfacing of a new Osama bin Laden videotape the Friday before the 2004 election (October 29). This was one of the few points of agreement between Kerry and George W. Bush, who also acknowledged that the bin Laden video helped him win reelection. …
If October surprises can, in fact, activate relevant performance evaluations in the final week of a presidential campaign then Hurricane Sandy may well be a boon to Obama’s reelection prospects. [cont.]
Michael Tesler, Brown U. (themonkeycage.org)