Top Republican blames Sandy for Mitt's 'lagging momentum' as Clinton praises Obama's handling of the storm while campaigning with the president

By Hayley Peterson

PUBLISHED: 17:08 EST, 4 November 2012 | UPDATED: 02:52 EST, 5 November 2012

Top Republican operative Haley Barbour declared Sunday that Superstorm Sandy has blunted Mitt Romney's momentum, while former President Bill Clinton took to the campaign trail using the storm as a rallying cry for another Obama term. 

'The hurricane is what broke Romney's momentum,' Barbour, the former governor of Mississippi, said on CNN's 'State of the Union. 'I don't think there's any question about it.'

'Any day that the news media is not talking about jobs and the economy, taxes and spending, deficit and debt, 'ObamaCare' and energy, is a good day for Barack Obama,' Barbour added.

Concession: Top Republican operative Haley Barbour declared Sunday that Superstorm Sandy has blunted Mitt Romney's momentum

Concession: Top Republican operative Haley Barbour declared Sunday that Superstorm Sandy has blunted Mitt Romney's momentum

Barbour is one of the first Republicans to assert that the storm has played a role in tipping the needle in either candidate's favor. 

Both Democrats and Republicans have so far shied away from answering questions about the political implications of the storm.

 

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Obama senior adviser David Plouffe called Sandy’s impact on the election 'irrelevant,' while Romney senior campaign adviser Ed Gillespie said 'I just don’t know' when asked about it on CBS' 'This Week.'

Praise: Former President Bill Clinton sung Obama's praises at campaign events with him on Sunday for his handling of Superstorm Sandy

Praise: Former President Bill Clinton sung Obama's praises at campaign events with him on Sunday for his handling of Superstorm Sandy

But there's no question that Obama has received high marks for his handling of the storm, with members of both parties heaping praise on him in Sandy's aftermath.  

Republican New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie caused a stir this week when he lauded the president's help with cleanup efforts in his state after the two men toured the wreckage that Sandy left behind.
Former George W. Bush strategist Matthew Dowd said Christie’s embrace of Obama may have done more for the president than his own response to the hurricane.

'You had Hurricane Sandy, and then you had the Christie bear hug, and the Christie bear hug, I actually believe, actually did more for the president in this slight movement, as I said, in his approval rating than actually even really his handling of the hurricane,' Dowd said.

Critics: Republicans have blasted Obama for packing his schedule full with campaign events while people are suffering without food or water in the harder-hit areas of New Jersey and New York

Critics: Republicans have blasted Obama for packing his schedule full with campaign events while people are suffering without food or water in the harder-hit areas of New Jersey and New York

Among those singing Obama's praises is popular former President Bill Clinton, who joined Obama on the campaign trail in three swing states on Sunday.

'You know [Obama] proved [he deserved another term] in the way he handled this terrible storm Sandy in the Northeast: getting off the campaign trail, putting aside politics, working with the Republican governor of New Jersey, the independent mayor of New York City, and the Democratic governors of New York and Connecticut,' Clinton told a crowd in Concord, New Hampshire.

'It was a stunning example of how "we’re all in this together" is a way better philosophy than you’re on your own,' he added.

An inconvenient storm: Republican former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says Romney's momentum has been blunted by Superstorm Sandy

An inconvenient storm: Republican former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour says Romney's momentum has been blunted by Superstorm Sandy

Republicans have blasted Obama for packing his schedule full with campaign events while people are suffering without food or water in the harder-hit areas of New Jersey and New York.

Obama told voters at campaign events throughout the weekend that between every rally, he's been on the phone with FEMA administrators and local officials in areas impacted by Sandy.

'We’re going to help them rebuild,' Obama said in New Hampshire, carefully weaving the storm into his regular stump speech.

'That’s what we do as Americans,' he said. 'We rise and fall as one nation and as one people. That spirit, New Hampshire, has guided this country along its improbable journey for more than two centuries. That spirit that carried us through the trial and tribulations of the last four years.'

 
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Is Clinton going to be vice president? Why is Obama so reliant on him?- JD, London, ------------------------------------------------- People like Bill, the economy boomed when he was president, wealth grew under Clinton at the same rate as it has under Obama based on the S&P; 500 index. Besides it's always helpful to bring out a former president to campaign on your behalf, I kept hoping the GOP would roll out Bush to ask: "Are you better off now than when I left office?" I think I see why they didn't!

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See....Even our maker doesn't want a mormon in the oval office, Obama 2012.

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Why is it in a worldwide poll 4 in every 5 of the people polled in your ally countries want Obama in and the opposite is true for China. They want Romney in. We NEED a strong, successful America. We need security and steady economic growth and we can't have that if the USA doesn't have it. China your biggest economic threat NEEDs you to fail. To be tied up fighting wars and getting into an economic mess. They know Romney will make the sensible business decisions all right - to ship off US industries off to China for their slave workforce to do cheaply. He's been doing it for years. But you American workers..... unless you are prepared to work for Chinese wages and work conditions.....PsThink Romney should consider if he'd stuck to the truth and not changed his mind every 5 mins - he might be doing better

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Another angle to consider: The government response to Sandy resonated with many Americans who were reminded that cutting vital services, like Romney has advocated, would bite them when similar catastrophes strike in the future. Cutting government to the bone sounds good until people realize they need government and the many safety nets it provides.

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The plain truth is that history has shown us that republicans just start wars. Its makes particular individuals lots of money. Trouble is after the Iraq, Afgan stunt people are not that dumb any more and would rather have focus on improving their own lives. That's why the voters are not so Keen to waste their vote on getting their kids drafted.

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Is Clinton going to be vice president? Why is Obama so reliant on him?

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He should blame Romney himself, this man will be like Bush and look for war.

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The trouble with the Republicans is that they suffer with the Donald Trump syndrome. Loud, brash and bullying. They regard any kind of hardship or inability to become rich and successful, as a weakness that needs bulldozing aside to further their greedy ambitions. They don't care about the less fortunate and live in a world where only the rich count. It amazes me they have any support at all but of course, some voters, in fact many, will vote for anyone promising to make things better regardless of whether or not it is possible. That's what Romney has been doing. Obama at least knows how hard it is going to be. He knows that the US economy is not just about the US but what is happening in the wider world. He wont solve the fiscal crisis by getting involved in a war just to boost the economy. Romney is just a salesman. He knows which buttons to press to sell the product. Unfortunately he knows little about the product!

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I like Haley Barbour, but he's dead wrong on this one. Mitt's momentum isn't "blunted." It's full speed ahead, and Tuesday will bear that out.

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All Obama has done is a quick photo op in the various states affected by Sandy - then off to electioneering again (which is all he seems to do). If Bush had done this the media would have pilloried him continuously - but the anointed one only needs to show up - hug someone in view of a camera - and the media gush his praises. Now go to NYC or Jersey and see what its like tying to get assistance from FEMA. --- Who cares -- the anointed one did a photo op and that is all that is being shown.

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