Most remember back in 2005 when then president George W. Bush waited three days to fly over the devastation created by Hurricane Katrina and what that did to the rest of his presidency. Many observed that this single act took the bully pulpit right out of George W. Bush's hands.
Now Mitt Romney and the Republican party are faced with another "optics" problem that may define the already perceived as aloof Rmoney even further. The Republicans and Romney are planning a grand launch of his fall campaign with speeches that are sure to condemn president Obama in great terms on thursday night. The only problem is that Hurricane Isaac may hit New Orleans and the gulf coast just before this grand launch is scheduled to occur. On top of that, we could see sympathetic images of a very concerned and compassionate president of the United States comforting those who have just been devastated by this same Isaac. Four years ago, the Republicans were forced to change their itinerary of their convention in Minnesota because of a similar hurricane that struck the gulf coast. The Republicans have already had to alter their convention plans by abbreviating their monday schedule because of what Isaac has already done to them and to Tampa. Observers have stated this morning that the current hurricane has already hurt the Republicdans by shifting the focus of the nation from the Republicans to the memories of Katrina and the fears of those in Isaac's path. So far, the National Hurricane Center has forecast a catagory one storm which is far from Katrina's catagory three when it came ashore in 2005. However, there are possibilities that Isaac could become a catagory two storm depending on how fast it approaches the gulf shore. Any way this plays out, there are some very nervous Republicans in Tampa, Florida. They avoided a direct hit from Isaac but could still take a direct hit if the "Optics" of this situation do not go their way. An already aloofly preceived Mitt Romney standing at the podium reintroducing himself to the nation as hundreds of thousands suffer a few hundred miles away will definatly not look good and would not be a good start to the fall campaign.
Another issue that may not work to the Republicans advantage is the fact that a strong federal government has spent or commited 14 billion to strengthen New Orleans defenses against hurricanes. This does not play well to the standard Republican narrative of a small, non intrusive government trying to manage every Americans life. The only good thing for the Republican party coming out of this situation so far is the fact that Donald Trump has been knocked out of an appearance at the convention due to the monday cancellations.
Regards,
Joe
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