Sandiphilia is the condition of feeling empathy for one’s fellow man and woman, brought about by a catastrophic storm that takes lives and destroys property. It has been on full display for the last week and — at risk of sounding callous — one almost wishes events like this could happen more frequently, if only to remind us of our common humanity. It has also been a welcome respite from this long political season of us versus them.
It once was the case that great leaders could bring us together as a people. Now it’s weather forecasters. As Sandy morphed into Frankenstorm and then into Superstorm, it was to them we turned, with their blue screen graphics, clever storm logos and hyperventilating predictions. At first, we watched with skepticism, knowing the demands of ratings give television stations great incentive to hype even the most trivial of weather events. But the relentlessness of the bad news and the confirmation by less biased sources — such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — ultimately proved persuasive.
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There is a very good chance that Mitt Romney will be elected president on Tuesday. He has signaled his desire to work with both Republicans and Democrats to solve a number of serious issues that we face: the need for tax reform, entitlement reform, repealing and replacing ObamaCare, immigration reform, regulatory reform, etc. If the Democrats retain control of the Senate, will Harry Reid cooperate with a GOP White House and lower house of Congress, or will he continue to be the obstructionist Senate leader who can't even come up with an annual budget? Let's pray that even Harry Reid could learn to be bipartisan. If he can't, we face a variety of cliffs, fiscal and otherwise.
Actually, Romney is going to lose on Tuesday, and all the evidence is pointing in that direction. As reported in the 538 blog in the New York Times yesterday, President Obama was ahead in 19 of 22 polls taken on Friday, while Romney was ahead in only one. Romney is a deeply dishonest and flawed character who will never be president.
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In another Globe article today on how Obama and Romney stand on economic issues, it is claimed that Romney wants to repeal ObamaCare. That is inaccurate and misleading. He has said repeatedly that he want to repeal and replace ObamaCare. Romney is willing to retain some of the more rational and popular features of the Affordable Care Act while reforming health care in a more effective way. Get your facts straight, Globe writers.
Unfortunately, there are no "facts" with Romney; he flip-flops so often that he's made apparent his fundamentally dishonest character. The Providence Journal, in its endorsement (October 28) of President Obama for a second term, calls Romney "the greatest shape-shifter in contemporary U.S. politics, and thus difficult to trust." Romney, Ryan and their entire campaign have been nothing but a pack of lies and misleading statements from day one, and they are about to experience utter failure on Tuesday.
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What is surprising is that there was any break at all in the vitriol.
Tom Keane said "Obama's illusions in hope". There are no illusions in hope formed by the candidates. Illusions are formed by the voters after hearing the candidates. Without hope there is nothing to look forward to. All candidates present hope and the voters form their own concept or illusions of hope.