3 Republicans inadvertently giving Obama a post-Sandy boost
In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, some of the president's GOP critics might be accidentally making him look good
Mitt Romney and other Republicans have largely avoided criticizing President Obama over his handling of Hurricane Sandy. In fact, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has gone out of his way to repeatedly praise Obama's response to the storm, calling it "outstanding." Christie, who has sharply criticized Obama in the past while serving as one of Romney's sharper-tongued campaign surrogates, is even inspecting storm damage in his state with Obama on Wednesday, leading some political analysts to wonder whether he's throwing Romney under the bus just a few days before the election. But Christie's not alone. Liberals are delighted that several other prominent conservatives have made comments in the storm's aftermath that, in the view of Democrats, make Obama look more presidential:
1. Chris Christie
"A year ago, Christie mocked ObamaCare, the federal law that subsidizes and requires the purchase of health insurance," says William Saletan at Slate. In the wake of the storm, however, "Christie excoriates coastal residents and officials for taking the same defiant, tough-it-out attitude" that he once did, blasting them for ignoring government calls to evacuate ahead of the storm. Buying health insurance is a lot like evacuating before a storm — it's taking personal responsibility for your own well-being, so taxpayers won't have to rescue you when you get in trouble. So not only is Christie explicitly praising Obama, he's also making a strong case for ObamaCare, although he doesn't appear to see it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
2. Michael Brown
George W. Bush's one-time FEMA director Michael "heckuva job Brownie" Brown was widely criticized for the flawed and slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, but that didn't stop him from firing off a few choice criticisms of Obama's response to Hurricane Sandy. His complaint, says Alexandra Petri at The Washington Post, was, essentially, that Obama was too fast. "Why did he jump on this so quickly and go back to D.C. so quickly when in ... Benghazi, he went to Las Vegas?" Brown asked Denver's Westword. "Why was this so quick?" He was trying, of course, to exploit what he saw as an opportunity to renew the criticism of Obama over the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Libya, but "the irony of this is pretty palpable." Attacking Obama for acting too swiftly and "looking too presidential" is an odd way to try taking him down a peg.
3. Newt Gingrich
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has also jumped on the GOP bandwagon trying to turn the hurricane into an occasion to slam Obama for his handling of Benghazi. ("You'll notice he's canceling his trips over the hurricane," Newt said. "He did not cancel his trips over Benghazi.") That line of attack is bound to backfire, though, says Ben Adler at The Nation. This tortured reasoning will only "make it clear that [conservatives] are so blinded by partisanship that there is nothing Obama could have done that they would not criticize." And that helps Obama.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Read more political coverage at The Week's 2012 Election Center.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
The Week contest: Undressed wedding
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
'Why would anyone look to the United States as a model?'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Kristi Noem and the politics of puppy killing
Talking Point Revelations in Republican's upcoming memoir may have doomed her political career
By The Week UK Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published