This campaign is over

Every so often we’re reminded what the real struggle in America is: to prevent the forces of nature from sweeping us off the face of the earth.

“I’m not going to mince words. This is the most catastrophic event that we have faced and have been able to plan for in any of our lifetimes,” said Gov. Daniel Malloy of Connecticut.

Photos of the storm

And by now we know what to do, our reporters head directly into it, while the rest of us make strategic withdrawals.

Except for this guy: “I got a generator. I have 30 gallons of gas. I’m a diehard.”

Even the politicians called a time out; Mitt Romney canceling a number of events, the president canceling everything to go back to Washington and be president for awhile, prompting the one snarky remark I was able to find.

“You’ll notice he’s canceling his trips over the hurricane. He did not cancel his trips over Benghazi.”

The vocal stylings of Newt Gingrich, ladies and gentlemen!

But other than that, nothing. Not even a claim of divine retribution even though the storm is headed for a cluster of blue states. Not yet anyway.

When there’s a giant storm, no one’s thinking politics or October Surprise; I know it’s tempting to think the storm itself is an October Surprise, but it’s actually preventing any October surprise; no one cares what Donald Trump or Gloria Allred have to say.

This campaign is officially over. We’ll have two days of storm coverage, then cleanup coverage, a lot of people have already voted; so it’s all over but the ads. The news has moved on. No one’s in the mood for debates over drowning government in a bathtub when nature is trying to drown us all.

You might also be interested in:

Hurricane Sandy impact stretches to Sea-Tac
Listen: President Obama warns East Coast of Sandy’s impact
UW meteorologist dissects the “Super Storm”