First there was the “Obama-mania VS Romney-mania”, and then came Sandy and then the Grand Finale! Temperatures had been simmering to near boiling point as the two gentlemen traversed the breadth and width of this broad country, trying to win as many hearts as possible onto one’s side. This was an election predicated to give the two men a neck-to-neck run for their money. Talking of money, the elections in this part of the world are a very expensive venture and are solely funded by private individuals not state funds! Amerika is a unique country. Voters are divided into counties, which make up states. These states have special numbers of electoral colleges based on the populations, which greatly determine who can be elected to the prestigious White House! States with majority Electoral colleges and those that do not lean towards a particular political party are known as “Swing States”.These comprise of states like Ohio, Florida and Western Virginia. It is these states that are normally referred to as “battle grounds”. The two men were fighting tooth-and-nail to capture the hearts of as many voters in these determinant states.Not that the rest did not matter; these have more voices or say as to who becomes the occupant of the White House. It is said that no one has ever lost Ohio, Florida and West Virginia and became a president! As the race to White House was heating up, the ‘dreaded woman’ Sandy decided to unleash her wrath on the East Coast. New York, New Jersey and parts of Washington DC were battered by her rage. Some of us living in the territories of New England (New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont), Sandy sent winds and rain, with all her furry, New Jersey and New York’s Manhattan were completely battered. The destruction was estimated to reach about US$40 billion, quite an astronomical figure! By the time she had settled down, about 60 lives had been lost. God knows how to protect his people, if such ever visited some of our countries, we could be pushed to pre-historical times.With Sandy coming to interrupt the electoral path, Mr. Obama and Romney quickly rushed back from their “war paths” to the disaster-hit areas of New York and DC. They wanted to outdo each other in the battle to comfort the affected communities. The Romney camp was accusing Mr. Obama of not caring enough, as if he was the one who had invited Sandy! After the rains on the East Coast, Sandy headed inland, unleashing tons of snow on the states of Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio. She traversed the country as fast as she had come. Within no time, she had gone through the country and was gone. No sooner had she gone than the two antagonists returned to the battlegrounds. Now that the storms are over, the rest is history. Mr. Obama was given another mandate in the White House – by the time he moves out, he will have occupied it for a cool 8 years!
