Tight race creates fresh headache for Obama team

By Chris Wamalwa

IN USA: As the sun sets on a gloomy Saturday evening along the East Coast of America, James Sang is preoccupied by two things as he shops for groceries.

The first is the looming hurricane Sandy expected to make landfall near his home. The second is US President Barack Obama’s re-election to the White House.

ang, a Kenyan born resident of Baltimore, Maryland, is one of many Kenyans living in the US who are deeply involved in the Obama campaign in one way or the other.

“With (Mitt) Romney looming like this much talked about hurricane, we can’t afford to lose even one day of getting the vote out. This weekend is particularly important for us Team Obama because we were hoping to get as many people to vote early as possible,” said Sang.

Sang had just finished knocking on doors in Virginia asking people to vote early.

Hurricane Sandy had been downgraded to a tropical storm but upgraded once again Saturday morning. It was expected to make landfall on Monday night or Tuesday.

Most public functions and political campaigns that had been organised around the affected areas have been cancelled.

Mr Romney cancelled his scheduled rallies in battleground Virginia on Sunday to get out of the way of frantic preparations for the fierce weather system, instead returning to Ohio, another swing State.

Vice-President Joe Biden did the same on Saturday. Obama, who made no changes in his campaign schedule, reviewed emergency preparations in a conference call with top domestic security and emergency assistance officials Saturday as he flew to New Hampshire, the White House said.

“This president has done a lot not just for middle class America, but also for us immigrants. His recent programme that offers relief to young children of immigrants among them thousands of Kenyans is something that makes some of us take his reelection very seriously. He has to finish what he began,” said Sang.

But Sang’s misery is compounded by speculation that there might even be no clear winner in the forthcoming presidential elections between Obama and his rival Romney.

Romney in the lead

Most polls at this moment suggest GOP nominee Romney is in the lead nationally, but surveys in the nine or so swing states are registering a narrow advantage for Obama.

Many people are wondering what if Romney carries the popular vote, but Obama regains the presidency by winning 270 votes or more in the Electoral College?

“I think it’s a 50/50 possibility or more,” Mark McKinnon, who was a political strategist for former President George W Bush, told the Press.

“If the election were held tomorrow, it wouldn’t just be a possibility, it would be actual,” added William A Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, who also served as a policy adviser to former President Bill Clinton.

A win in the Electoral College that is not accompanied by one in the popular vote casts a shadow over the president and his ability to govern.

“A close election is a polarising event, and a discrepancy between the popular outcome and the electoral vote only adds to the polarisation,” said Karen Hughes, who served as a counsellor to Bush.

Charlie Cook, editor and publisher of The Cook Report, said there’s a ten to 15 per cent chance Republican nominee Romney could collect more votes than President Obama but not reach the 270 electoral votes necessary to oust the incumbent.

Polls show Obama with a slight lead in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Nevada, Iowa and Ohio while Virginia is a toss-up.