SANDY: OCTOBER SURPRISE?

Submitted by ub on

Some say it was Sandy this year's October Surprise. This American political jargon term came about following the 1972 presidential election between Republican incumbent President Nixon and Democrat challenger George McGovern, while US was in the fourth year of negotiations to end the very long and domestically divisive Vietnam War.

On October 26, 1972, just a dozen days before the election, US chief negotiator, the presidential National Security topper Henry Kissinger announced that peace is at hand. Nixon, despite having vowed to end the unpopular war during his presidential election campaign four years earlier, had failed to either cease hostilities or gradually bring about an end to the war.

Nixon was widely considered to be reelected, but Kissinger's "peace is at hand" declaration may have increased Nixon's already high standing with the electorate.

As a result, Nixon out-polled McGovern in every state except Massachusetts and achieved a 20 point lead in the nationwide popular vote. The fighting ended in 1973, but soldiers remained in Vietnam until 1975.

Meanwhile, forty years later Huricane Sandy has proven to be year another October surprise and now mysterious website, Octsurprise.com, claims that a secret document would hurt one of the candidate's chance of winning the presidential election, is more than likely to be an October Surprise prank.

Stay tuned for further developments.