The Politics Of Storms

06:40

October 29, 2012

Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney boards his plane in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, en route to Ohio for campaign events. President Barack Obama waves as he deplanes Air Force One, after arriving at Orlando International Airport in Orlando, Fla., on Sunday. (AP)

As forecasters try to anticipate the path and impact of Hurricane Sandy, President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney's political advisers are watching just as closely, trying anticipate how the storm could affect the presidential campaign.

The hurricane has forced both candidates to change their schedules and immediate strategies.

Princeton University professor of history and public affairs Julian Zelizer says it won't be the first time that extreme weather has affected a presidential contest.

While the "super storm" gives President Obama the chance to demonstrate leadership, it also presents the risk of a misstep, such as the photo of George W. Bush flying over the damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

CNN: How Sandy will test Obama, Romney

Guest:

Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. His latest book is "Governing America: The Revival of Political History."

This segment aired on October 29, 2012.