Politics

A Ray of Hope

Why today was a good day for Barack Obama.

Every day until the election, Slate will offer up one reason to be optimistic for your candidate.

Five days to go:

Today’s Good News for Obama: Although the Obama camp has said Hurricane Sandy cleanup is “not a time for politics,” Obama’s response to the crisis has played well politically. On Tuesday, 77 percent of likely voters said Obama’s response to the hurricane was either “excellent” or “good,” according to a Washington Post-ABC News tracking poll released Wednesday. Additionally, the federal government got a 73 percent net positive rating. Fair or not, Romney has fallen short in people’s estimation. Only 44 percent rated Romney’s response as “excellent” or “good,” while 21 percent rated it “not so good” or “poor.” It’s been a bad week for the East Coast, but it may be a good week for Obama to make a closing pitch about the role of government.

See Barack Obama’s earlier rays of hope.

See Mitt Romney’s earlier rays of hope.