United States: Hurricane Isaac, Obama Assassination Plot and Other Bad Omens

The hurricane that accompanied the United States Republican Convention, together with the announcements of a plot by U.S. soldiers who were planning to assassinate President Barack Obama, made Americans think of Ancient China’s lifestyle, by seeing in such events a bad omen, the “will and wrath of the heavens.”

Natural Disasters Have Political Consequences

Although Americans usually are not so superstitious, now almost every neighbor from the city of New Orleans, La., finds a connection between natural calamities and politics. In this very city, at the end of August 2005, Hurricane Katrina was followed by a devastating flood which gave rise to legends which say that after the flood, crocodiles floated down the streets eating survivors.

Following the Eastern style, some people started talking about the wrath of the heavens, but others remembered the plans of George W. Bush administration to make dams and other civil engineering more resistant around this unique and beautiful city, precautions which never became reality since the money was spent on the war in Iraq. But it is possible that this was not more than a legend, similar to the one involving crocodiles. However, it is true that the Republicans lost the White House then and with their party (and ideology), incredible things started to happen.

Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama does not play down the importance of the hurricane. Last Tuesday, while his Republican rivals were opening the convention where Mitt Romney was declared United States presidential candidate, Obama was making a speech in the state of Iowa, stating that the authorities were prepared for the hurricane weeks before it arrived.

Sources claim that Obama might abandon his election campaign to go to the places damaged by the calamity. It is possible that New Orleans is also among these places, since the rebuilt city is being threatened by the flood again: Hurricane Isaac almost repeats Katrina’s trajectory by moving from the Gulf of Mexico to the North.

Political risks are serious to both parties. In Obama’s case, what is threatening is that, in spite of their “anticipated preparation,” authorities may be unable to cope with the calamity. In the Republicans’ case, if the current administration is successful, the electorate will not forget that while Obama was fighting against the storm, Romney was at his convention, declaring himself presidential candidate.

Tensions and Discrepancies

The Republican Party’s appointment in Tampa, Fla., is under very animated discussion all over the country and abroad. The meteorological issue is also very present in those comments. Although Tampa is not in the epicenter, the rains paralyzed a great part of the country. An article was published in a newspaper where it was almost seriously argued whether the hurricane could be a punishment from God on the Republicans.

Commentators claim that today’s Republican ideology deserves some punishment. Thus the Washington Post writes, “Mitt Romney, still inhumane,” and The New York Times speaks of his propaganda as a “half-truth…”

It is true that both newspapers support the Democrats and do not represent the United States entirely. If based on their publications we make an assessment of what is happening, we can reach the conclusion that the Democrats’ electorate, the middle class neighbors from the big cities, are seriously worried about what they hear about the others — that is, about the Republicans. For this reason, the present campaign is characterized by tensions, intransigence and major discrepancies.

And precisely at this moment, there appears the strange news about the alleged plot to assassinate the White House tenant. Four U.S. army members, anarchist soldiers, purchased handguns, assault rifles and explosives in order to blow up several specific strategic points and then kill the president.

Such stories are deemed to produce empathy for the potential victim of the assassination attempt and, for this reason, they may turn out to be an electoral ploy. However, this news did not get to be the main national event, either due to the hurricane and the Republican Convention or because it looks bad that the attempt on the commander-in-chief’s life was plotted by his own soldiers.

To conclude, we should say that this is not the first time the American society experiences so much intolerance and intransigence divided in two by a barely surmountable abyss. This was the case when John and then Robert Kennedy were murdered. That period was characterized by the collision between the values of many generations, mass demonstrations, etc. It was a very hard time for the nation but, in the end, the United States overcame it.