STORM CANCELS ROMNEY VIRGINIA EVENTS; OHIO, HERE WE COME UPDATE: BOOM! Mitt Romney Endorsed by Des Moines Register

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Press release from Romney-Ryan HQ:

Boston, MA – On Sunday, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will continue the bus tour across the Buckeye State by attending Victory Events at Celina Fieldhouse in Celina, Ohio and the University of Findlay in Findlay, Ohio, where they will be joined by Big & Rich. They will then attend a Victory Rally at the Marion County Fairgrounds Coliseum in Marion, Ohio. Please note that Mitt Romney’s events in Virginia have been postponed due to public safety concerns.

Just got this word about an hour ago. I had been planning to attend the Romney rally in Haymarket, Virginia, but now have changed plans and will be going to Ohio instead.

UPDATE: Here’s the NBC News report:

The approach of Hurricane Sandy along the East Coast forced Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to scrap a planned campaign swing Sunday in Virginia, rerouting the GOP contender to the battleground state of Ohio instead.
“I was looking forward to being in Virginia tomorrow but you know the hurricane is headed up there, and I just spoke with the governor, Governor [Bob] McDonnell, and the governor and I talked about that. He said, you know, the first responders really need to focus on preparation for the storm, so we’re not going to be able to be in Virginia tomorrow, we’re going to Ohio instead,” Romney told some 4000 supporters at a rally [in Kissimmee] Saturday.

UPDATE II: Just calculated the drive time to Marion, Ohio, which will be the last of three stops on the Romney-Ryan Sunday tour of Ohio:

  • Celina Fieldhouse
    585 East Livingston Street, Celina, Ohio
    Doors Open: 11:30 AM EDT
    Invite Time: 1:30 PM EDT
  • University of Findlay
    Koehler Athletic Complex
    1000 North Main Street, Findlay, Ohio
    Doors Open: 2:00 PM EDT
    Invite Time: 4:00 PM EDT
  • Marion County Fairgrounds Coliseum
    220 East Fairgrounds Street, Marion, Ohio
    Doors Open: 4:30 PM EDT
    Invite Time: 6:30 PM EDT

I’d love to be at the Findlay event — which will feature country superstars Big & Rich in concert — but there’s just no way. Making it to Marion in time will be pushing it pretty hard.

UPDATE III: So this is it, I guess. My plan had been to see Mitt in Virginia before heading to Ohio for a week, but now it’s an early departure to Ohio, thanks to a freak late-season hurricane.

Ali Akbar will join me on this expedition, continuing a three-year adventure that goes back to when we first met during the legendary NY-23 campaign of Doug Hoffman in 2009. The Hoffman campaign — the first true test of the Tea Party movement as a political force — now seems like a million years ago. But then again, the Iowa caucuses seem like a million years ago, too, and that was only last January. It’s been a wild ride, and it promises to get wilder yet.

By the way, Smitty went by to see Dan Riehl today. As my Twitter followers know, Dan is doing a bit better, and is now out of the ICU. He should continue to be in our prayers, and if you haven’t hit Dan’s tip jar yet, now’s the time to do it. I gave him another $25 today myself.

All the signs and omens are propitious, you see, and I just got word that the Des Moines Register has endorsed Romney. “Preference cascade.”

UPDATE IV: From the Des Moines Register endorsement:

The Register’s editorial board, as it should, had a vigorous debate over this endorsement. Our discussion repeatedly circled back to the nation’s single most important challenge: pulling the economy out of the doldrums, getting more Americans back in the workforce in meaningful jobs with promising futures, and getting the federal government on a track to balance the budget in a bipartisan manner that the country demands.
Which candidate could forge the compromises in Congress to achieve these goals? When the question is framed in those terms, Mitt Romney emerges the stronger candidate.

It’s the first time they’ve endorsed a Republican in 40 years.

UPDATE V: Notorious partisan cheerleader polling expert Nate Silver just went all-in, raising Obama’s chances of re-election to 74.4%.

UPDATE VI: Smitty has an update on Dan Riehl’s condition.





28 comments

  5. Obama has also cancelled events in Virginia, which surprised me. I mean, a guy who claimed he would heal the earth and make the oceans begin to recede should have no problem turning away a hurricane. Heck, Pat Robertson prayed one away some years ago, and it hit the Northeast instead.

    Got to love Nate Silver going all in. Too late to turn back now, might as well put it all on Black for one final spin. In another eleven days, he will be about as influential as a fart in the upper levels of Hurricane Sandy.

  7. I’m holding out for the mashed potatoes endorsement.

    If we get that, we can finally surpass hot dogs on the list of great American pastimes:

    Baseball, Meat Loaf & Mashed Potatoes, and Apple Pie.

    Boogie Test Kitchens are working on a version for the fast food purveyors. So far, the gravy keeps running down our arms.

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