Maybe, but again, we’re so close to the election that I think the “rally around the President” reaction most people have to foreign disasters wouldn’t have time to disappate before Nov 6th. Of course, it matters just how blatantly it was Obama’s fault. I’m sure there some level of obvious culpability that would kill the aforementioned rally. But it would need to be pretty plain and obvious that it was an Obama screw-up.
There’s also the factor that Obama has shown he’s pretty strong on national security. And Romney has mostly a domestic issues background. I wouldn’t assume that a foreign crisis would turn voters from Obama to Romney.
Romney could have a revelation that requires him to tell the truth.
As a moderate Progressive he has a record, and he could be himself.
Crane
What if the live boy was discovered with Michelle and Barack?
‘Barack Obama’ removes his makeup to reveal that he’s actually Ashton Kutcher, having completed the most ambitious ‘Punk’d’ yet.
Something in Afghanistan. The Dems killed Bush/McCain with the war in Iraq but Iraq/Afghanistan seems to have slipped from the nations conciousness and the Pubbies are not about to claim Obama should have pulled us out. If there is something that happens in Afghanistan whether related to the war or not (like an earthquake) the voters are going to say, “Remind me again why we are still there.”
A major natural disaster occurring and Obama really botching how he deals with it could rebound on him like Katrina with Bush.
A terrorist attack could cause a shift in the election, depending on how each side handled it. Especially if it’s a domestic terror group that favors one side, and announces that’s why it’s attacking. “Pro Romney faction attempts assassination of Obama, three Secret Service members killed” wouldn’t do the Romney campaign any good at all.
Not much. Most of the people who’d really care aren’t going to vote for Obama under any circumstances. If the same happened to Romney though it would be huge; it’s an inherent weakness in belonging to a party full of homophobes, and one that constantly tries to preach “sexual morality” at people.
How about (gasp) Gary Johnson?
Crane
Not sure he counts as an “event”. But in anycase, in polls ask voters to choose between Romny/Obama and the to chose between Romney/Obama/Johnson, almost all of Johnson’s single digit of support came from Romney and undecided voters. Given Romney’s losing anyways, it doesn’t seem likely Johnson will change the result of the election any, even if he does unexpectedly well.
(Johnson also has 25% name recognition a month before the election, which doesn’t exactly bode well for him capturing much of the vote).
An extinction-level event asteroid strike or global seismic catastrophe. Those always seem to happen when a black president is in office.
If the Presidency or Quorum of the Mormon Church burst into the daily news cycle in some outrageous way, perhaps by publicly announcing their prophesy that Romney intends to ask each American to consider the LDS theology. He’d have to address it in some way, either agreeing, denying or vacillating; it would sustain itself for a few days, during which he’d lose any evangelical and Jewish vote he might have had.
I keep hoping Romney will step up and introduce his other wives to the American public, ala Big Love.
It wouldn’t automatically kill it, the way it would have a generation or two ago, no. A dead girl still probably would do it, though.
Guy with muslim headdressing pulls long curvy stereotypically muslim knife and charges at Mitt Romney while screaming “DEATH TO THE AMERICAN PIG-DOGS!” on national television.
Romney: “Not on my watch, fella!” while throwing a stereotypically 50’s American straight right to the jaw. THWOK!
That is the only way.
Online article I ran across running down some possibles.
(The general tone of the article seems to me anti-Obama, but whether or not it makes good points regardless is a matter for this thread.)
Obama of course would do the Indiana-Jones-and-the-swordsman thing. I can see it now:
<Obama making speech>
Stereotypical Muslim fanatic: “DEATH TO THE AMERICAN PIG-DOGS!”
<Obama glances at him, pulls out a gun and shoots him, then continues with his speech like nothing happened>
Harrumph, Obama would be cowering behind his podium and apologizing to the fanatic…think some of my Facebook friends.
A successful assassination attempt on either would definitely affect the race. I’ll go so far as to predict that a successful assassination attempt on either would, at this late stage, guarantee an automatic win for his opponent.
Note to Secret Service: I am in no way advocating violence against Mr. Obama and/or Mr. Romney, and would severly condemn any attempts on their physical well-being.
Apologized bin Laden pretty good, didn’t he?
I don’t know; Dead!Romney might get more votes since he wouldn’t be smirking as much.