Kevin's Blog

In my previous blog we talked about how Hurricane Ike might play a role in the outcome of this year's Presidential election.

Today's blog is about a weather event in our history that may have altered the course of the Presidency itself.

John V. Lindsay served as a U.S. Representative from New York during 1959 to 1965, then as Mayor of New York City from 1966 to 1973. On February 10, 1969, a heavy snowstorm buried New York City under 15 inches of snow, killing 14 people and injuring hundreds more.

Mayor Lindsay was thrust into the spotlight of having to deal with the disaster, and within 24 hours his snow removal actions were already being criticized. Mayor Lindsay decided to clear the streets around his home in Manhattan first, leaving the areas of the Bronx, Staten Island and Queens without any immediate snow removal response. Rumors of bribery and special favors swirled as frequently as the snow that still blew across many New York City streets. A week after the snow had ended, the residents of Queens were still snowbound while the rest of the city was back to business as usual.

In 1972, Lindsay decided to seek the Democratic Presidential nomination, and was very successful early on, defeating the eventual nominee George McGovern in several primaries. Unfortunately for Lindsay a group of residents from Queens, remembering his failure to remove snow from their streets, decided to get involved in his campaign. They literally followed Lindsay on the campaign trail, jeering and heckling him at every stop, sharing their snowstorm story with potential voters until Lindsay was ultimately forced out of the race. McGovern won the Democratic nomination, and was soundly defeated by Richard Nixon. Many political pundits of the time felt like Lindsay would have had a chance to win the nomination and defeat Nixon had the handling of the snowfall aftermath not become an issue.

You know about the 1972 Nixon election and the subsequent Watergate scandal. We are reminded of these events every time the history of the Presidency is discussed. But let's not forget about the New York City blizzard of 1969. Ultimately it may have set the stage for one of the most trying times in American political history.

Note:
As I post this blog, Hurricane Ike is now a category 4 hurricane and getting closer to Florida with each passing moment. Like we have mentioned in previous posts, this weekend will be an opportunity for Floridians along the Atlantic Coast to make the necessary hurricane preparations for the arrival of Ike on Tuesday of next week.

And here is a special note to those with an affinity for geography: Did you know that Florida has a town of Normandy on its East Coast?

Now, I am not projecting that Ike will make an invasive landfall in Normandy, but that sure appears to be an odd coincidence!

We will keep you posted on Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike all weekend here at Fox Weather. As always, please feel free to comment on this blog topic, as well as on the advance of Hurricane Ike toward Florida.