October Surprise

An October Surprise is a partisan action taken shortly before the election designed to significantly alter the results. The term arose after Henry Kissinger prematurely announced peace in Vietnam. A typical example was the disclosure that George W. Bush had once been arrested for drunk driving.

As we all know, FBI Director James Comey sent a letter to key congressional committee heads that the FBI was reviewing additional information related to the Clinton email investigation. While looking into the Anthony Weiner sexting scandal, emails were found on a computer he shares with his wife, Clinton confidante Huma Abedin. This raises questions regarding Comey’s behavior and what effect, if any, this will have on the election or the investigation.

I believe Comey is a straight shooter. He was appointed to the FBI by President Obama but also served in the Bush Justice Department. His work involved law enforcement, not politics. Both parties are behaving like hypocrites. Many Republicans “knew” Clinton broke the law even though they had no knowledge of the laws involved. Now Democrats are screaming bloody murder. Harry Reid is saying Comey may have broken the law.

In my opinion, this announcement will have little effect on either the election or the investigation. So much has been said about the email scandal that this news won’t change anybody’s mind. To quote Shakespeare it is “sound and fury signifying nothing”.
Naturally the FBI will always look at new information on any investigation. I seriously doubt a few emails will make much difference. If there is confidential information that could possibly create problems for Abedin.
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Since there was no partisan intent, I don’t consider this an October surprise. The real surprise is that we are stuck with such lousy candidates.
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