The Blogging of the Hurricane

Hurricane Charley has brought death and destruction to some areas of Florida and who would Bloggers be if they weren't there to document it.

Check out Weatherbug's blog HERE. Sample excerpt:

Today I witnessed mother nature's worst. I saw manufactured homes that had been leveled to just their base. I saw personal belongings strewn everywhere. I saw a popular Punta Gorda hotel missing much of its front.Many people in this area have lost everything, some lost their lives.

Another one HERE. Sample excerpt:

The eye of the hurricane is a tightly-wound one, perhaps 20 miles across. That suggests that it's going to miss my area, at least with a direct hit. Winds are gusting here, but there's no obvious damage visible in my immediate area.

And what of the politics of Charley?

Redstate.org reports that a CNN analyst has pondered it thusly:

Somewhat oddly, the analyst pointed out that the area affected by Charley is heavily Republican. (It is one of the great strongholds for us in the state). He proceeded to speculate that if the area were slow to recover it could affect the presidential race (fewer Republicans voting, presumably).

DailyKos notes that MSNBC reported that George W Bush will be in Florida to survey the damage tomorrow and that Kerry was already scheduled to be in Florida on Wednesday. Sample excerpt from user Geheimbundler:

Southwest Florida, where Charley made landfall, is already heavily Republican. Bush may pick up a few votes, but not many. The area where I see him potentially gaining is the "I-4 Corridor", the area along Interstate 4 that connects Tampa and Orlando. A lot of Puerto Ricans have settled there in recent years. The Bushes have been trying to win over this traditionally Democratic group. Maybe liberally dispensed federal relief dollars will help them do so.

Our thoughts are with all those affected by the devastation.