Short of appearing at all swing-state homes, Obama will have to capitalize on a natural disaster to win after this week. (Flickr Creative Commons)

While many speculated that Superstorm Sandy could hurt President Obama's campaign by affecting voter turnout in blue states, the disaster actually gives the president a chance to move towards Election Day with serious momentum.

On Tuesday, the White House announced that the president wouldn't be campaigning on Wednesday, which means canceling a trip through Ohio, a major swing state.

Obama will instead go to New Jersey to survey the situation with Governor Chris Christie, an adamant Romney supporter.  Even Christie praised Obama for his reaction to the storm, saying Tuesday morning that the president has been "wonderful" and "deserves great credit."

Obama warned the country Tuesday that "[t]his storm is not yet over," and told federal agencies not to say why they can't do something but figure out how they can, according to Politico.  "No bureaucracy.  No red tape," Obama said.

"Mitt Romney is holding 'relief events' on Tuesday, though those seem to be toned down campaign stops that are also helping raise money for victims of Sandy," the Huffington Post said. 

Sandy spells trouble for Romney.  He'll have a hard time compensating for the president's position to show off executive capabilities in relief efforts and national addresses.

(MORE: What Does Romney Have To Do In The Last Week To Beat Obama?)

Leading into this week, Romney had hammered economic issues into the minds of swing state voters.  Last Friday, he spoke in Iowa, pledging that his policies will make the economy come "roaring back."

"President Obama frequently reminds us that he inherited a troubled economy," Romney said, according to the Christian Science Monitor.  But he also "inherited the most productive and innovative nation in history.  He inherited the largest economy in the world…What he inherited wasn't the only problem; what he did with what he inherited made the problem worse."

After the debates, we know how Romney builds his appeal on exploiting the dire financial situation to make the last four years seem like something we don't want again.

But with voters, fear and safety reign, and this week everyone's watching how the president handles the effects of Sandy, which has already killed 35 people and affected millions with loss of power and devastation. 

And while Obama handles the storm situation (on a bi-partisan level, no less) his campaign sent secret weapon Bill Clinton to stump in Minnesota on Tuesday.

(MORE: Biden And Clinton Comment On Romney's Ohio Claims)

ABC News said that the Romney campaign is working to gain some edge in states that have waned in their support of Obama--places like Minnesota and Pennsylvania.

Romney's political director Rich Beeson released a memo that said "While the Obama campaign would like to wish it is 2008, the reality is that they are now forced to 'play defense' in [at] least six states (Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Colorado, New Hampshire, Iowa and Wisconisin) that they once believed were 'safe' Obama wins."

Both campaigns have pushed TV ads in Pennsylvania.

"We're not going to take anything for granted," Obama's campaign manager Jim Messina said, according to ABC News.  "They understand they're not going to win Ohio, and now they're getting desperate and wanting to put other states into play."

Messina's right, because Obama has close to a two-point lead in Ohio.  No candidate has lost Ohio and still won the election since John F. Kennedy in 1960.  

Even though Romney has a beat on Florida, he'll have to broaden his opportunities across the map to keep his campaign competitive.  

If Obama can hold on to Pennsylvania and Minnesota, as well as maintain his lead in Ohio, his work on storm relief may be enough to secure affected states like New Hampshire and Virginia, where he's campaigned extensively already.

If he does this, he'll have 278 electoral votes, and will win.

Obama also catches another break thanks to Sandy: the monthly jobs report that was scheduled for release Friday might be delayed because of the storm, Bloomberg reported.

Bloomberg's surveys said that payrolls would increase by 125,000 in October and that the unemployment rate would rise from 7.8 to 7.9 percent.  Ronald Reagan is the only president since World War II to get reelected with an unemployment rate above six percent.

It's unlikely that foreign policy will feature heavily in the conversation in the last week before Election Day, especially since it was done to death in the debates, with Obama pulling ahead in momentum after the last one.

Obama has to continue to be energetic with his response to Sandy and then hold his breath hoping that his support in Minnesota and Pennsylvania doesn't change with his new competition there.  

Read more of Neon Tommy's presidential election coverage here.

Reach Assistant News Editor Michael Juliani here.

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