October Is Almost Over, Have We Had Enough Surprises Yet?
It has been the kind of month you don't want to remember.
Killing in a synagogue. Explosives in the mail. Deadly hurricanes. A grisly murder of a journalist inside a foreign consulate.
Troops ordered to the border to block desperate migrants crossing Mexico in search of America.
It may be that none of the dramatic events of this month will be decisive in determining the outcome of the midterm elections next month. But don't try to tell any of the candidates that.
That's why everyone in politics either dreads or dreams of the "October surprise," the late-in-campaign event or issue that suddenly upends all calculations and delivers electoral victory.
The event or issue may be a natural disaster or of human origin, a scandal that erupts overnight or a stunning revelation that turns the tide.
Some such game changer, or efforts to invent one, have been a feature of nearly
