In 2000, it was hanging chads and the Supreme Court. In 2004, it was electronic voting machines. Now, the left and the mainstream media are busily spinning another narrative to get them through the years ahead in the event that Mitt Romney unseats President Barack Obama next week: Superstorm Sandy stole the election.

Both Politico and CNN are wondering openly whether the storm, which made landfall Monday in New Jersey as a hurricane, could or should force the postponement of the election. The dramatic flooding in coastal areas from the mid-Atlantic to New England, and the unseasonally early snowfall in the Appalachians, are causing transportation problems today that could persist for several days in some areas, especially in New York City.

That could make it more difficult for some voters to get to the polls–but would have almost no impact on the election, as much of the storm’s worst damage was done in states that are a virtual lock for Obama in November. More damage could yet affect other areas in the coming days, as swollen rivers flood and rain and wind move west through Pennsylvania and Ohio. Still, barring further major disaster, voting could likely proceed as planned almost everywhere, and provision is likely possible even for voters in flooded districts.

The Obama campaign indicated yesterday that it did not expect the storm to be a huge disruption to its plans, and though both campaigns canceled events yesterday and today, both are also continuing to prepare get-out-the-vote efforts–with Obama making best use of “commander-in-chief” images from the White House.

But the media, which are more committed to left-wing ideas as such than the particular fate of any one candidate, are preparing for the battle that will follow November 6th. If Obama wins, but with a reduced majority, the media now have an excuse. And if Romney wins, they now have an outrage around which to rally dejected progressives and revive the obstructionist, self-pitying opposition style of the Bush years.