putting aside the point about the storm, i don't think a divergence in the popular vote and the electoral college results would be a political "nightmare". on the contrary, if obama wins a second term without the popular vote, it gives us the best chance of finally getting rid of the electoral college. democrats are already on board after what happened in 2000. an obama EV win with a popular vote loss might get the GOP enthusiastic about changing to a straight popular vote.
while a popular vote might not favor my guy in this election (especially with a hurricane bearing down on the heart of blue america), it is objectively better than the 18th century anachronism that is the electoral college. so this year i would welcome a split result (assuming obama wins the EVs, the votes that actually matter under our current system. the scenario where romney wins the EV but loses the popular vote seems to be pretty unlikely from where i'm sitting).
