While we didn’t deem it fitting this week to have a standard edition of Winners and Losers, inevitably we must consider Hurricane Sandy’s early political impact on some key players, starting with the two at the top of incident command.

Facing re-election Tuesday, President Barack Obama received much praise from others, including Gov. Chris Christie, for his accessibility, and his decision to immerse himself in the problems of those citizens immediately affected by the hurricane.

He should have been campaigning in Ohio this past week, but the President’s hands-on hurricane response may help his chances at national victory more than any rally.

Christie himself also deserves credit again for consistently showing strong leadership in a crisis.

A good communicator, the governor continues to provide regular updates enhanced by a similarly engaged Obama, as the president and governor from opposing parties showed real capacity for partnership.

Other leaders stepped forward, among them Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who as usual showed his penchant for jumping onto the front line of disaster response and putting the needs of his residents first.

The shore mayors rose to the challenge as well, among them Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty, who literally went door to door to pull residents out of their homes as Hurricane Sandy bore down on the Jersey Shore.

We mourn the dead, praise those engaged in the business of protecting the living, and wish all those without power a speedy recovery.

On a personal note, we bid farewell this week to our own Missy Rebovich, who this morning compiled her last Morning Wakeup Call after volunteering to compose the daily must-read feature for two years.

Missy is moving on to bigger and better and we wish her well. 

We will miss her.