As thousands lost electrical power, the city experienced its worst blackout since Hurricane Betsy 40 years earlier.

As John Paleocrassas, head of the public power corporation, told me, New York has had much worse blackouts for longer periods, but no one is suggesting that as a result, the Republican convention should not be held there in August.

But five days without sight of the president after the worst blackout in the nation's history, when Democrats are blaming the administration for the failure, seems unlikely.

But though the empty streets, deserted parks and darkened offices seemed strange on a weekday afternoon, Cleveland was, in truth, returning to normal today after its worst blackout in memory.

In 1965, the Northeast Blackout of 1965, the worse blackout until then, left Vermont without electricity for about 12 hours.

The chain of events that led to the worst blackout since 1977, when 2 million customers went without electricity for 24 hours, began just before dawn on Tuesday.

The Scotsman's account of the bombings points the finger at a bad blackout.

An 18-hour blackout on July 6 and 7 in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, the worst blackout to hit the city in 22 years, left 200,000 people without power and raised a political storm.

Their quick response prevented an even worse blackout.

But the mayor was still smiling yesterday and clearly pleased with the way the city, and his political reputation, had come through the worst blackout in United States history.