Swing Voters

I hate getting all political. It's kinda like me talking about cars. I have very little knowledge and a whole lot of catch phrases. Regardless, I'm interested in people. And "People" sometimes get involved in politics. Some of these people are called "swing voters" as I understand it or people who are undecided about who they will elect president. Here is a heads up for you people. You have about 27 days to make up your mind.

The undecided people make me curious. I want to know why they are undecided. There are some fundamental differences between the two candidates so either you agree with one or the other and vote for them or you disagree with one and so vote for the other. Is it a personality thing? You are watching each debate looking for who "acts like a president"? Are you waiting to see what the polls say and back the winning horse so you don't look stupid at work the next day? Perhaps you are waiting for the polls to back the underdog and prove those pollsters wrong. "HAHA!" you'll cry "I completely screwed up your demographic by being undecided and then voted against your polls". Perhaps it's the vice-presidential candidates that you are watching before you make your decision. Are you a conservative and McCain isn't conservative enough? Or a liberal and Obama isn't liberal enough for your liking? Perhaps you are undecided because it makes you look cool, hippy and independent and may get you a spot on TV being interviewed at a debate. Are there some unknown to me factors that I'm completely ignoring?

I spoke to a genuine, undecided person yesterday. Infact, everytime I see him I say "Have you picked your candidate yet?". I'm interested to see what the factor will be that finally persuades him to choose. I wish they would include that on the ballot.

"Please put a check mark next to your candidate and then state your reason why."

If the reason includes words like: "Terrorist", "Maverick", "Winking", "Old", "Veteran", "Muslim", "Change" then the vote is discarded instantly. Maybe there should even be a short answer section.

I tend to think that people make up their opinions about most things pretty quickly. That is why first impressions count for so much and parents can have such an influence on our understanding of the world. If you ARE still undecided what will it be that tips the balance? Answers on a postcard.