I really don't understand people who are still undecided. Watching

[BlueStateGirl]

ABC news right now talking about people who keep shifting their preference. How is that possible? This isn't a primary... these two men couldn't be further apart. I don't get it.

I don't considering them independent voters. I consider them voters w/o core beliefs.

I don't care how independent minded one is, there is simply no possible way one could shift from Obama to McCain or McCain to Obama so freely and often, if they had any real politcal principles. How do you get and keep those voters? Without making it about personality and superficial things?

[quantass]

1. I second that!

[elocs]

2. I'm also baffled by those who actually claim that they are undecided.

Sure, because Obama and McCain are so close on everything without a whisker of difference between them. These people cannot choose between steak and baloney?

[treestar]

3. This is a mystery to me, too

I figure they must be people who pay no attention whatsoever to politics, and think it is time for them to do their duty and vote at election time. Their understanding of the issues is therefore so shallow that they don't know what to think about anything and they have no passionate interest in any of them - the single issue abortion voters don't know about anything else and vote against their interests to vote for the one they believe sides with them, but at least they are passionate about one issue.

These undecideds must be people who don't care that abortion is illegal but don't care if it becomes illegal, for example. Or they feel completely unaffected by the war in Iraq and don't care if it goes on or if it is ended.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. They're the second stupidest demographic in this country.

Followed only by the people who vote McCain.

[MarjorieG]

5. Many want to believe the grandfatherly old guy is what he seems. We know he isn't, but still unknown

Not just race; people are afraid of change. We need to get record out there, and if conditions dire or awareness/urgency remain out there, we can trump.

[GrizzlyMan]

6. The simple answer is they are fence sitting morons

[EC]

7. Many believe that whoever is President doesn't make any

difference (I've heard this a lot) to some it's a popularity contest, to some it's who they can relate to (ala Sarah) and some are just so psychotic they can't make a decision about anything (I've also seen this type, can't even figure out what shoes really fit )....

[Orsino]

8. They are people who have been fucked over by Congress and presidents for decades.

I get this. I really do.

It's been proven to them, again and again, that things just get worse no matter which party's in power. They lack the energy or hope to believe any politicians. Or perhaps a few years of * finally persuaded them to vote Democratic, only to be rewarded with the "leadership" of Pelosi and Reid.

I get this. I really do.

There are real measurements by which choosing the Democratic Party over the GOP is a no-brainer. These measurements, however, take a long time to make, and most people aren't visibly affected by them in real time. They may--finally--have come to a nagging sensation that something is badly wrong with the country, but corporate conservative on both sides of the aisle are failing to put people first. These folks may want to vote for something, but the two-party system is failing them badly. Again.

I get this. I really do.

Power is going to switch hands next year, but from one bunch of conservatives to another. Will the New Boss be the same as the Old Boss? I have to think that there will be a big difference, but I know that it won't be readily apparent.

I get this. I really do.

[qwlauren35]

9. I met a guy who is close to the fence.

He is an evangelistic Christian, and apparently has never before supported a pro-choice candidate, and is unhappy that Obama doesn't want a Constitutional Ban on same-sex marriage.

I'm not sure if he's voting for Obama because he's black, or because he thinks McCain would be a disaster. But he's very, very unhappy about voting for Obama.

I think abortion is one of the issues people are weighing. A lot of people who are pro-choice really can't fathom the mindset of someone who is pro-life (or pro-gestation), especially those who are coming at it based on a very deeply religious and ultra-conservative viewpoint.

Just as they can't understand the pro-choice viewpoint.

Similarly, one's views on marriage often have very deep roots, and those who support same-sex marriage and those who don't are worlds apart.

Try to remember, these are the "happy are the meek" people. These are not necessarily people who can fall any farther in terms of economic issues. Maybe they own their own trailer and shoot their own dinner. Maybe they are used to periods of unemployment. If this is already their life, you can't frighten them with "the economy". But if you mock their religious values, they will get very angry.

I am very tired of the idea that these people are DUMB. They simply have different values.

[yodoobo]

10. Happens every election

Some really are undecided.

Some have decided but don't want to admit their choice.

Some just like the attention lavished on the undecided.