The Undecideds

The events of the 2000 election happened for several reasons. Back then, even though there were early signs of what can in retrospect be viewed as a "minor market correction", particularly in the tech sector, national prosperity was soaring. Most people were doing quite well, on paper at least. And a significant portion of the electorate decided that the best person to lead a nation of wealthy folks was someone who knew what it meant to be significantly, unashamedly wealthy. He's rich like us, they thought. He'll be able to lead the way to all of us getting even richer.

They were wrong.

But this is not their story.

An even more significant portion of the electorate went to the voting booth on Election Day with no idea who they were going to vote for. "I won't make up my mind until the curtain closes," I remember one voter saying. Many had no real opinions on George W. Bush and Al Gore, or simply had no preference. In the end they helped bring the election to within the statistical margin of error. The rest, as they say, is history.

It wasn't the first time. In hindsight the Kennedy - Nixon election of 1960 does not seem to have been one that was particularly close. We are, after all, talking about John F. Kennedy, the sainted Irish Catholic who became a martyr for his commitment to Liberty, vs. Richard M. Nixon, the shadowy, twisted figure who would bring shame and disrepute upon the office of the President, who brought us Watergate and secret tapes and "I am not a crook!" But these are the caricatures that these historical figures have become in our time. Forty-eight years ago America was largely indifferent to these two candidates. Kennedy looked good on TV, and Nixon didn't. That probably made as much difference as anything. America flipped a coin, and Kennedy was elected. Nixon would have to wait another eight years to get his turn in the Oval Office.

But today? Today I don't know how many Undecideds there are. There are still people I believe cam be swayed one way or the other, so all campaigning is not meaningless at this point. But most of these people have some sort of preference already formed. It's just a question of whether they will be pushed further towards this preference, or pulled away from it - or if they will grow despondent to the point that they withdraw from the field of combat entirely.

But there may be a few who are still out there who are asking, "Why should I vote for Obama over McCain? Why should I prefer McCain to Obama?" There are reasons on both sides. I will try to present my arguments in a post sometime in the next thirty-nine days or so. Maybe I can persuade a few voters to come over to my way of thinking.

Still, I just don't think there are a heck of a lot of undecided voters out there right now. People have chosen their sides, though events may still sway their decisions one way or another. Time will tell. A lot can happen in thirty-nine days. But I just don't think a lot of people will be walking up to their polling places on November 4 with no preference at all for either candidate.