Is anyone undecided?

[Rich]

I admit that, although I have always liked McCain, his intention to appoint justices like Roberts and Alito makes it impossible for me to vote for him. The chance of Jeff being convinced to vote for him seems no greater. And the self-identified conservatives have made it clear that they won't be convinced to change their minds and vote for Obama. But there are some Obamacans here, who, I would guess, could have their minds changed. Am I right about that, and is there anyone else here who is not unalterably decided on one or the other?

In other words, can this discussion actually have a practical effect?

[Anonymous]

The people on this board are too opinioniated to be undecided.

[Rich]

Anonymous wrote:The people on this board are too opinionated to be undecided.

I have already pled guilty to that, and your posting certainly sounds like a confession that you're with me. But what about some of the quieter folks?

[Anonymous]

Obama & McCain's views on every topic seem so drastically different, not sure how one could be confused.

[Anonymous]

I'm not undecided - will most likely vote for Obama. But usually, as time progresses and the campaigns keep going and election day nears, I find that I like both candidates less and less. I suppose that's the effect of the negative campaigns.

[Anonymous]

Totally undecided. But I'm not sure a discussion could determine my vote. I need one of the candidates to take some kind of action to earn my support. A commitment on issues I care about beyond the usual blah blah. These men both give me the creeps right now. If Obama would buy into Biden's commitment that his first SC Justice be female, that would do it. If McCain picked a woman for VP (unlikely I know) and Obama didn't, I might swing that way.

[Rich]

Anonymous wrote:Obama & McCain's views on every topic seem so drastically different, not sure how one could be confused.

Suppose someone leans to McCain on security issues, but does not want to see the Supreme Court complete its tilt to the right? I'd stick to "undecided" rather than "confused" to describe this, but I think there are some even in our little community here who might be in that situation or something similar.

[Anonymous]

I'm undecided. I want to vote for McCain, but honestly I'm having the same issues as you. I don't think any president has much power, but I do worry about their impact on the Supreme Court and I don't think it is in the best interests of the country to have a strongly conservative court. I wish this had been more of an issue during the last election. Then on the flip side I don't really like Obama. I'm afraid he is another Bush: underqualified and potentially able to do more harm than good.

In short, I'm still evaluating.

I suspect Obama will get my vote, but only due to the Supreme court issue.

[zumbamama]

The only undecided person I know is my sister in Iraq.

[Anonymous]

Here's some food for thought and some might dispute this: If you are concerned about a conservative Supreme Court then I assume you may be Pro-Choice and possibly pro-regulation? If so, then you also need to consider what a McCain presidency would mean for the bureaucracy - the people who write the rules and have oversight. I bring this up because anyone who has been paying attention to all the reports of the things the political appointees have been doing the past 8 years and has some more Liberal social views should be beyond horrified - I am talking about all the pro-business, anti-choice measures they have done in departments like Interior, EPA HHS, etc. Not to mention all of the anti-global warming measures they have taken and cuts in funding for a variety of social programs. And don't even get me started on the Justice Dept. There are way to many things to go on about in detail.

My point is that even though McCain is not Bush and is seemingly a little more centrist about all of these issues, the GOP is not. It is the RNC who will be staffing these position with Republican loyalists who will presumably carry on the policies enacted by Bush appointees. Heck, they will probably just keep a lot of the same folks in positions. So, if any of these issues are important to you, don't think a McCain presidency will bring about much change in policies from Bush's.

[Anonymous]

I'm undecided although i'm also a news and politics junky. My problem is that I'm a big fan of moderate politics and my views split the parties (agree w/ Ds some of the time and R's on other issues). So while I really like a lot of what Obama's saying (for the most part), I'm also firmly convinced that the Dems will win big margins in this election. Having 1 party in charge of everything is to me quite scary. That's the main concern driving me to consider voting for McCain - to have a bit of an offset. The biggest concern keeping me undecided though is the Supreme Court issue and the fact that i would almost definitely not like whoever McCain picks for the court.

[Anonymous]

I used to say that McCain was the only Republican I'd vote for. But not any more. He lost me with his pandering to the right.