Why People Are Still Undecided

I’ve read several articles this week about who is ahead in the polls and who is behind and what the one behind has to do to catch up and what the one who is ahead has to do to stay there. I have also read one or two articles about those who are undecided even at this late date in the campaign. Surprisingly it is a rather large number, percentage wise, who make up these folks who can’t seem to make up their mind. I have read that the undecided numbers range from 8% to 14.7%. That is a lot of votes to be cast that the pollsters have absolutely no clue as to how they will vote but evidently have decided to discount these folks as non-voters. Statistics show the opposite and that these folks are more apt to vote than those who are the most anxious to state who they will vote for in no uncertain terms when asked by these number gatherers. I suppose we will have to wait until the votes are in to decide who does and who doesn’t get to live in the White House for the next four years.

Frankly I have never trusted the media polls since the days of Nixon and Kennedy. I would say since Truman but I was a bit young in those days to actually be paying attention to such an unimportant question at least the time since I would rather have been playing in the sandbox with my trucks, than considering such as who would be running the country or as some have done ruining the country.

It seems that the media has always had a favorite and that is the one that seems to get the most favorable numbers reflected in the polls and the most favorable coverage. This unfortunately is the first election that I have experienced such one sided favoritism but yet I am not surprised by such given the state of the media and the direction of the left turns made by the media since the Viet Nam War era . This was the beginning of the “blame America first” syndrome , the hatred of conservatism and capitalism leanings of the American media. During that Viet Nam era I thought that the media would return to the somewhat middle of the road reporting after the situation in Viet Nam had settled down. I was wrong, totally wrong and watched as the media became more and more left leaning. In the early days the talking heads on TV at least attempted to be subtle about their leanings and favorites but that is certainly not the case anymore especially when you hear the talking heads speaking of one candidate who gives them “tingles up and down their leg” . Years ago I would have suggested that they make an appointment with a neurologist or a urologist after first either standing up and walking around for a bit or checking to see if there was a puddle under the chair. Today I am not surprised by anything I hear from the media in regards to their favorite candidate.

Anyhow the question still remains as to where the undecided will go and how will they vote and why on earth are they still undecided.

On the why of being undecided I have heard and read most often that “ I still don’t know enough about the candidate to make a decision.” To some that is surprising but to me I find it to be probably the most honest answer given. Why would they still not know enough about the candidate after being bombarded by thousands of hours of repetitive ads and info commercials and news blurbs? Perhaps those folks are a bit like me and a few million others who really don't trust the media, given their one sided approach to the candidates and the issues or perhaps non-issues in this election. All folks have heard are the sound bites that each of the candidates camps want the people to hear. The media has done little , especially toward their favorite candidate, to bring out any facts other than what they have been given while on the other hand with the candidate that they seem to dislike they have gone out of their way to show them in a negative light. To me and I am sure those undecided the other candidate is still much of a shadow figure. All they know is what the candidate and his handlers have wanted the people to know and they have controlled the media in such a manner that anything negative would be cast as racism. The candidates themselves have refused to discuss any of the negatives that may have arisen and basically blown the American voter off and said , “it’s not important”. Well evidently to the 8 to 14.7% of the undecided voters it was and still is very important. Perhaps the candidate(s) who have used this attitude toward the voters have made a huge mistake, a costly one that they did not foresee and one that could or will cost them the election.

Of course we know which candidate(s) have done this and basically have gotten away with absolutely no scrutinization by the media. Just last week Sen. Joe Biden was a guest on a talk show in Florida and was asked about the statement his running mate, Sen. Obama made in regard to “spreading the wealth” and asked if this was in some way socialism. Joe Biden had the perfect opportunity to ,for the umpteenth time, to actually explain to the people who were viewing the show exactly what Sen. Obama’s plan for doing such was and how in his opinion it was not socialism at all but rather an opportunity that some had not been given. Instead he chose to become hostile and asked the interviewer if the question was a joke. Of course it was not a joke or the interviewer would not have asked it and Biden blew it off, the media gave him a pass and gave Obama a pass and the undecided once again stayed undecided. Biden canceled further interviews with that station. How very transparent. Not!

Earlier Sen. Obama was asked about his relationships pertaining to a number of undesirable individuals and once again he chose to not be straight forward with the voters and blew the questions off or threw his “friends” under the proverbial bus and once again missed an opportunity to tell the undecided voters something that would allow them to make a decision. Even an admission that yes, he had been in a relationship, either in business or friendship or both with these folks, and that yes they were not the kind of folks that you would expect someone who wants to be the POTUS to have and that yes, I made some very bad choices in judgment about these folks but I have learned from that and have absolutely no desire to be acquainted in any form or fashion with this type of person again . He didn’t, he lied for the most part and made excuses and again the undecided voter was even more undecided.

The internal squabbling within the McCain camp over how to present Gov.Sarah Palin, on what to allow her to do or say has also left the undecided voter in a predicament. Of course the media who has taken every opportunity to cast this lady in an unfavorable light has made the most of such occurrences. I have read at least a dozen or more negatively slanted stories on this squabble in just the past 5 days and that came just from the Yahoo news blurbs that show up on the computer screen when one signs on or at least on my computer and those who use Yahoo or Foxfire. The McCain camp, rather than joining together, at least publicly, have done as much or more to damage their own candidate and campaign than anything other than a major scandal would induce. In doing so the undecided voter wonders what is going on and remains undecided.

Of course there is the “race” question. The question that Sen. Obama said would not be an issue in this campaign but yet he threw out the first “race card” in a speech given on July 31, 2008 in Springfield ,Illinois when he said, "We know what kind of campaign they're going to run. They're going to try to make you afraid," Obama said at the fundraiser. "They're going to try to make you afraid of me. He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black? He's got a feisty wife."

Until that time no one on the other side had mentioned race period. And once again the media made a big show of this statement, gave Obama a pass for throwing out the “race card”, attempted to make it appear that it was the other side who had made or was making this an issue and once again the 8-14.7% of undecided voters didn’t get the real story or enough of the story to decide and they remained undecided.

Because of the media’s approach of not reporting anything but positive on one candidate and being heavily negative toward the other side the undecided voter still feels that they “don’t have enough information to decide” and they are correct. All they know of one candidate in particular is a lot of fluff and stuff and no real meat ,potatoes and gravy stuff, which is the real stuff that they base their decisions on. These undecided voters are much more intelligent than the media would give them credit as being. The media looks at those who are still undecided as uneducated, slow witted dolts, the kind who cling to their religion, their guns and values. The media is so wrong in this case that they will not admit it at this late date and so they will cling to their “polls” even though the undecided see them as huge question marks.

One Ohio State professor sumed up the undecided voter and said that for the most part 50% of the undecided will definitely vote for the white candidate and the remaining 50% will split demographically and vote the way they have always voted. Given the polls of late showing either a few points differential, that remains in reality under double digit or in many places a dead heat, it will be the undecided who will have the final word in this election year. The candidate who wakes up to this fact first and makes the most of the situation and gets the right kind of information out to these undecided will win come November 4^th.

Either way, it’s going to be a long night regardless of the media’s plans for a short night and throwing in filler of some sort for the remainder of the evening. The $2million bash in Chicago for Obama may turn into a very expensive wake.

I have done my part and voted early this year and no one need ask who I voted against nor why I voted the way I did. I have made it very clear from very early on as to my stand in this election. I did my homework early on and found one candidate failing drastically to meet the expectations that I have always looked for in a candidate for any office from mayor to POTUS. I have based my decision on Character, values, and ability to lead. Only one candidate meets all three of these points in my opinion.

If you are undecided, I suggest you use these three guidelines as your guide in making you choice and I feel sure that you will no longer have to say, “I am undecided.”.