Undecided Voters

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - According to two polls, Barack Obama beat John McCain in Tuesday night's debate. CNN's national poll of debate watchers found that 54 percent said Obama did the best job, compared with 30 percent who said McCain performed better. While 51 percent of those polled said they had a favorable opinion of McCain, unchanged from before the debate, 64 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Obama, up 4 percentage points from before the debate. By more than a 2-to-1 margin, 65 percent to 28 percent, more people said they found Obama more likable than McCain during the debate, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp.

Last month, a Republican-aligned polling firm called on hunters and fishermen nationwide to get their views. Some of the results were unsurprising: Outdoorsmen regard themselves as politically conservative and register Republican over Democratic by a more than 2-to-1 ratio. But here's one response that may have caught President Barack Obama and his re-election team by surprise, if they noticed it at all: A majority of these sportsmen believe global warming is the cause of this past summer's high temperatures and want the White House and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain blitzed the political and geographic map of the United States yesterday as the presidential election moved into its last hours with the candidates making their last appeals to undecided voters and swing states. The major party candidates sought to cram in one more rally, one more denunciation of a foe and one more exhortation for supporters to go to the polls today. Experts estimate that about 130 million people will vote this year; tens of millions already have waited in long lines to cast their ballots.

As President Obama and Mitt Romney head into their rematch Tuesday night, Vice President Joe Biden can claim to have done what he could to calm the distress of fellow Democrats in the wake of Mr. Obama's sub-par performance in the first presidential debate. Mr. Biden's aggressive, even at times blunt, manner in his contentious confrontation with Republican Paul Ryan may have been a bit too hot for neutral or undecided voters. But it clearly aimed at the Romney vulnerabilities that Mr. Obama had failed to address in that first encounter.

If you had to turn over a razor-thin election to a single undecided voter, Harold Bingham should be the one to pull the final lever. Forget whether he's Democrat or Republican, liberal or conservative. He is thoughtful, deliberate and earnest. Bingham, 50, a general contractor from Bethesda, is undecided, but only because he isn't ready to decide yet. Once he has gathered all the information, read the newspaper articles, watched the television reports, consulted his conscience, then Bingham will know - really know - and he'll be ready to cast his ballot for either Ehrlich or Townsend, Morella or Van Hollen.

An Undecided lives around the corner. You probably have one lurking in your neighborhood, too, down the street, on the stoop. Or maybe you haven't noticed that quiet chap on your sofa studiously avoiding questions about combat readiness and the fate of photo-licensing in Mobeetie, Texas? For months, Undecideds have drawn the ire of pundits for dragging their heels into the 21st century. "I just can't decide who to vote for," they will moan at bus stops and coffee shops everywhere the morning after a debate.

As President Obama and Mitt Romney head into their rematch Tuesday night, Vice President Joe Biden can claim to have done what he could to calm the distress of fellow Democrats in the wake of Mr. Obama's sub-par performance in the first presidential debate. Mr. Biden's aggressive, even at times blunt, manner in his contentious confrontation with Republican Paul Ryan may have been a bit too hot for neutral or undecided voters. But it clearly aimed at the Romney vulnerabilities that Mr. Obama had failed to address in that first encounter.

With three climactic weeks remaining in the fiercely fough Maryland governor's race, the candidates are scrambling for ways to attract undecided voters -- a segment of the electorate that could make all the difference come Election Day.Their target is the truly uncommitted, a group within the broader electorate.They number about 175,000 voters of the 1.5 million who are expected to vote this year. Add another 400,000 voters if the definition of undecided extends to those whose support for Democratic Gov. Parris N. Glendening or GOP challenger Ellen R. Sauerbrey is soft.

They're tired of the verbal attacks. They want to hear more about solving Maryland's budget shortfall. And they don't think either candidate has said enough about health care. They are the undecided voters, the 12 percent of Marylanders who haven't made up their minds on the race between Republican Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend. And with a poll this week showing Townsend and Ehrlich are in a statistical dead heat, these undecided voters are likely to play a crucial role in deciding who will be Maryland's next governor.

CLAYTON, Mo. - Marshall Burstein, man of action, is stuck. "I run a company or two; I have to be decisive," he said. But when it comes to choosing the next president, the 44-year-old Burstein is waiting to see whom Sen. John Kerry picks as a running mate. And he wants to hear the presumed Democratic nominee and President Bush debate. "A lot of people are picking Kerry because they don't like the war [in Iraq]. ... I'm still learning about him," he said. With the nation clearly divided on a number of issues, the presidential campaigns operating nonstop and torrents of political ads already unleashed, undecided voters are fast becoming an endangered species.

After all the negative advertising, campaign promises and gaffes, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are set to have the first of their critical debates on Oct. 3 in Denver. While political scientists argue that, with a few exceptions, the personal face-offs have not been decisive, they have become high television drama, and this year's series should be no exception. Mr. Romney, while running close in the national polls, has remained a question mark. Even after the string of televised Republican primary debates and an avalanche of advertising, it is still unclear to many voters is what makes him tick and what specifically he intends to do about the economic challenge he will face if he wins in November.

I eagerly read David Lauter's recent article on the current presidential polling data and the apparent lack of impact of recent weak jobs data ("Jobs data don't rattle pols' polls," July 8). I have to say I was disappointed by the absence of any insightful analysis. He appears to follow what is the conventional wisdom that any bad economic data will send undecided voters flocking to the challenger's camp. This may well be a result of flawed and superficial polls that don't provide a deep look at voter sentiment, but it seems just as likely that it's because he is touting the current media narrative.

It was a beautiful day in the city of Baltimore, and the Ravens weren't on TV, so we can't blame weather or football. But there are a bunch of other explanations for the low-and-slow voter turnout in the 2011 city primary, and here are 12 of them: 1.This was the most overrated mayoral race in memory. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake had some attractive opponents, and one of them had Bill Cosby on his side. Plus, they all talked about something that should have excited voters - cutting property taxes.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain blitzed the political and geographic map of the United States yesterday as the presidential election moved into its last hours with the candidates making their last appeals to undecided voters and swing states. The major party candidates sought to cram in one more rally, one more denunciation of a foe and one more exhortation for supporters to go to the polls today. Experts estimate that about 130 million people will vote this year; tens of millions already have waited in long lines to cast their ballots.

One more day and it'll be over. One more day and the Campaign That Never Ends finally ends. Think how different life will be after tomorrow's election. No more campaign commercials to get you all worked up. No more 24-hour coverage of Barack Obama and John McCain speechifying in front of the adoring wives and frenzied supporters to drive you nuts. No more Gallup polls, Nielsen polls, New York Times/CBS News polls and every other poll every 5 minutes. No more Joe the Plumber. OK, that likely won't happen.

You are an undecided voter. In eight days, you go to the polls to vote for the next president of the United States. But you still can't make up your mind. The pollsters come knocking at your door. Or call you on the phone. "Barack Obama or John McCain?" they ask. "Gee, I don't know," you say. "It's so hard to choose." Really? Can I be honest here? You scare the rest of us. You really do. The polls say you represent between 5 percent and 12 percent of the electorate. The pundits say you could have a major impact on the election.

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. is leading challenger Eleanor M. Carey just days before the Democratic primary election, but she is still within striking distance, a new poll shows.Another incumbent, Comptroller Louis L. Goldstein, has a mammoth lead in his Democratic primary race, while his opponent has made minor inroads with a negative advertising campaign.Those are the results of a telephone poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Political/Media Research Inc. Wednesday and Thursday for The Sun and other news organizations.

I eagerly read David Lauter's recent article on the current presidential polling data and the apparent lack of impact of recent weak jobs data ("Jobs data don't rattle pols' polls," July 8). I have to say I was disappointed by the absence of any insightful analysis. He appears to follow what is the conventional wisdom that any bad economic data will send undecided voters flocking to the challenger's camp. This may well be a result of flawed and superficial polls that don't provide a deep look at voter sentiment, but it seems just as likely that it's because he is touting the current media narrative.

With his party's nomination finally in hand, Sen. Barack Obama urged Democratic leaders in Maryland and elsewhere to realize that an extraordinary organizational effort would be needed for him to win in November. He was young and inexperienced, and he was black. He had to be more than an inspirational speaker. We have to change the game, he said. His evolving plan required doubling and redoubling what is often called the ground game: voter registration and turnout. He would need a 21st Century version of what campaigns have always done.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - According to two polls, Barack Obama beat John McCain in Tuesday night's debate. CNN's national poll of debate watchers found that 54 percent said Obama did the best job, compared with 30 percent who said McCain performed better. While 51 percent of those polled said they had a favorable opinion of McCain, unchanged from before the debate, 64 percent said they had a favorable opinion of Obama, up 4 percentage points from before the debate. By more than a 2-to-1 margin, 65 percent to 28 percent, more people said they found Obama more likable than McCain during the debate, according to the CNN/Opinion Research Corp.