Inside the Mind of an Undecided Voter: Mike's Mom in Minnesota
You've seen all the polls saying that everyone thinks Kerry won the debate, but those were just numbers. What were the specific responses to the debate of middle-American, undecided voters? Our friend Mike's mom, who is undecided, took notes during the event, writing down her observations and points that caught her interest. She was kind enough to share them with us. Can she be persuaded to vote for Kerry?
Here are her notes:
Notes on Kerry:
- ...His plan in withdrawal from Iraq, he should have told all 4 points.
- His statement that the US has no long term design on Iraq and to let the people of Iraq know that for certain.
- Close the borders...Duh. Don't let anymore terrorists enter Iraq.
- Came across very strong, calm, in control, believable, approachable, some might say presidential, open minded to other options, and seems to have a plan. Whether those plans will actually work, who knows, but what we are doing now is not working...
Notes on Bush
- He is stubborn. Will NOT budge.
- His inability to realize that what he is doing isn't working as far as the war goes.
- Troops will come home when Iraq has their troops trained. Whenever that is. We are building 14 bases in iraq, does this sound like the US is taking over.............yes.
- US has lost respect and credibility in the world in the last year.
- If Saddam was such a threat, and that is up for debate, are we now going to attack Korea, we know they have weapons of MD.
- Iraq is an example of what will happen to other countries if they don't comply. Do we want to go thru this again?
- I know that Bush can't help it, but he looks like a doofus. His facial expressions are awful. You can tell what he is thinking every minute.
I still can't get past the abortion thing. Babies are being killed by the thousands every day, are their lives any less valid than soldiers dying in Iraq?
I'm still undecided, but Kerry made a very strong impression. If he were pro-life, I would vote for him in a heartbeat.
So who will get her vote? Leave a persuasive comment -- be nice please -- and you might just win an extra vote for Kerry in a battleground state, without ever having to leave your desk or promising to vote for Nader.
There is certainly nothing wrong with imposing a litmus test on candidates. We each have one or two issues that speak so fundamentally to who are that we cannot in good conscience support someone who does not share our view. My test happens to be abortion-related as well: I find it very difficult to seriously consider voting for anti-choice candidates, as I reject the intrusion of government into such personal decisions (for reference, I have a baby due in December).
Sometimes, however, you need to pick your battles. In Mike's Mom's case, her concern for the troops dying in Iraq is an issue that can clearly be addressed to her satisfaction in the relatively near term (though precisely how near remains to be seen). The fight over abortion, on the other hand, is unlikely to be resolved any time soon, even if Bush is reelected. So in that sense a vote for Kerry is unlikely to impact the abortion debate one way or another.
That said, we must be honest and acknowledge that there is a slim chance that one or more Supreme Court Justices will step down in the next four years (though that rumor's been flying for many years now). Given the potential impact a new Justice or two might have on the abortion debate, Mike's Mom might want to take that into consideration.
Posted by: mattS at October 4, 2004 4:55 PM