By Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Incredibly, there are still people who call themselves "undecided voters" when it comes to Barack Obama vs. John McCain. Let's hope these people stay home on Tuesday and don't decide the 2008 presidential election.
I know it's fashionable to praise undecided voters for not being political junkies. (To read a heartfelt, if not convincing, ode to undecided voters by John Cloud of Time magazine, go here.)
However, America needs well-informed voters to make the 2008 decision, not people who are waiting until their gut tells them which person ought to be president.
The candidates have done their part to distinguish themselves.
One (McCain) will be far more likely to continue the disastrous policies of George Bush.
One will "drill, baby, drill" for new oil off the coasts, while the other (Obama) will be more cautious in looking for energy.
Up and down the line, both candidates have serious differences on the issues.
Undecided voters don't deserve all the credit they get if they haven't made up their minds yet on this presidential election.
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more hypocritical hoo hoo from Yael
Since it is apparent that the election is a referendum on obama your suggetsion that the undecideds should stay home is a ridiculously presmptuous example of media bias and hypocrisy.
You rail on and on in favor of ACORN's criminal voter registration fraud yet urge those conscientious "wafflers" to stay away knowing full well that the likelihood is that the undecideds break for McCain.
It's not about the right to vote to you Yael, it's about your biased agenda. Your transparency is laughable.
JA, a professor?
Let me guess,
of abnormal psychology?
LOL
Let them decide in their own time
Undecided voters are not necessarily ignorant of the issues and uninformed, Yael. Perhaps they are merely cautiously pessimistic readers of your harangues, or disappointed optimists whose trust in a fair, unbiased news source has been betrayed by their local newspaper, (once again, I am pointing in your direction). If there are undecided voters, I would venture that they are the most rational beings on the planet after the two years of hell you've put everyone through. Healthy fair-minded skepticism is a gloriously rare virtue these days. I'm grateful there are still undecideds. I'll take one of them for a whole pack of Obamaniacs.
Joinamerica, I am very curious
What perecentage of your students will actually cast a ballot?
I know that calls for conjecture .....but I would love to have your best guess....I go through that type of Q&A with my 3 sons of 30, 27 and 25.....they at least have some semblance of the positions of both McCain and Obama.....1 McCain voter (27 yr old) and 2 obamatons.
A Group That is Not Staying Home Tomorrow
This is a true story. I am a college science professor who after listening to my students’ chatter excitedly about Obama for most of the semester, finally gave them a test.
Page 1 included a question about who they favored for the presidency and questions requiring a rating of various characteristics from one to ten.
Pages 2 and 3 asked softball fill in the blank questions about their candidates’ accomplishments and positions on various issues.
Needless to say, almost all of the students chose Obama, and gave him ratings of 10 in all of the categories on page 1.
But pages 2 and 3 were left entirely blank by every student in the class, save one, who chose John McCain and actually knew a lot about him.
God save America tomorrow. Those who love her (and I do) can only pray.
Of all the biased, democratic party advocate posts, this one
is the stupidist thing I have seen Yael post.
Yael, its time to take the early retirement offer and GET OUT.
VOTERS WHO SIGNED UP BECAUSE
VOTERS WHO SIGNED UP BECAUSE THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN GAVE YOU SOMETHING OR PROMISED YOU SOMETHING:
Stay home.
Voters who are voting for Obama because he is black:
Stay home
Voters who have no clue about politics, how this country is run or even what the president does:
STAY HOME
Young people under 25 who are voting for the first time because it is cool to support Obama because everyone else is:
Stay Home
Voters who are on welfare or other government assistance:
Stay home...you have a conflict of interest
Huh? II
What Yael really wants is to have the Star doing the thinking for the people - and just vote that way!
Huh?
Why don't we just let Yael pick our president? After all, he's done all of the investigative work for us.
What Yael is afraid of is that the undecideds will walk into the voting booth and vote for the safe pick - and that aint Obama!
Or let's have all of the people that ACORN has drug in with gifts of cigarettes electing our president - I mean - they are not "undecided".
stay Home
All I can say to Obama people is be careful what you wish for. You might have a surprise you do not want. And to stay home is to give the One the vote. So Please get out there and make your voice heard! Or Shut Up when the one you want does not get in!
kids
By well informed I suppose you mean…
By “well informed voters” I suppose you mean all those homeless, alcoholics, druggies and dropouts that were among those many thousands registered by ACORN, is that correct?
Ross Balano Midwest Voices 2008
None your business...
If someone is undecided it is their business. Honestly I don't see a whole lot of difference between the two, so for a long time I was undecided.
As for the guy who says that Obama has run an excellent campaign...reall??? After all the money he spent, all the free advertising, and softball questions from the media he is barely ahead of McCain. Is that what you call an excellent campaign?
P.S. I am a college educated, gun owning, disabled veteran and I'm not voting for Obama.
Worried perhaps
The point of this article is to express the fear that the writer has that the country might not actually vote for the Almighty Oboma after all. The fear is that the independents really aren't independent, just that they didn't feel like being confronted by some obviously liberal poll taker while they are in the middle of trying to vote.
undecided voters
I like Obama, but it's these types of articles that drive me nuts. This is an article about voters and yet you slam one candidate and endorse another. Your unapologetic liberalism is not journalism. Put it on your blog.
This is NONSENSE!
This is nonsense!
If you are an undecided voter, go to your polling place and cast your vote for Barack Obama. You want a change from the last eight years of Bush policies and you know it. You will not get any change with John McCain. Forget about the fact that Obama is half black. It doesn't matter. He is an American like you or me. And he really gives a hoot about the American people - ALL of us. You will get lower taxes (unless you're uber-rich), a stronger economy, a push for a clean energy infrastructure, less war, more security, sensible health care that your family can afford, rebuilt education. GO VOTE, Kansas, so people will stop wondering, "What's the matter with Kansas."
Really?
I'm rural, an Army vet, I own a rifle, I have children, I believe in God... and have a clue. Valuing education political or otherwise doesn't make you an elitist. Supporting Obama and fearing another 4 years of Bush policies means I can learn from others mistakes.
Totally Agree
No doubt, funny how quickly the anti racism groups go to vote for a Black Candidate simply because of the color of his skin.
As far as undecided, frankly its none of your business or anyone else's who I vote for, ever.
Erosion of the typical american freedoms in exchange for the safety of one's couch is what is wrong with this country. Taking money from successful people to give it to unsuccessful people simply because they are unable to succeed on their own is wrong in a country founded on the ability to succeed regardless of who you are. It certainly didnt stop Bill Gates, someone who didnt have a degree, from innovating and becoming the richest man on the planet. If he can do it, anyone can. Sure its hard, but thats the point. Nothing good, including freedom is free.
I bet you 90% of the people needing help havent even bothered to go and find out what help is already availble, like Federal School loans, grants, etc.
So, I know, lets take money from hard working, successful people and force them to just give it away to crackheads on the corner. Makes sense to me.
Typical Liberal Elitist
Spoken like a true liberal elitist... All you uneducated folk just leave the decisions to us highly educated, cosmopolitan, civilized liberals while you cling to your guns and religion.
-M
Undecideds
I'm afraid that it doesn't mean anything other than, "Huh, what?". Remember: George Bush was elected (kinda) not once, but twice. That shows the caliber of the average voter. And the fact that Palin energized the McSame campaign, while making Bush look like a Rhodes scholar further underlines the dismal state of political education... if not education in general. I think a better term for the undecideds at this point would be "clueless".
It is hard to believe anyone
It is hard to believe anyone is still undecided.
Regardless of your ideological or policy positions, hopefully everyone can agree it is time we have a president that can to a competent job of running government. Obama has run one of the best campaigns in history by surrounding himself with a great team that works well together. This pretty much proves that he has the ability to be a good president.
McCain, on the other hand, has not run an effective campaign. If he can't run a campaign, how do you expect him to be able to run the country?
More at:
http://everyoneforever.org/blogger/
Stay Home
That's right, and everyone who is voting for one (Obama) just because he is black or will bring hope(in a larger government) or change(most likely bad) should stay home as well.
undecided
I think "undecided" is code for "None of your business," not "I don't pay attention and don't know what is going on."
At least I hope so.