The Senior Citizen 'Gimme' Vote.
Posted on 10/14/2004 3:31:10 AM PDT by foolscap
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- For weeks now, industrial designer Brian Sturkie has been reading The Wall Street Journal each morning and catching the political talk shows on PBS at night, trying to make up his mind between President Bush and Sen. John Kerry.
His goal as he watched the candidates go head-to-head Wednesday night: "I wanted to come away from this debate with a sense of who I was going to vote for."
No such luck. For Sturkie and many other swayable voters who spoke to Associated Press reporters around the country, the final presidential debate was less than definitive.
Sturkie, 36, went into the evening just slightly favoring Bush. He came out more impressed by Kerry - but will it stick? It's hard for him to say.
Kerry "definitely swayed in the other direction," said Sturkie, who's closer to the Democratic senator on most domestic policies than the Republican president. "I get the sense now that it's time to make a change."
Yet as the father of two small children, he can't let go of nagging fears about the security of the country, and a feeling that it might be dangerous to change presidents at what he calls a "turning point in the nation's history."
"I have struggled with this election more than any other," he said.
In Fort Collins, Colo., 29-year-old Jeff Alexander felt frustrated and disappointed that the evening failed to clear up his indecision.
"This is the last time they have a chance to say what they stand for, and they seem to be pointing out what the other guy stands for" and saying it's wrong, said Alexander, a software engineer and unaffiliated voter. He supported Al Gore in 2000.
"Maybe I just need to hear somebody to say, `Look, we don't know what we're going to do,'" Alexander said.
Nearly 1,500 miles away, in Syracuse, N.Y., 84-year-old Connie Narduzzo had many of the same feelings of frustration. Too many numbers and too much negativity left her still undecided.
"I think they even confuse themselves with all the numbers they throw out. I know I couldn't keep them straight," Narduzzo said as she tuned in with four friends in the library room at the Bernardine Senior Apartments.
A registered Republican, Narduzzo said she "wanted to hear more specifics, especially about health care and prescription drugs."
Dennis Nelson, a 52-year-old Vietnam veteran and commander of an American Legion post in Tampa, Fla., watched the debate with two other veterans at the Legion hall, while a handful of others were glued to a baseball playoff game on another TV.
A former chemist now on disability, Nelson is a registered Republican but said he has started to lean toward Kerry because of the Democratic candidate's domestic agenda, especially his ideas for more affordable health care and prescription drugs.
"This debate was more even," said Nelson, adding he's still undecided. "I didn't see either candidate getting a secure advantage."
It didn't seem that way to Charmaine Zimmerer, who served 20 years in the Air Force and also picked the debate over baseball. She supports Bush and didn't hear anything in the debate to change her mind.
"Kerry didn't answer the questions, he attacks," said Zimmerer. "Bush tries to answer the questions."
A common complaint among voters who watched this debate: We've already heard this message.
"It's a lot of talk about statistics and a lot of things that were gone over before," said Ralph Nader supporter Kelly Stewart, one of about 100 Drexel University students who watched the debate together at the Philadelphia school.
"I think Kerry spoke better," said Bryan Franch, a biomedical science major at Marquette University in Milwaukee, who stole an occasional glance at his math text book as he watched the candidates in action. "But I still support Bush. ... I didn't really hear anything new."
They're undecideds. They can't see jack anyway.
What are these numbnuts looking for?
They'll be undecided about whether to vote on Election Day.
Figures. The "undecideds" want someone who is as undecided as they are.
(Just what this country needs, indecision in the face of brutal terrorism.)
Then let them eat **** and die.
Undecideds...phooey!
They're people without convictions or they're deluded!
Usually their rhetoric gives them away. For instance, they'll say they like what Kerry says about health care...well they may not know it, but in my book, if their for big government health benefits, then they're a Dem.
My fear is that these flip-flopping voters will, in the end, sympathize with the flip-flopping candidate. They have so much in common.
He is too stupid to vote.
I hope he stays home.
That's all right. If they're so lazy/apathetic/stupid, I doubt they'll make it to the ballot box anyway. I'm sure they'll find something much better to do. All day long.
If, and I say *if* there are any undecideds, they are morons and don't deserve to vote.
If they don't know by now, then they are blind, deaf, and unable to make decisions.
If these are examples of the great pool of undecideds, they are showing themselves to be simply a pool of brain dead morons who should not be allowed anywhere near a voting booth.
---"Yet as the father of two small children, he can't let go of nagging fears about the security of the country, and a feeling that it might be dangerous to change presidents at what he calls a "turning point in the nation's history."---
This is what I believe will be the edge that puts President Bush safely ahead. When people are actually confronted with making a choice, security will be the most important factor. On that, President Bush wins hands down.
The Senior Citizen 'Gimme' Vote.
Kerry must have this guy bewildered. An obvious life long Democrat he can't square the Kerry rhetoric that is complete antithesis with every vote he has on record.
"This is the last time they have a chance to say what they stand for, and they seem to be pointing out what the other guy stands for" and saying it's wrong, said Alexander, a software engineer and unaffiliated voter. He supported Al Gore in 2000.
Wow!...I'm shocked, SHOCKED to find there's gambling going on at Rick's.
A registered Republican, Narduzzo said she "wanted to hear more specifics, especially about health care and prescription drugs."
I simply haven't yet heard enough about government give-aways to make up my mind. Earth to Narduzzo: Look at the record. Domestically, Bush is a liberal, but a rank amateur in government give aways compared to Kerry. Kerry's your guy. If you need a 90 minute infomercial rather than a look at the record to tell you this, you are already brain dead. Can you find your way to your polling place?
They're looking for the candidate who will be their daddy...or their baby's daddy. Someone who will promise that they can have free healthcare and never be forced to pay taxes. Someone who will exempt them from ever having to pay the price of citizenship. They are the great unwashed.
Somebody please slap the sh*t out of these people already.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.