Many voters here in St. Charles County, Missouri, tell NBC/NJ that they chose their presidential candidate within the past two weeks, and a few even say that they didn't know their pick for sure until the ballot was in their hand.
Yup. That was me. I had three choices. Thompson, because that's who I really wanted to vote for. Romney, because I don't want McCain, and ... believe it or not, Ron Paul. I basically agree with Paul on most things outside of the pulling out of Iraq immediately bit. But that ended up being too big a "bit" in the end.
The reason for the last-minute choice? For Republicans, it might be dissatisfaction with the current field. One woman said that this election has been "frustrating" because no GOP candidate has emerged - to her – as an unambiguous conservative. Another St. Louis area business owner said that she's disappointed with the ascendancy of John McCain, who she says is "not truly representative" of Republican values. And one young student still wasn't sure that his vote for a Republican who "isn't a frontrunner" would make a difference.
Might be dissatisfaction with the current field? I ended up pulling the lever for Romney as my most effective "not McCain" choice. Note that this election for conservatives, at least, seems to be about issues. Now check this:
On the Democratic side, precisely the opposite may be the case. One young voter said that she's so excited by the prospect of EITHER an African-American or a female president that she couldn't make up her mind until she walked in the door here. (She declined to say which of the two Democratic rivals got her vote.)
So on that side of the fence, it's about kudos for affirmative action voting, not about issues. It's about race and gender. Note that she didn't say who she voted for. 'Cause if she voted for Hillary she's racist. And if she voted for Obama she's buyin' in to the Patriarchy. Better to just cheer both on and let people wonder. That way you can claim your moral stamp of approval in either crowd.
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