No Swing Vote

[FHwku]

there's no such thing as the "swing vote." if these people haven't formed an opinion by now, then they are probably the same folks that haven't voted before ( due to "i don't wanna choose the lesser of two evils", apathy, or ignorance.)

the two major party candidates are pretty much the opposite of each other. so one would think it'd be easier. but i can see that if you don't have a stance on any issue it'd be harder to choose.

you could run down the list of planks in the party platforms and decide. it isn't difficult. it's like they haven't given it any consideration for that past year.

florida didn't make or break the election. it wasn't Ralph Nader who robbed Al Gorebot of the votes. that's like blaming last years Cubs' post-season loss on Steve Bartman's stupid catch.

[DeltAlum]

I think your evaluation is incorrect -- and maybe a little harsh.

Not all people think in black and white. For some of us there are shades of gray -- and a lot are stuck in the middle of two ideolgies. In other words, there are a lot of people who don't buy either a conservative or liberal position, but would rather be more moderate or centerist.

Painting those as apathetic or ignorant is wrong. It took a long time for me to lean to one side during this campaign, and I've voted in every election since 1968.

Those are the people who may be having trouble making up their minds because they may agree with parts of both platforms, and they are probably the only ones who may be swayed by the current debates and other issues during these last few weeks of the campaign.

If there are no swing votes or swing states then everyone has already made up his or her mind and both parties are throwing away a heck of a lot of money.

[IowaStatePhiPsi]

actually Florida did 'make or break the election'-
the way everyone had a different way of counting hanging-chads led to several attempts to recount that would have led to different results and with the placement of the electoral votes goes the presidency.
512 votes difference and thousands thrown out that could have changed those results...

(Of course the average difference between Gore and Bush in Iowa was 2 votes per precinct, so it could be said Iowa, along with New Mexico and other states that were close also made or broke the election.)