In today's Wall Street Journal Blog polling expert Peter Brown tells us the story of a couple who explain how McCain might pick up the votes of the undecided
Verne and Lois Spence neatly explain why Sen. John McCain trails in his race for the White House, and how he could win the Oval Office when it gets to November.
The couple isn’t sure whom they will vote for in November, but in the past they have generally backed Republicans for president.
They are concerned about the economy, which gives Sen. Barack Obama a chance for their votes. Yet they are skeptical about Democrats on national security in general and Sen. Obama in particular.
Verne, a 60-year-old retired Volusia County deputy sheriff, and Lois, 63, a property manager, typify the millions of Americans who will decide the November election. They are not overly political and are only now beginning to focus on the election.
They are blue-collar in mindset and lifestyle, if not in current occupation — their annual vacation is a three-week motorcycle trip around America.
Their mixed feelings about the presidential race — and especially who will best keep America safe — mirror the uncertainty that a series of Quinnipiac University polls nationally, and in key battleground states, found in the electorate. These voters, who make up about one-fifth of the electorate, think the Iraq war was a mistake for the U.S. — which is a cornerstone of Sen. Obama’s campaign — yet they are more comfortable with the proposed solution suggested by Sen. McCain.
