Published in Pop + Politics dot com, October 18, 2004

Undecided! How the hell can you be undecided? It’s amazing to me that there is still a large group of people that cannot make up their mind about which presidential candidate they plan to vote for.
What are you looking for? One of the candidates to give you a cookie? By now, Kerry and Bush have distinguished themselves from each other so well even the television networks are saying it (and that is no easy feat). Kerry and Bush are so different, in the last presidential debate the papers (the New York Times at least) actually focused on the substance of the candidates' message rather than the color of their tie. If you read articles in The New Yorker, the New York Times, the Economist, any number of publications, heck even if you watch Fox News you should have a reasonable idea of where the candidate's stand.

It’s ironic that some undecideds cannot be sure about Kerry because he’s a flip flopper. If you are undecided you should definitely vote for Kerry in order to justify your own “on the fence” position.

Undecided! How the hell can you be undecided? It’s amazing to me that there is still a large group of people that cannot make up their mind about which presidential candidate they plan to vote for.
What are you looking for? One of the candidates to give you a cookie? By now, Kerry and Bush have distinguished themselves from each other so well even the television networks are saying it (and that is no easy feat). Kerry and Bush are so different, in the last presidential debate the papers (the New York Times at least) actually focused on the substance of the candidates' message rather than the color of their tie. If you read articles in The New Yorker, the New York Times, the Economist, any number of publications, heck even if you watch Fox News you should have a reasonable idea of where the candidate's stand.

It’s ironic that some undecideds cannot be sure about Kerry because he’s a flip flopper. If you are undecided you should definitely vote for Kerry in order to justify your own “on the fence” position.

So for all the undecided voters out there here is a crib notes version of where the candidates stand on the major policy issues and maybe this will help you pick a side. Also want to know what your undecided peers look like, then check this out. Reviewing those New York Times statistics, you being undecided is only that more confusing. You obviously don't think the economy is going in the right direction, you don't approve of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq and you didn't even benefit from Bush's tax cuts. It sure seems like you've made a choice.

The undecided voter seems to have it all during presidential elections -- especially this one. Being “profiled” on the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has to be pretty awesome, as does asking questions to the candidates whose fate you hold in your hand. I couldn’t even be considered for the town hall debate, since I've already made up my mind. I so wanted to ask President Bush, “Which state is between New Mexico and Louisiana?” I definitely would have asked Kerry, “Are you going as Lurch from the Addams Family for Halloween?”

I think in the future, rather than criticizing the undecideds I might join their ranks. The perks are definitely better than what I am getting for making up my mind. I may even get that cookie.