Who are the undecideds in the 2004 vote?
There are only about 2.6 million of them, but they could hold the future of the nation in their hands. They are the undecideds, voters who haven't firmly made up their minds between George W. Bush and John Kerry. If this year's election is as close as expected, they are likely to decide it. They are still open to either man, a penetrating new survey shows, but they have two main complaints: They don't like President Bush's war in Iraq, and they simply don't like Senator Kerry. Said Kurt Trachte, 47, a construction worker from St. Charles, Mo.: "I massively want Bush to lose, but I don't like Kerry."
Yet nearly 9 out of 10 say they're certain to vote - although most plan to wait until the final days, if not hours, to decide. In perhaps a bad omen for Bush, more of the undecideds voted for him in 2000 than for Democrat Al Gore, indicating that Bush hasn't persuaded them to stay with him after four years in office. Some 58.7 percent voted for Bush in 2000, while 24.7 percent voted for Al Gore. |