Where do they stand on the issues?

In Florida a black woman said: "I admit it. I'm voting my race. I'm also a Democrat but I voted for Bush last time. I won't make that mistake again. Many of these white folks are voting their race, too. They may not admit it. I also admit that I wish I knew more about where Obama plans to take us. That hasn't been clear to me. He ran a better campaign and made me proud, all the young people and such."

Said one white man in Florida: "We still don't know enough about Obama. I'm usually a Republican but I'll vote for Obama and hope he can do it. His people skills are impressive."

An act of faith?

A black man said: "Obama is an act of faith. I hope this stuff doesn't come back to haunt us later when he's president." A white woman said: "He's an unfinished picture. But I'm a Democrat."

The campaigns touched the voters

Can we draw some general conclusion? Yes, but because of the lack of conviction of many voters, all conclusions must be tentative.

Obama supporters seem to be unconvinced but hopeful. McCain supporters were thrown off by the reaction to Sarah Palin and McCain's reaction to the financial meltdown. They are trying to rationalize McCain's erratic behavior and inconsistencies. Uncommitted voters are trying to reach a decision, still searching for anything that will convince them one way or the other. They are most susceptible to negative information about a candidate.

Voting for uncertainty

As one man in Nevada said, "First the trouble was the bad news about McCain. Now all this about Obama's friends and I still feel that he has not come clean with us on where he stands."

In some elections, voters seem to believe that they have two good choices. In other elections, voters seem to suggest that they must vote for the "lesser of two evils." In this election voters seem to have a choice between two candidates who raise valid questions about how they will perform as president. As a man in Pennsylvania said: "We're all voting for uncertainty. None of us are comfortable with that. We're flying a little bit blind."

Whose fault is that? The early voters have an answer: The media. The big losers in this campaign are the media. Over and over again, Radnor got the message that the media favored Obama (even from Obama supporters) and did not probe deeply into possibly unfavorable or unsavory aspects of Obama's connections to his church, domestic terrorists, etc. People concluded that McCain's management skills were lacking but at least Obama demonstrated that he could run a good campaign.

So in the end, some voters made a decision not on issues or leadership but on how well the candidates managed their campaigns. Obama had a clear lead there.

He also leads in another area: 42% of the early voters expect that, if elected, Obama may disappoint them in office, mostly because of his past or inexperience. Only 13% think McCain might disappoint. As one woman (an Obama voter) said, "We know McCain's downside. We'll learn about Obama's." That is hardly a strong endorsement.

If this election were a meal, many voters would be leaving the table hungry - and worried that the cook would serve up some inedible meals in the future.

Radnor