I have problems with policy positions in both campaigns. Voting is all about compromise. I know that someone that directly represents my positions would never be elected president.

But particularly in this election it seems pretty clear how the candidates stack up on some of the deciding issues. It’s hard to straddle questions like US involvement in Iraq, economic policy, heathcare policy, ethics, and human and civil rights.

On this last, I am disappointed in Obama’s willingness to give AT&T and others amnesty for violating the rights of its subscribers. But on this example (and similar examples) it’s not like McCain has done better.

I frankly question whether McCain has his wits about him. It’s a sacred cow, given that demographics of voting, to suggest that someone is too old to lead, but the last thing we need is Reagan redux: someone in the White House who is no longer mentally competent, leaving power to whoever can grab it.

And if McCain were to die–not beyond consideration for a 71-year-old, the oldest candidate to run for a first-term presidency–we are left with Palin, who not only demonstrates a lack of judgment on McCain’s part, but a frightening prospect for US president. How can we elect someone to that office who believes that humans and dinosaurs lived at the same time? We’ll become a beacon of religious extremism around the world–a label we are already trying to shake off with a current president who has called out involvement in Iraq a “Crusade.”

To reiterate, this isn’t about the parties: I am an independent, and know a number of very bright Republicans as well as Democrats. As an aside, the same poll indicated that in a theoretical match-up against Clinton, the education groups would be much closer, and indeed Clinton would win among the least educated group and McCain among the most educated (though only by a few points in each case). And when Gore ran, he was more popular among the most and least educated voters, but not the middle. So, I was only making a claim about these two candidates, in this election.

This may be simply that McCain was near the bottom of his graduating class and Obama near the top of his, and so people vote for the person the perceive to be most like themselves. But I suspect–as I said above–that the major difference is that the emotional appeal is more effective among McCain supporters, who are less versed in analytical decision making.

As far as being undecided this close to the election, there really are only a couple of possibilities: you haven’t taken the time to find out the candidates’ positions, or you are unable to reach a decision based on the data you have. We are all “undecided” to some extent until we step into the polling booth. And I could certainly be more sympathetic if the candidates were more similar in their approaches. But if you really are unable to make a decision based on the data you already have been presented–and by the behavior of the candidates in the race–I stand by my earlier suggestion, there’s something deficient in your reasoning.