Many voters wondering if they matter
SWAMPED AND saturated. That is what some Americans are feeling about the election campaign. Voters in the nine states that are considered crucial have been inundated with additional advertising and candidate visits.
The citizens of Ohio definitely know they matter. The seriously scientific FiveThirtyEight Blog of the New York Times shows Ohio as having a 41 per cent chance of being the state that will provide the decisive electoral college votes (18 of approximately 70 college votes that are still too close to call). It is unsurprising, then, that Ohio has been subject to the most campaign visits since June (84), including 34 in the last month alone. Other key states, like Florida and Virginia, face a similar bombardment. Meanwhile, many voters in the 41 states that are either solidly Democrat (17) or Republican (24) are left wondering if they matter in this election.
And yet 65.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the second presidential debate on Wednesday. Paradoxically, perhaps this, too, is unsurprising. Over the past two weeks the media has been relentless in its dissection of Romney’s trouncing of Obama in the first debate. The vicepresidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan last week helped the Democrats regain some confidence, but it also ensured the second presidential debate was keenly awaited. All eyes were on Obama – could he re-energise his supporters and remind likely voters of his presidential prowess?
In the end, it was a torrid affair – chairs were provided but the two men spent a lot of time circling each other, finger-pointing and arguing. This type of behaviour, and the rhetorical opponentbashing that accompanied it, was viewed negatively by undecided voters, according to CNN’s worm that monitored a group of undecided voters. The media consensus (Fox News excluded), was a modest win for Obama. He provoked a couple of Romney gaffes, on women’s issues and Libya, but the race remains still too close to call.
So who cares about the debates? Passionate partisans do – but they already know whom they will vote for. Only around one per cent of likely voters are still undecided and, apart from the few chosen by CNN to create the worm, it is not clear what percentage actually watched the debate. But two intertwined groups need the debates – the pollsters and the media. For without these spectacles there would be very little daily campaign news to report. And the minuscule movement in the polls would be laid bare for all to see.
However, if it all got to be a little overwhelming, at least voters could tune into a satirical segue provided in fine form by Fox News political pundit Bill O’Reilly and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show host Jon Stewart. The refreshing result of that debate was a draw. There is one more presidential debate to come – on foreign policy – but that is unlikely to sway undecided voters. Roll on November 6.