How voters reacted,
Pivotal state’s voters look for substance
RICHMOND, VA . Melissa Schofield and Ginna Irby come from very different political perspectives.
But as they sat down together Wednesday night to watch the first presidential debate as part of a voter panel assembled by USA TODAY here in the capital of this crucial swing state, they both agreed that they were looking for the same thing from the two candidates: substance.
While the pundits were counting zingers and Washington insiders speculated whether Mitt Romney needed a decisive victory over President Obama, both women — one conservative and one liberal — and their fellow panelists who gathered here on the Union Presbyterian Seminary campus said they’ve been disappointed by the negativity of the two campaigns thus far.
Neither walked away particularly satisfied.
“I’m seeing vision, but it is not the visions with humanity that I want to see,” said Irby, who plans to vote for Obama, as the two candidates offered their economic visions at the start of the debate.
“If I were an undecided, I’d be confused and discouraged.”
Before the debate, Schofield, 33, who expected to vote for Romney, said she wanted to hear both candidates talk about how they are going to work at joining a politically bifurcated nation once the election passed. She hoped to hear what the two candidates thought they could realistically accomplish in their next four years.
“They didn’t address it any major way that made me say, ‘Oh you’ve got it!’ Schofield said afterward.
The path back to the White House would be much easier for Obama with a repeat victory in Virginia. In 2008, he won the state and became the first Democratic presidential nominee to pull off the feat since Lyndon John- son. For Romney, who appears to have fewer routes to victory than Obama at this point in the race, Virginia is a much-needed state.
Polls show the race could be a tighter battle here than it was four years ago, and Obama may have a hard time winning over some of the Virginians who voted for him in 2008.
Take Nhat Pham, 41, a Web developer and social media consultant. Pham said he was lured in 2008 by Obama’s message of change and his charisma. But more recently, Pham, a small business owner, was turned off when Obama said “You didn’t build that” at a rally in Roanoke. As Romney spoke of his plan to repeal Obama’s plan, Pham nodded in agreement.
“I’m all for a voucher plan,” Pham said. “You need competition. I have to bust my ( butt) to be competitive.”
But as Obama made his case that his administration has made huge strides in helping small businesses and reviving an economy that was at the precipice of collapse when he came into office, Jonathan Wood, 31, a financial adviser, said he had a hard time buying it.
“I started a business two years ago that I’ve nearly had to shut down because I can’t hire anybody,” Wood said. “I’m not convinced either one of them won’t stop spending.”
Pham, who opposes Obama’s signature health care reform bill, said he backs Romney’s call for repealing the health care law, but he said the former Massachusetts governor needs to explain what he’s going to replace it with. “What’s the plan?” asked Pham, who said he will likely vote for Romney. “There’s going to be uproar if there isn’t a real plan to take its place.”
Bill Francavilla, 32, a teacher at a Christian school and small-business owner, lamented that Obama has been “the most pro-choice president,” which he disagrees with.
Ultimately, Francavilla said, he’s voting on the economy. He and his wife have been laid off in recent years, and he is concerned about the future.
As he sat down for the first debate, Francavilla said he was hardly impressed with Romney but still planned to vote for him. As both Obama and Romney spoke of their economic vision at the start of the debate, Francavilla was dismissive of both of them.
“I don’t necessarily agree with either of them because they are spending their way out of it,” he said.
Lisa Salita, 47, who plans to vote for Obama, agrees that the economic recovery has been too slow, but she places much of the blame on a GOPled House that she said has obstructed the president, while at the same time she places blame on Obama for a lack of “clarity in action and clarity in speaking.”
As the debate wound down, Salita said she felt underwhelmed by both candidates. “I don’t know if there’s a clear winner, but I feel like I see who the clear loser is, and it’s us,” Salita said. “I’m hearing talking points and well-coached lines.”
Peter McElhinney, who is leaning toward voting for Obama as he did in 2008, said he’s been disappointed that Romney has focused too much on blowing up Obama’s missteps.
“Everything he is saying is platitudes, he’s not backing up what he’s saying with facts,” McElhinney said. “He didn’t give any specifics about how he can give a 20% reduction that’s negative neutral.”