For the past nine months, we’ve been listening to voters in the town of Exeter, New Hampshire. It is a town with families, both of great wealth and of very modest means. Politically, it is about evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Today, in our final installment before the Tuesday’s primaries, New Hampshire Public Radio’s Jon Greenberg re-visits some of the undecided voters we’ve met along the way.
TAPE: Welcome to NH, site of the first in the nation primary // fade down
Back in June, we sat down with a small group of Democrats and watched a debate among the Democratic candidates. By the end of that evening, Karen Prior, a part-time worker at a publishing company, had a new interest in John Edwards. But now, Karen has been won over by Barack Obama’s optimistic message. Still, Karen says her commitment to Obama implies no criticism of Edwards or Hillary Clinton.
TAPE: You know, on a one to ten, they might be tens but I see Barack Obama as a 12, a 15. He just embodies something. A dream. A hope. A desire to really do it right.
Another debate watcher that June evening was Eric Lipsitt, a 41-year-old salesman of business software. John Edwards had also made a good impression on Eric but it took seeing Edwards in person at Exeter’s Town Hall before Eric could finally make up his mind. Tough talk on immigration from Edwards helped lock in his support. Edwards said illegal aliens could stay in the US if they learned to speak English and paid a fine for breaking the law. Eric says Edwards struck the right balance.
TAPE: Let’s think about it practically, how can we deal with it, but at the same time, let’s admit that these people came illegally.
Early on, we met Holly and Philip Tisdall, a Republican couple with a very personal stake in the Iraq War. Iraq is the main reason Holly is likely to vote for McCain.
TAPE: He has children in the military, as do I, so that is a big consideration for me. It’s my children’s lives and the military – that has to be the most important thing for me. And I totally trust McCain on that.
Her husband Philip has settled firmly on Rudy Giuliani. Philip is equally comfortable with Giuliani, Romney and McCain, but in his view, Giuliani makes the best case for conservative policies.
TAPE: It's very hard to sound bite against people who are for the poor. who want to give others rights. and when I saw Giuliani, who can explain who we are in the most fluid and natural way. and given that I like all three, I'm going to take the guy who can tell America who we are.
There was a time when Giuliani was also the first choice for Bob Kelly, a dirt farmer.
Now, Bob thinks Giuliani can’t see beyond the threat of terrorism and talks of spending billions more overseas when Bob wants Washington to focus on issues closer to home. He might vote for John McCain, but his passion lies with a very different candidate.
TAPE: My dark horse is Ron Paul who says all the things I really believe. And it's just a question
of getting my arms around, is he just a fringe guy who has the luxury of saying those things or does he really have a shot.
During the summer, we also checked in with independents who had handed McCain his huge victory back in the 2000 primary. One was Gerry Hamel, a home improvement contractor. Gerry has long soured on McCain. He might vote for Mike Huckabee, the winner of the Iowa Republican caucuses.
TAPE: He’s got a good feel about him. He’s a nice guy, an honest guy, and he seems like the type of guy, you could talk to him without feeling that he's a lot better than I am.
Fear of Mike Huckabee could be enough for another independent, Lee Williams, to decide to vote in the Republican primary. Right now, Lee is considering two democrats – Clinton and Obama. But she feels that religion plays much too big a role in the policies of both Huckabee and Romney. To block them, she might vote for McCain.
TAPE: We really help decide who becomes president. And if Hillary Clinton really bowled me over or if on Sunday Barack Obama bowled me over, is that enough to outweigh the honest threat that I feel for this country if either Huckabee or Romney become president.
Lee might not see McCain as her first choice, but if her calculations told her to vote strategically, she would. After all, that’s what makes her an independent voter.
For NPR News, I’m Jon Greenberg in Concord, NH.
