Her parents are strongly religious and Republican. Naturally, that's her default position too. She's "fresh off the boat", just got her citizenship, and this is her first time voting. She's worked for years at inner-city schools and AmeriCorps, but considers herself a fundamentalst Christian, pro-life, and evangelical.
If any pollster had asked, though, she definitely would have said "undecided" — even if pushed, or maybe even leaning towards McCain. (Nobody asks here in Washington state.) She doesn't make knee-jerk decisions, and never having payed attention to politics before (not being able to vote'll do that to ya), she didn't want to take it lightly.
So how did she come to make up her mind?
Spent weeks discussing — she sat down and made an effort to understand all the issues, reading sites like factcheck.org and ontheissues.org. I made my own case, and I have many gay friends who feel strongly too. So she starts questioning her default position, starts leaning to the left.
Last week, after all that, she says, "You know, I think I'm still voting for McCain. He seems like the safer choice.". Semi-flabbergasted, I say, "I can respect that, as long as you can back it up on the issues." She says, "I just don't think Obama is qualified." I resign. (Still love her ☺; contrast to this oversensitive girl.)
Then today, she says, "You know, I've been thinking a lot about it, and I just can't get excited about voting for McCain. I think I said I'd vote for him because that's what my parents would want. But I have to go with my gut on this, and if my gut is wrong, well then I'll deal with the consequences." (Noting how Bush-voters are blamed for the past 8 years, especially the 2nd time, sheesh!)
My point?
The notion that all undecideds are moving towards McCain is bunk. Yes, this is just one anecdote; yes we already knew that. But I get the feeling that people know what's right, even when they can't admit it. Even long-standing republicans. (Reverse Bradley effect, anyone?)
That's the nature of conservatism, isn't it? It takes a lot to change minds. Go with what's safe.
What's "safe" has changed, in the mind of this one religious, pro-life, evangelical daughter-of-republicans. The wave is coming.