Politics: The Undecided Voter Revealed

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Politics The Undecided Voter Revealed We asked America's undecided voters to explain themselves. They gave us an earful. By John Dickerson Posted Wednesday, Oct 31, 2012, at 10:29 PM ET Mitt Romney may have hacked my email. A week ago, I asked undecided voters to write me at slatepolitics@gmail.com to explain themselves and their situation. I got about 200 thoughtful responses. (I welcome more, though supplies are going fast.) The message to Romney was clear: run as a malleable moderate from Massachusetts who isn't passionate about implementing a conservative social agenda, will promote a foreign policy that is not too different from President Obama's, and keep your distance from the Republican Congress. As the campaign comes to an end, Romney has fully embraced those first two pieces of advice, and by never really campaigning with GOP congressional leaders and recasting Paul Ryan, is doing a version of the third.  For these undecided voters, this election is a referendum on Romney. They've mostly already made up their mind about the incumbent. They don't dislike President Obama, but they think he is either incapable of improving the economy or locked into a do-nothing phase with Congress. "I voted for Obama in 2008, much to the surprise of my family and some of my friends, but certainly not all. I was enthusiastic about his election, but 4 years later feel he has not lived up to the 'hope and change' he professed, and [he] has not been successful in working with Republicans to get things done," writes Linda from Ohio. "I don't hold him responsible for the current state of the economy. I know it's ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Exoneration of Drayton Witt Romney Answers the FEMA Question. Kind Of. Why the Supreme Court Isn't a Dog's Best Friend	Advertisement
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