According to most polls, ten States still have enough undecided voters that will sway their electoral votes one way or another.
With that in mind, I want to offer three simple tips on how to persuade those 'six in a hundred' voters who have somehow yet to make their mind up.
#1: Do Not Insult The Other Candidates
No matter how difficult this may be, do not refer to the candidates you oppose as morons, clowns, Neanderthals, terrorists, Muslims, radicals, etc. Remember that it is only within the context of their running for the most important jobs in the world that creates that impression. Just because one is woefully ill-prepared to do a job requiring knowledge of federal and constitutional law, foreign affairs and global economics does not mean they may not be perfectly equipped to be, say, the chief executive of a state or a senator. Well, maybe not a senator.
#2: Just Like With Any Sales Effort, Answer The Voter's Core Objections
Don't get put off just because an undecided voter has strong opinions on hot-button issues. If that issue were all they cared about, they would already made their decision. I know a number of pro-choice, pro gun control McCain voters; some have family oil interests, almost all are rich and believe McCain is best for their personal economies.
Find out your unsure voter's real fears, their worries about both campaign teams. If you want the voter to vote Obama, remind them of the last eight years. Ask if they were fans of their personal freedoms being compromised, a Supreme Court that unswervingly voted for big business and big insurance over the individual, a diametric change from the Court's ruling from previous decades. Ask if they want America to shine again in the world's eye, so you can explain how virtually every world leader has voiced support for your candidate. Ask if they want a president in charge of a troubled economy who admits his understanding of the issues is limited. At a minimum ask if they want someone less polarizing than Bush has been; do they think that an administration with Sarah Palin has the potential of bringing the country together?
Conversely, if you want to sway voters toward McCain, ask Mr. or Ms. Undecided if they'd want to have a radical leftist or Islamic terrorist as President? You can explain that you yourself don't believe that, but with all the talk out there, they must consider that possibility. After all, where there's smoke there's fire, right?
#3: Have Your Details In Order
By now, even those still undecided have some idea of the candidate's take on the issues that concern them. You must be able to provide specifics. For instance, if the voter is concerned about our national security and you support McCain, it's not good enough just to use his tagline, "I know how to win wars," you must be able to rattle off all the military battles the Senator has personally won.
Alternatively, if you are an Obama supporter and the question is about taxes, you must explain that the biggest fallacy in American political history is how Democrats raise taxes and the Republicans lower them. First, however silly this might seem, explain why we have taxes. How like any business the only way for the Government to function is with money, and the moneys the Government gets is almost exclusively garnered through taxes. Without tax moneys, we'd have no roads, bridges or tunnels, no public schools, no parks or public recreation areas, no cops, district attorneys or judges; in other words, anarchy.
So both parties will tax, and will tax enough to survive and little more. The real question is who is going to pay that tax. And amazingly, in what must be considered perhaps the greatest marketing scam of all time, the Republican party has convinced tens of millions, perhaps over a hundred million people with lower and middle class incomes, that despite the clear facts proving otherwise, it's the Democrats who will raise taxes on 'the people.'
There you have it. And don't forget to tell them that no matter what they decide; the important thing is that however they decide, the important thing for them to do is vote. Okay, okay, only say that if you support Obama; from all the polls too many of those undecideds are falling his way for a McCain supporter to trust anyone who doesn't agree to show their Republican gang colors up front.