Voters' minds are made up -- maybe
Faced with candidates whose conflicting strengths make it hard to decide, they're waiting and pondering.
SAN FRANCISCO — Amanda Lynn, a salesclerk at the Far West Fungi mushroom shop, likes Sen. Barack Obama, but worries that the country isn't ready for an African American president.
Investment banker Nicole Smith likes the idea of a female commander-in-chief but worries that Sen. Hillary Clinton's personal style may be too harsh.
Andrew Cross, a biochemistry major at San Francisco State, likes both Democratic contenders but is waiting to talk to his politically savvy grandmother to hear her recommendation.
"I like Hillary mostly because I like Bill a lot -- two for one," Cross said. "Barack seems like a new clean slate. He's fresh. I don't know how I am going to lean."
As Tuesday's California presidential primary approaches, voters who haven't yet made up their minds are weighing the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates -- and evaluating their own ideas of what they want in a president.
For many undecided Democrats, the question is not simply which candidate they like best, but which has the best chance of winning in November.
A Times Poll last week indicated that the vast majority of California voters had made up their minds, but that a substantial number were wavering -- 27% of Clinton's supporters and 34% of Obama's.
Election officials expect a high turnout, and Democratic leaders say voters are enthusiastic about their choices.
A record number of new voters -- almost 151,000 -- registered as Democrats in the final 45 days of eligibility for Tuesday's election, party officials say.
"We have not seen this level of enthusiasm in a presidential primary in decades," said California Democratic Party Chairman Art Torres. Independent voters, who make up nearly 20% of the electorate, also can vote in the Democratic primary if they request a ballot.
The race has been hotly contested, particularly in the Bay Area, the state's most heavily Democratic region. Obama's campaign staked it out first, running television ads here ahead of Clinton. Both candidates and their biggest surrogates have visited the area repeatedly.
At the San Francisco Ferry Building, a restored landmark with restaurants, specialty shops and throngs of people, interviews with dozens of voters suggested that Obama supporters remained firm in their views while Clinton supporters were less certain.
