"That kind of scares me," he said with newfound finality.
Two years of media scrutiny of the candidates would provide most voters with the tools to make a decision. But the glut only left Regina Hansley, 63, of Philo, Ohio, feeling snowed. She's been paying attention long enough to hear the candidates break promises and shift stands depending on the audience.
"It got to the point where it was too much. The back-stabbing. The phone calls. I'm tired of it," she said wearily.
Hansley is feeling the full weight of the country's problems: Her husband recently died of a terminal illness, and the medical bills are staggering. She lost her job as a respiratory therapist. Her children served in the military and she wants the troops to come home. She usually votes Democratic -- which might point her to Obama, but doesn't.
"It's not race, I'll tell you that," she offered after a long pause.
"I'm angry and I'm tired, and I just don't feel it's right that people are losing their jobs and their homes. I don't trust either one. I really truly don't know who I will vote for."
The nation's woes are also causing Amanda Taylor's uncertainty. A high school teacher and mother of small children from Dayton, Ohio, she is reminded daily of the future generations that hang in the balance. She thinks Obama has good ideas, but wonders how he will he pay for them. She grew up a loyal Republican, but finds McCain too much like Bush.
So what would it take to win her vote? "If somebody would just drop the act, drop the script, have a candid moment. If I could ever see that," said Taylor, 32, sounding dubious.
She plans to stay up Monday night, searching for that elusive piece of information that will lead to the undecided voter's Holy Grail -- certitude.
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faye.fiore@latimes.com
