CNHI News Service

A presidential race that began nearly two years ago is winding down to its last days. The independent voters whose decisions could be pivotal to the election's outcome are finally choosing up sides.

Three-dozen swing voters had not yet made up their minds when contacted at the beginning of October, as part of a joint project among CNHI newsrooms in eight closely contested states. Today more than a third say they favor Republican John McCain or Democrat Barack Obama.

Nine in the group have said they will vote for, or are leaning toward, Obama. Four support McCain. One plans to vote for independent candidate Ralph Nader. Others remain undecided or have not responded to questions posed this week.

"McCain clearly has the experience to handle the job with little on-the-job training," said Paul Davis, a retiree living in Webb City, Mo. "Obama, should he be elected, will simply do what he is told by his advisers."

Davis, a social conservative who tends to vote Republican, was considering voting for McCain when first contacted a couple of weeks ago. He was more definitive after tuning in to Wednesday night's debate, the third and last before the Nov. 4 election.

"I felt like McCain was speaking to me at my level," Davis said, "whereas Obama seemed to have a condescending attitude and felt put out by having to explain things in greater detail than he has in the past."

Davis said he would still prefer someone more conservative than McCain.

Tom Barna, a retired Marine Corps officer in Mankato, Minn., said this week's debate was little more than the usual sparring between a Democrat and Republican. He has little hope for the future, he said, should the parties split control of Congress and the White House.

"I just can't imagine an effective government," Barna said. "And though I have some issue with stands taken by Obama, i.e. pro-choice, for the sake of the country it may be necessary to select a Democratic president to work with a Democratic Congress.

"Our country is in dire straits," he said, "and we're going to need solutions, not cat fights."

The voters were initially contacted as part of a survey focusing on states where polls at the beginning of the month indicated a close race: Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire. Reporters and editors followed up with the voters - by telephone and e-mail - after each of the last two debates.

Many voters who have said they are leaning toward one candidate or another are not quite enthusiastic in their support.

Harold Hjelmeland, a retiree living in Kokomo, Ind., says he worries about the United States becoming a "socialist country" if Obama is elected. "Government can't do everything for us," he said.

While he favors McCain, Hjelmeland said he is still somewhat on the fence. He is upset with both candidates, he said, for being too focused on scoring political points and less interested in engaging in a real discussion.

"I want them to be straightforward and tell us where the country is today and where it needs to be," he said. "This is not a government or a Wall Street problem. It is our problem."

Deborah Anderson, 39, of Blue Earth, Minn., said she is leaning "a little bit" toward Obama.

Anderson, a human resources information systems manager, said she has focused on each candidate's character, more so than their stands on particular issues .

"I want to vote for somebody that I trust, whether I agree with them or not," she said. After watching this week's debate, she said she felt better about Obama than McCain.

Plenty more voters, like Kathleen Caldon, a retired Army nurse from Upper Yoder Township in Western Pennsylvania, are still making up their minds.

Caldon, 80, is concerned about her children's and grandchildren's futures. She also wonders how either candidate would pay for their proposals.

"They talked about education and health care, and I'm wondering. where in the world is the money going to come from?" she said after this week's debate. "I feel sorry for the young people who are going to be burdened by all this."

Bruce Baker, who lives in nearby Jackson Township, Pa., and owns a flooring business, said the candidates didn't talk much this week about the things that matter to him.

He is concerned about how much he will spend on oil to heat his home, and what will happen when more people are out of work and his business slows as a result.

"They're both idealist," he said of McCain and Obama. "I don't think either of them came across as having a clear path."

Reporting by staffs of The Tribune Democrat of Johnstown, Pa.; The Joplin, Mo., Globe; The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass.; Traverse City, Mich., Record-Eagle; Mankato, Minn., Free Press; Kokomo, Ind., Tribune; The Star Beacon of Ashtabula, Ohio; Ottumwa, Iowa, Courier; and the Oskaloosa, Iowa, Herald.