Talking to the voters

By J. Patrick Coolican

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008 | 9:29 a.m.

(The Sun has gone on the road to listen to voters and talk to political leaders around the West. Reporters will examine the economic, cultural and demographic forces re-shaping the region as they drive to Denver for the first of the two major party conventions the Sun will cover.)

ALBUQUERQUE -- Good morning everybody. Posting was a little irregular yesterday, with an a.m. post and then three in the late afternoon. Check them out if you missed them yesterday.

It's voter day, as the Team WTW (that's Winning the West) interviews residents of Albuquerque and its suburbs.

Some early highlights:

Cynthia Brochard is out to scare the daylights out of the campaign of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. She's a Democrat and was a Clinton supporter, but is leaning toward McCain. (And though she said she's leaning, I think her mind is made up.) She was trying to describe why she doesn't like Obama. I said, "He makes you uneasy?"

Her reply: "Yes!"

She's an Army veteran and said McCain's military experience is important. She said she wants us out of Iraq, but said Obama doesn't have the "oomph" to deal with the situation in Iraq.

Col. Robert Haney, a 76-year-old Air Force veteran, knew Sen. John McCain back in the day. Not a fan. Though a conservative Republican, he's considering voting for Obama. He was against the Iraq War from the get-go. He'll decide when he sees the two men on the stage in the coming debates, he said. A true undecided in my mind, because Obama needs to close the deal. If he doesn't, Haney bites his tongue and votes McCain.

Quick "Glengarry Glen Ross" reference: Always be closing!

Generally, the war has slipped as the key issue. People are unanimous, so far: Get out ASAP. Also, as usual, voters have a peculiar way of making decisions. They sometimes go for the candidate who favors the opposite of the policies they want. Emotion and a sense of the candidate as a person are a big factor.

More later.