One more Midterm Election piece to add to the mix from the Washington Post. In elections past the media have talked about candidates chasing the elusive “soccer mom” vote” and the “Nascar Dad vote.” These fictional voting parents stand for the 30 percent or so of the electorate who are swing voters –undecided voters who are not committed to either party and often make up their mind late in the election cycle, making them critically important to determining the outcome. (See KTR, p. 611.) This article by Jeffrey Birnbaum and Chris Cilizza, (‘Mortgage Moms' May Star in Midterm Vote, 9/5/06) singles out “Mortgage Moms” – mothers who want their families to be upwardly mobile but who are trapped by higher interest rates from being about to achieve their dreams. The gist is that the economy has a role to play in the upcoming election beyond the rising price of gas.
The LA Times has a nice piece on the politics inside Congress as the election heats up and each party tries to find a winning issue. For the Republicans, who control the agenda, the isssue is one that has worked for them before: national security. (Maura Reynolds, Security is Atop GOP's Agenda, 9/5/06.)