What these late deciders really want

To feel good (and valued)

Marc Ambinder

No one hails the undecided voter. Or the late-deciding voter. Or the foolish voter. Or the swing voter. Instead, we throw ridicule their way, we know-it-alls, we denizens of the political class who knew from Day One for whom we were going to vote, and for whom the election is mainly a television show.

We make much of political science data showing that late deciders tend to be "low information voters" who choose candidates based on personality characteristics and media narratives — emotional things — rather than rationally delving into policy papers and making the utilitarian decision.

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Marc Ambinder

Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.