Voters Express Concern Over Iraq, Terror Ahead of Casting Ballots

JIM LEHRER:

Gwen Ifill moves the story beyond the numbers now to hear what some voters have to say in their own words.

GWEN IFILL:

Every candidate and every polltaker has seen it this year: a critical midterm test that could well be decided by voter intensity. The intensity of Republicans who support the president and the congressional majority…

BOB ARRIX, Connecticut Resident:

You cannot fall victim to the cut-and-run philosophy that is beginning to permeate the left wing of the Democratic Party.

GWEN IFILL:

… and the intensity of those who do not.

CHERYL SIMMONS, Missouri Citizen:

It's time for a change, time for a new one. Let's see some stuff happening. Quit talking about what we're going to do, and let's actually do it.

GWEN IFILL:

As we traveled the country covering political races this year, the NewsHour's team encountered an unusually engaged community of voters with a wide range of concerns. Many, like Connecticut Democrat Al Simon, want their voices heard on the war in Iraq.

AL SIMON, Connecticut Democrat:

The war is a total disaster. And there's nobody that I know in my circle who thinks that it's the right thing to do. Most of us thought it was bad from the start, but it's turned into such an unmitigated disaster that someone who doesn't recognize facts and refuses to change an opinion really seems to be out of touch with reality. That's what's changed.

GWEN IFILL:

Bill Wright is an Ohio Republican who supports the war.

BILL WRIGHT, Ohio Republican:

Probably the war in Iraq has got a lot of people wondering what's going on, and they're probably not — a lot of them are not happy. I think that's caused by a lot of the major networks reporting all the bad things going on in Iraq. They don't see any of the good things.

GWEN IFILL:

But for many voters, pocketbook issues continue to dominate.

BILL KENDRICK, Indiana Citizen:

I don't think the economy is good. Stock prices are going up, but I still don't think the economy is good. And I think the Democrats could do a better job of it.

KEITH WELSH, Ohio Resident:

Well, in Ohio, you know, there's been a lot of job loss and not a lot of job creation. So, you know, you've got to blame somebody, so you either blame the governor or you blame the senators.

JEFFRIE HOWARD, Tennessee Resident:

There should be ways of changing things so people can get up on their feet, you know, more jobs, create jobs, OK, for the people that need it, the homeless. Give them something to go to. Don't just hand them out food and stuff. I talk to them all the time, these down here. Find a way to put them in some kind of program. Instead of giving them a helping hand, just give them a hand.

GWEN IFILL:

And in states as disparate as Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Arizona, the issue of illegal immigration surfaced time and time again.

JAQUELINE TORRES, Arizona Citizen:

You know, I feel for anybody who is a part of trying to come up with a good solution to this problem, because I feel strongly about that, about having my tax dollars go to provide services for people who are not here legally. So then let's do something about legalizing them.

CURT FRINKLE, Arizona Citizen:

Oh, I'm a Republican, but I will vote for the person who will — who's got the right plan. Whether he's Democratic or Republican, I really don't care about that.

GWEN IFILL:

A running theme in many of these discussions, a simmering discontent that polls show crosses party lines and demographic barriers.

VOTER:

There seems to be a genuine lack of respect for people in Middle America, for the people who are, you know, the middle class of the country. The politicians seem genuinely more concerned with maintaining power than doing what's right for the nation and for the citizens.

VOTER:

I agree. I think we're looking for a change, and part of that change may be that some Republicans that have been there in the Senate for years are not going to be going back, because right now we're very frustrated.

VOTER:

When somebody has been re-elected a number of times, you start to wonder, "Are they getting complacent? Are they really fighting for the people they're representing? Or have they just gotten comfortable there?" Because it does seem to be still an old boys' club.