the first door i knocked, the first person i talked to yesterday was a hispanic lady.  she hadn't really thought about the upcoming election, and didn't even know if barack obama was democrat or republican.  she didn't know his name and she didn't know if obama was a republican or a democrat.  "if he's a democrat, then i'm sure i'll vote for him," she said, staring at the brochure.  i looked down on my sheet, and she was registered as a NP (no party affiliation).

the next door answered, too.  another no party woman, she was undecided and concerned about everything.  like all undecideds, i told her that she was "the most important person in america."  you'll get lots of attention, i warned her.  but the very next door was the surprise.

another NP female in her thirties, she told me that she was undecided.  i didn't take her for someone who followed politics at all, and she certainly didn't sound like she had time for it.  she was concerned about health care and energy costs.  she said they owned a small business (a restaurant out on the beach), and she thought people weren't going out to eat as much because of the cost of gasoline.  i'm recording her answers and basically agreeing with her, pretty standard faire.  then, in conclusion, she said, "hillary as his running mate would be great!"

"i hadn't heard that one before," i replied.  but you could have pretty much picked me up off the floor.  she didn't really seem engaged in politics at all.  until the end.  i told her, of course, that i had no influence on who barack picks for his running mate, but i assured her she would be proud of barack and whoever he choose as our nominees.  she smiled.

i walk across the street, where a young guy was working on his car.  he wasn't on my list so i went to the door.  the daughter opened the door, she was a D (democrat).  yippee!, i thought to myself.  but she was also undecided.  "it's my first election, but i haven't given it much thought."  then she yelled for her mother, "it's for you."  mom came down, explained that she was in the middle of something (as mom's are wont to do).  i'm just asking people about their preference for the presidential election, i said.  another D, she also said she was undecided.  brevard's going to be a tough nut to crack, i thought to myself.

it wasn't until the eighth door that i got a glimpse of what was to come.  a hispanic man opened the door while his wife was sitting at the computer.  "i'm for him," he said.  "me, too," came the voice from inside.  "i'm a democrat," he explained.  yeah, that's the ticket.

i go down the side street, knocking on the doors with no joy (no one answered), until i get to the (dead) end.  my last two doors on the street are side by side, 711 and 712.  i go to the one farthest (by a few feet) where there were two democrats on my list.  more 2s (yeah!) and then walk over to their neighbor.  as i'm walking over, i see the car with it's move on sticker that says, "fire the republicans!"  so i'm feeling kinda spry knocking on this door.

"not him" says the older woman who opened the door and was on my list.  "should i mark you as leaning mccain or strong mccain," i ask.  "i'm leaning," she replied.  she's a NP, as well.  i was surprised to see the moveon sticker in the first place, but i shouldn't have been surprised by her response.  it was actually what i expected before i started.

i finish knocking on doors on the first street and then drive over to the next block, which is basically a U off of courtney.  the first door on that street is registered independent (you can actually register as an independent, although it designates nothing).  she's also undecided.  when i ask what are her issues, she tells me that she really doesn't have any.  she follows her heart, she tells me.  what can i say to that?  i leave her by saying, "good luck with your decision."

the next door i knock on is a somewhat older NP female.  she's leaning mccain, she tells me, because of the abortion issue.  i had wondered when that would show up.  the baptist church on the island is huge and has a membership (it claims) of what amounts to 30% of merritt island's residents.  but she admits to being conflicted.  "i don't like his position on the war," she tells me.  she has to weigh between the two, she says.  i mark her as a 4 anyway, although she might accurately be undecided.  she's exactly the kind of voter who is impressed by a warm, smiling face willing to listen.  i tell her that the two candidates definitely have different positions about war and abortion.  without knowing more, i don't have any wise words for her.  "we can trust barack," i say, "because he trusts us."  sounds corny when it was coming out.  but she accepts the brochure and thanks me for stopping by.  she was just a very nice lady.

at the end of the next street, i finally meet a marine.  i know florida really well, having done more elections here than i can count, but this is the area where i grew up.  having knocked on 50 doors, i'd have expected to come across a military man by now.  and i did.  he's a democrat, a bit older than me, but he's leaning mccain.  i could express no surprise.  the marine regala (flags, stickers on the cars, marine vanity plates) pretty much gave it away.  

the best, of course, came last -- well, almost.  i ask for the woman of the house, because she's the one on my list.  but it's her husband who responds.  "we were just talking about this the other day," he says.  "we're going to support barack," he says.  his wife nods.  he's a republican, he tells me.  "i guess i should go down and change my registration," he says.  you don't have to, i respond.  "you're right, this is a general election.  i can still vote for obama," he observes.  "anything we can do to help, just call."

well, "we needs lots of volunteers," i say enthusiastically.  "just give us a call," he tells me.  i'm sure they will.  in the end, i only knocked on 59 doors.  i've talked to 25 people, a 42% response rate, in almost three hours.  my next packet which is a little farther north supposedly has 150 doors on it.  tomorrow, i think to myself.  i end the day with six 2s (supporting obama), two 3Ls (leaning obama, including my first door), six 3s (undecided), three 4s (leaning mccain) and two 5s (strong mccains) -- and two enthusiastic volunteers here in the heart of what should be mccain country.  a good start.  need more data to confirm the trend, but it feels like a good start.  yes we can...