I have interviewed thousands of voters over the years as they assess candidates for office. Those voters are a source of hope and vision and durable faith in our country, but their approach cannot be called systematic. They say they don’t like negative ads, but they repeat the claims made in them. They are critical of the news, but their opinions are shaped by what they hear on cable TV. They claim they are independent, but they have voted for one party all of their lives. They say they don’t care about the candidate horse race, but it consumes their conversations.
