Iraq War and Candidates’ Personalities Key Factors for Voters
By Jessica Kramer

Seventy five percent of those questioned at a New York City polling station named the war in Iraq as a primary concern that factored into their vote on Super Tuesday.

The same percentage of voters ranked the candidates’ personalities as equally important factors as well.

Voter Laurence O’Keefe said his concerns were three-fold: the war in Iraq, the “stretching of our military resources around the world,” and the environment. He said he believes Clinton, Obama and McCain have a “fairly equal chance of doing a good job on the economy."

Leonie Haimson said the war along with global warming were the most important national issues for her. She said she voted for her candidate because “he’s a stronger leader” than the other choices.

“It’s hard for me to separate confidence in a person’s leadership [from their] judgment,” she said.

For voter Linda Bennett the most important issues were the war in Iraq, the economy and healthcare. She believes her candidate has a “good stance” on these topics and she’s said she's done a good deal of research to support her convictions. The candidate’s personality did not factor into her voting.

Healthcare, however, was the primary concern for voter Martha Ackerman, who cast her ballot for Obama. She said she believed the candidates “have really different attitudes [on healthcare]. One really believes people can help themselves, and the other is paternalistic.” Ackerman quoted a Chinese proverb to illustrate her point: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

While it is uncertain whether these responses reflect the nation’s views, it appears traditional patterns of thinking about war and personality have prevailed once again in the voting booth.