Blue Spot

Independent, uninspired, and undecided - 2008 Presidential Campaign Blog - Political Intelligence - Boston.com The oft-noted enthusiasm gap that favors Democrat Barack Obama becomes starkly apparent in a new poll out today.

But the more telling finding in the survey by the Associated Press and Yahoo News is that many independents -- who typically decide presidential elections -- are not very excited and are very undecided.

Only 21 percent of independent voters -- being targeted by both Obama and Republican John McCain -- said they find the election interesting -- down from 31 percent in November -- and just 7 percent say it's exciting. About a quarter support each candidate, about 40 percent remain undecided, and half say they could still change their minds.

The poll also found that supporters of Hillary Clinton are still cool toward Obama, who is trying to unite Democrats. Just 12 percent of former Clinton loyalists say they are excited about the campaign, one-third the excitement level among Obama's longer-term backers.

Labels: General Election 2008, Independents