Fired Up

Oct 11, 2006

Voter Excitement Level Highest in Years
Sensing High Stakes, Voter Excitement As High As It's Been in Years


WASHINGTON (AP)— Politics is a water-cooler topic, a dinner-table subject, an issue to discuss after Sunday services, and this year the interest of American voters is at its highest level in more than a decade.

That renewed attention could translate into higher voter turnout on Nov. 7, according to an Associated Press-Pew poll.

Seventy percent say they are talking politics with family and friends, and 43 percent are debating the issues at work. Among churchgoers, 28 percent share their political views, a number that rises to 34 percent among the congregations in the South.

The level of interest outpaces 1994 when Republicans swept Democrats from power in Congress. It's a far cry from the weeks after the disputed 2000 presidential election when discussion of politics was verboten at many family gatherings, especially those with carving knives nearby.

The war in Iraq and Afghanistan, fears of terrorism and anxiety that the middle-class dream is slipping away have drawn intense interest in next month's elections.

more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2552555


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