Voters Arise!

Those who inhabit the great middle ground of the American electorate could already be feeling a little left out this year. The analysts of our voting habits have concluded most people whose politics are best described as "moderate" aren't likely to leave their couches and cast a vote in November.

They're simply too economically satisfied to care, they say - and exhibit "A" is the abysmal turnout for primaries this past spring. The experts are expecting far less than 40 percent of eligible voters to visit the polls in the fall. It could be an all-time low for a midterm congressional election, they forecast.

We hope all this raises the dander of more than a few moderate voters. Does your commitment to exercising the right to vote depend on economic pain? Shouldn't relatively good times be an incentive to vote, out of appreciation for a system that's working pretty well? Isn't there still plenty of reason to be vigilant about government and use your vote accordingly?

If those arguments aren't enough, campaign strategists may come to the rescue. They're reportedly gearing up appeals to activists on the wings of both major parties, figuring these folks will be easiest to motivate. Perhaps a helping of single-issue, hot-button politics will precipitate a moderates' rebellion, with the great middle-ground actively swinging away from obviously extremist appeals.

Americans love to thwart the pundits and pollsters. In a few months they'll have a great opportunity to prove the experts wrong by casting their votes instead of sitting on them.

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