If you read Chris Hayes’ very interesting article on the mind of the undecided voter (to which Reihan links in this post: http://www.theamericanscene.com/2008/01/17/undecided ), this doesn’t seem so weird. As Hayes points out, many voters (probably more than just the undecided ones) don’t really think in terms of “issues” because they have “a fundamental lack of understanding of what constitute[s] the broad category of the ‘political.’” If you don’t really understand politics, then you have no idea what a candidate might plausibly do with his office once he gets elected, and you are more likely to be swayed by the “he shares my values” pitch, and less likely to be disappointed if nothing particularly good comes from his election to office.