Polls: Americans Carefully Consider Pols

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If there's one thing politicians hate, it's a public inclined to reserve judgment. Presidential hopefuls are no exception: They want voters to make up their minds and defend their candidate to the end. But unfortunately for politicos looking for firebrand support, there's some indication that the American public could be settling in for a long, calm consideration of the upcoming campaign. According to a poll released Wednesday by the Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, voters today are less sure of who they'll vote for in November than they were three months ago. And while the drop-off in committed voters isn't great news for the candidates, it's not necessarily an indication of waning interest. On the contrary, says TIME Washington correspondent Karen Tumulty, this apparent indecisiveness could mean people are starting to take notice of the range of candidates. "Since November, both the Republican and Democratic races have gotten much more interesting. Until very recently, it didn't look like much of a contest for either party." What a difference six weeks make.