'Upbeat' voters: Optimistic on future

— -- Nikki Boone, 26, of Middletown, Del., is paying a lot of attention to the presidential contest this year. "My girlfriends and buddies, we talk about it at lunch and dinner and parties," she says. "There's a certain kind of energy around this election that I don't think I've experienced in previous elections."

In part, that's because of the nomination of the first African American for president and the first woman for vice president by the GOP, she says. "It's incredibly important and certainly a milestone in our nation's history."

Boone is one of the "Upbeat," a group that expresses the most positive views of both Barack Obama and John McCain and the most optimism about the future of the United States. Almost everyone in this category is registered to vote; most are giving a lot of thought to the election.

Half describe themselves as moderates, the most of any category. They are the most likely to support keeping U.S. troops in Iraq until things are stable.

Boone's husband, Danny, a high school teacher, serves in the Army National Guard and has done a tour of duty in Iraq. She was drawn to McCain in part because of his military service.

For her, however, the most important consideration is the candidate's character. "Who do I think will best lead this nation?" she says. "I don't want the gun-slinging candidate who's going to make decisions that are brash and not thought out. That's more important than the issues."

Boone, who works for Delaware's economic development office, found McCain "incredibly patronizing" in their first debate while Obama came across as thoughtful and willing to acknowledge when McCain was right. He eased her concerns about whether he had enough experience to serve as president.

The debate "was what really got me over the edge in terms of coming to a decision," she says — in Obama's favor.