"Everybody's wondering if people are ready for a woman or if they're ready for a black [president]," said Peg Marshall, who was working the Orange County Democrats' table. "And, of course, they're wondering if Al Gore's going to run."
A straw poll at Marshall's table showed Clinton in the lead, but some people had misgivings even while casting their ballots, she said. "As they put it in they say, 'We don't know if a woman has a chance.' "
Aliso Viejo voter Earl Deyoe, who stopped to rest in a chair by the Democrats' station, said he doesn't like the Democratic front-runners — Clinton and Barack Obama — but he doesn't think his favorite, John Edwards, will be the party's nominee.
He's convinced, though, the next president will be a Democrat because, he said, "the Republicans, they're in trouble."
Across the aisle was the Libertarian booth, where Allen Caldwell watched vigilantly for interested voters.
"I've had a lot of people coming by, a lot of angry people," he said. "They're not very happy with the two status-quo parties."
Democrats are upset Congress, even with their party in the majority, hasn't ended the Iraq war as promised, while Republicans don't like all the government spending, Caldwell said. Luckily, he's got an answer for everyone: "We're against the war and the spending," he said.
Caldwell seems to have done the best of the three parties Friday afternoon. He registered three people to vote, versus two at the Democrats' table and just one for the GOP.
But during the first week of the fair, dozens of people cast votes for GOP presidential candidates by placing colored stickers on a poster by the man of their choice.
Giuliani was unquestionably leading with more than 200 stickers, with Mitt Romney at about 100 votes. John McCain and his roughly 70 stickers were barely clinging to third place, with Tom Tancredo and undeclared candidate Fred Thompson snapping at his heels with about 60 votes each.
