Wong, Party of Seven

NEW YORK - There are only two things in common among the seven people interviewed on Tuesday at Confucius plaza: their name, Wong, and their votes for Senator Barack Obama. Everything else about these voters was tellingly different. Ages ranged from under 30 to over 80; they carried supermarket bags, sturdy backpacks, stylish purses.

“I don’t care, as long as they are good for the country,” one male Wong said about the candidates after casting his vote for Obama. He darted across the street, in too much of a rush to give his first name.

“I think it’s building up to be a pretty interesting race,” Becky, 28, said. Her investment in politics was decidedly larger than that of her other Wong counterparts. For the first time in her 10 years as a registered voter, she cast her ballot in a primary election, stating, “It’s a close race between Democrats.”

Obama has many supporters across New York City, often winning voters with his charisma. In Confucius Plaza, it seemed that his position on immigration was popular with voters. Senator Hillary Clinton, however, was viewed with a dash of skepticism: “Hillary gives me chills,” said Jessica Wong as she left the polling station. “I’m a woman, too, but never mind about that.”