Washington (CNN) -- When the race is done, the balloons have wilted, and the confetti has been swept up, Campaign 2012 may be marked more by its failures than its triumphs. 

But here's the starkest failure in these final days before the vote: Neither candidate has made a convincing enough argument for his presidency to break free of the margin of error in the polls. 

No matter who is elected, close to as many Americans will have voted against him as for him. 

Sure, Barack Obama has generally stayed a point or two ahead of his rival in most battlegrounds, but despite his mighty pushes and the advantage of the bully pulpit he has rarely done any better. And Mitt Romney, while he has managed to relentlessly nip at the president's heels like a dog chasing a car (as opposed to one riding on top), he has never been able to decisively bridge the gap from "also ran" to "front runner." 

Mad dash in final bid for votes 

The most recent CNN Poll of Polls -- an average of 10 national polls -- has Obama just one point ahead of Romney, 48%-47%. The latest CNN/ORC survey in the battleground state of Ohio has Obama up 50%-47%, and in Florida by just one point, 50%-49%. Both results are well within the polls' margin of error of plus or minus 3.5%. 

And if both parties are not haunted by the ever-growing mob of voters calling themselves independents, they ought to be. 

At least Dr. Rita Kirk at Southern Methodist University thinks so. She is director of the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility. "Independent isn't a party," she says. "It just means 'none of the above.' People are not really satisfied with either party." 
Who is the first female mentioned by name?
t Dr. Rita Kirk