[1] This is done either in order to remain on good terms with both sides, or due to apathy regarding the situation and not wanting to choose a position with which one does not actually agree.
[2] As a result, someone who "sits on the fence" will maintain a neutral and non-committal view regarding any of the other parties involved.
Linguist John Russell Bartlett's 1848 Dictionary of Americanisms states:In politics, to be on the fence, is to be neutral, or to be ready to join the strongest party, whenever it can be ascertained which is so.
So with a politician who is on the fence; selfish motives govern him, and he is prepared at any moment to declare for either party.
'"[3]: 146 One literary example is found in James Russell Lowell's The Biglow Papers (1848): When every fool knows that a man represents Not the fellows that sent him, but them on the fence, Impartially ready to jump either side,