When I left Iowa, I never felt more positive about the political process, about involvement, about the awareness of voters. I also never felt more skeptical about nationalized punditry. The Des Moines paper’s New Year poll was right that Huckabee and Obama would win- when national polls had the top candidates tied. You could feel the energy at events and interview people who were caucusing and get a strong feeling of how the evening was going to turn out: record numbers of caucus goers, optimistic about their experiences, and positive about change…  read more »

Trying to cover the politicking right before the Iowa caucus is like trying to catch a greased pig. You can see it, you know others can do it, but you find yourself face down in the mud laughing even when you miss. I think I’m inspired by this analogy because I am staying across from the Iowa fairgrounds and am editing the country music Fred Thompson’s campaign uses.

But I have to say, it’s better than the hours of 70s and 80s power rock ballad-y type thing that most campaigns seem to think is most inspiring. “Ain’t That America”, “Don’t Stop Believing”… and the New Radicals “You Got The Music In You” from the 90s does not count as new and hip.  read more »

It's a big leap of faith: that you and millions of other Americans will have enough faith in the power of a good question to keep Presidential candidates on their toes and lawmakers accountable. They need to know you are watching them, that you care! We are betting you do - that this election year you will ask questions you think journalists should be asking, that you will add your voice to questions others have asked, that you will use and share the audio answers our journalists track down for you.  read more »