Terre Haute, Indiana
In the weeks before this year’s road trip, I received the following from a high school senior in …
Joe’s Road Trip 2012
2012 Road Trip: This Week’s Print Column
An assessment of the presidential campaign from the ground up in Ohio and Michigan.
2012 Road Trip, Day 20: An End of the Road Playlist
Hammond, Indiana
Well, we’re coming to the end of this thing. I’ve done 40 town meetings, more or less, in 20 days. It’s been great fun and I’ll have more to say about the things I’ve learned in the days and weeks to come. For now, though, after three weeks on the road, a last playlist:
2012 Road Trip, Day 18: Neighborhood Watch
Lansing, Michigan
The neighbors started by apologizing. Their group was smaller than expected because some had run off to the state capitol, where they were rallying for a state legislator — who had been evicted for using …
2012 Road Trip: Travels with Ry
Dayton, Ohio
I’d like to introduce Jacob Templin’s video of the legendary guitarist Ry Cooder playing music with a brilliant, but largely unknown fiddle and banjo player named Dan Gellert in Dayton on Day 13 of my road trip, …
2012 Road Trip, Day 18: Among the Academics
East Lansing, Michigan
I had a really interesting lunch today with a group of geography professors on the faculty of Michigan State University. These were very smart people and they had a lot of interesting things to say about …
2012 Road Trip Day 17: Can We Get Along?
Grand Haven, Michigan
On the day Rodney King was found dead in his swimming pool, I met with two diametrically opposed groups–members of the Tea Party in Kalamazoo and of a civil discussion association, composed predominantly …
2012 Road Trip, Day 16: A Big Problem for Republicans
Brighton, Michigan
On my first road trip two years ago, I stopped here to meet with a group of first responders–police officers, firefighters and EMT workers. It turned out to be one of the most memorable meetings I’ve ever …
2012 Road Trip, Day 16: Citizenship Ain’t Easy
Toledo, Ohio
Mary and Meghan McVey were married in May, at Niagara Falls. They’ve been together for 11 years and are raising three children, including one with severe learning disabilities. They’ve had some tough times as …
2012 Road Trip: More on the Veterans Administration
Brighton, Michigan
The New York Times has picked up on a theme that has emerged on my road trip: the incompetence of the Veterans Administration. At a time when we’re averaging a military suicide each day, you have to wonder not just where is VA Secretary Eric Shinseki (once again, not quoted in the Times piece). He should be on the …
2012 Road Trip Day 15: Force of Nature
Columbus, Ohio
“I used to go to major league baseball games wearing my little league uniform,” Ohio’s Governor John Kasich said, settling down after berating me for the “bone-headed” piece I’d written about him two years ago. …
2012 Road Trip Day 15: How Pollsters Work
Columbus, Ohio
We’re heading to Michigan tomorrow and this is a very smart analysis of the skewed results of recent polling there and the problems with polling in general. Note the response rate to telephone polling–4%. Hmmm. My own rule is to believe the results when they’re weighted overwhelmingly one way or the other, but to …
2012 Road Trip, Day 14: What Makes A Good Candidate?
Columbus, Ohio
I have seen approximately 263,547 candidates perform in public during my eons as a political reporter. You can tell the good ones immediately. They’re not all the same–but each of the stars has a quality that …