iPol Plus One

Days Until Bush Leaves Office = 371

Happy birthday to us! Today marks the one year anniversary of iPol's first post. From the midst of the A-list star-studded gala marking this auspicious occasion - well, okay, not...but I can honestly say we're giving last night's Golden Globes a run for their money where star power is concerned - I'd like to thank our readers for coming along with us through a year's worth of politicking in the heartland and beyond.

iPol's original mission was to chronicle, for myself as much as anyone else, the political spectacle leading up to the Iowa caucuses, and capture just the tiniest bit of what it's like to be at the center of the political universe for while. While the campaign spotlight has moved on now, no other place in the country will have the extended opportunity to meet, question, challenge, fawn over, and generally poke and prod the candidates in quite the same way, and certainly not for the same amount of time, that Iowa has had. I have been so lucky to be here, to have seen so much first hand and be a part of making the first binding decisions about who will be the next President of the United States. I have taken that seriously, out of respect for the fact that very few people are afforded the same opportunity; at the same time, I've tried not to take things so seriously as to prevent iPol from being a fun read. I like to think that I've succeeded in both informing and entertaining all of you.

In any case, my thanks to the readers who have been kind enough to spend a little time here with me, for your unflagging interest in what makes part of our political process tick, for your often insightful comments and feedback, and, I am sure, your frequent patience with this site and with me. It has been, and continues to be, a very rewarding experience, and I hope you feel the same.

Here's to the year to come, as well as the year just past. Cheers!