Paris Hilton not here

Today is Day One of a new conversation on LATimes.com.

Today we launch Top of the Ticket, a new political blog with a twist. What can one more blogger bring to the nation's political discourse? Who cares? This one has two bloggers. Two veteran political reporters, one on each coast of this vast land combing the workings of U.S. politics, drawing on the vast resources of the Los Angeles Times' talented political staff to uncover the interesting nuggets of news, trends, insights and trivia that help reveal our democracy's inner workings as it moves through the next dramatic months of political history.

You'll find those nuggets right here, posted several times a day. Many of us talk back to our TV screens. Well, here you can be heard. Add your comments. Anytime. We'll even be commenting on your comments.

We'll all learn some things. We'll have some fun. We'll watch the circus unfold. So bookmark this page. Check back frequently. We'll be here. Let's get going.

Now, here's Top of the Ticket's first political tip: Keep checking back here today as we'll be breaking some new national polling information soon.

Comments

[Helen Rutberg]

I am so sick of hearing how Clinton, Obama and Edwards are the only candidates running for the Dem Nomination. It is high time this country comes to it's collective senses and realizes that what we need is not a Media star, but an experienced, intelligent and oh, yes did I say EXPERIENCED?, president. For me, that means Biden or Dodd. And I vote for Biden. Here is a man with ideas, the clout and knowledge of the congress to have them enacted into law and oh yes, EXPERIENCE. Stop the incessant polling. Stop telling me who is going to win. Stop telling me that I will be wasting my vote if I do not vote for one of the three you consider worth covering. Stop interpreting the news for me. I am an intelligent, educated, senior citizen with a better grasp of the English language than half the reporters who can't even speak correctly. Do you sense that I am angry at the press for trying to select our nominees? Well you are right. Get out of my face, let me listen to these candidates and let me make my decision based on what I hear from them directly, not filtered through the media's often skewed reporting. Have a happy New Year and vote for
Biden.

(None of the polls we use are used to predict winners. They're used as an imperfect snapshot of how those few hundred people would vote right now, a snapshot. The campaigns internally may try predictive polling so they can know who to help get to the polls and who not. But we don't predict.)

[Derek]

Paris is so Hot!!!