I don't start a piece knowing exactly what effect it's going to have. There is a seed of an idea that I could never articulate, right at the beginning of the piece, literally like one cell.
“Everyone knows about the substantive issues of concern, like federal health care, but very little is said about the process, the lack of accountability.”
“I'm in Alabama. First thing I want to say is Roll Tide! I was at the Alabama/Georgia game last year sitting right in the middle of the Alabama section and saw that they rolled all over them!”