Hey, everyone! Just introducing myself. I'm Mary Katharine, a political writer with Townhall.com. I met a good number of you at the BlogHer conference this year, and I'm pumped that I get to be a contributing editor to the community starting now.

My buddy Morra (whom y'all know well) and I will be anchoring BlogHer political coverage during this election season and trying to give you plenty of commentary and first-hand coverage from both sides of the political spectrum. I'll be holding down the right side of things, and Morra and I will be doing some friendly debate (as we've been known to) and hoping you jump right in and join us. A few things about me...

I come from a wondrous place called North Carolina– a land of great beaches and greater beach dives, a land where fried chicken and free wireless go together as God intended.

I'm passionate about politics and my positions, but I tend to enjoy good humor more than a good fight.

I graduated with a degree in journalism and plied that trade for a while, mostly as a sports and features reporter, which is an artful way of saying I covered racin’, high-school football, and the county’s largest legumes (and, the occasional murder if I was in the office when the news broke). While there, I discovered opinion journalism might be a good route for mouthy me, so I traded in writing about NASCAR drivers for writing about politicians.

I love SEC football, boiled peanuts, my super-liberal hometown, early-80s Eddie Murphy stand-up films featuring purple leather pantsuits, historical novels, ACC basketball, a Robert Earl Keen concert, karaoke-ing the greatest hits of Young MC, and the fact that making one's voice heard in politics these days doesn't require a degree or a newspaper job-- just a computer and a will.

Anyway, that's why I'm here with you. Women will make a huge difference in '08 in some new and exciting ways, and this community is a place where some of those ways will become clear. I look forward to being a part of it, hearing back from you, and I hope I do justice to the mission and the fabulous community Lisa, Elisa, Jory, Morra and others have created here.

Thanks for letting me hang out, and what else is there to say? Ladies, start your engines!
I'll be back later with more, and I'll be down at the CNN/YouTube Republican debate this week, so much more from there...