Hey there, and welcome to NEWSWEEK’s new politics blog. It's called Stumper—as in, "stump: n. the figurative place of political speechmaking" or "stump: v. to make political campaign speeches; electioneer." You wouldn't believe how long it took us to come up with that.

(And no, it has nothing to do with Thumper, Bambi’s helpful bunny sidekick. Not that there’s anything wrong with Thumper.)

I'm Andrew Romano. I’ve worked for Newsweek since June 2004 and served as a member of the National Affairs reporting team since early 2006. That said, I’ve never blogged before, so bear with me as I get my footing. If you need to know more, click the Bio link in the upper left-hand corner of the page. It’s a gripping read.

Now, about Stumper.

This site is meant mostly for ordinary voters. The Web is home to dozens of brilliant, hardcore blogs brimming with FEC stats and leaked campaign memos. Blogs that cater to people who live and breathe (and work in) politics. But I’m not a “Beltway insider,” and neither are most of you. I just happen to have the time and resources to devote to helping you follow the latest political headlines—and figure out what they mean. 

Many of the most popular blogs on the Internets are partisan. Stumper isn’t. That presents something of a challenge—good writing, especially good Web writing, is strong, engaged and unapologetic, and that comes somewhat naturally when a writer expresses his or her personal opinions. So how will Stumper make impartiality, like, totally compelling?

• On-the-ground reporting. NEWSWEEK.com, unlike most mom-and-pop sites on the Web, is willing to send me wherever, whenever. And I’m willing to go. Expect vivid, original (I hope) dispatches from the campaign trail each week. I’ll file them under the tag “Onscener.”

• Equal-opportunity skepticism. I received an email today from a Stumper reader who said, “It doesn't take long to figure out that there is no love lost between you and Romney.” He was reacting to a recent item or two I'd written mocking Mitt, and went on to ask, “Is there anything about Romney that you do like? Who is the candidate that you prefer?” Here’s the honest truth: I don’t really “like” or “prefer” any of the candidates. Yes, I have political views. But I’m interested in covering politics, not practicing politics. Meaning that when I make fun of some silly thing Romney has said, it’s because I think it was a silly thing to say. I’ll do the same for Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani and the rest of them. When they say something smart, I’ll note that, too. There's more to life than snark.
  

That’s the Stumper manifesto, or the closest thing to it. Nowadays, a lot of people gravitate toward media outlets that echo and reinforce their own points of view. I've always found such insularity sort of boring. I hope you stick with Stumper even when I knock your favorite candidate or praise someone you can’t stand, and argue with me (and each other) in the comments section of the site. But that’s a privilege I have to earn. I’ll be here five (or more) days a week from now until (at least) next November--working to do just that.

Send tips, complaints, ideas and marriage proposals to aromano@newsweek.com.

Thanks for reading,
Andrew