I've been on the road all day in California, but I want to a) defend my book b) give an update on what's happening on the ground in congressional races and c) address some of the interesting points Mark made about McCain, which may only be tangentially related to Fight Club Politics, but he remains the politician journalists love to track.

In response to Tom, I think it's fair to say we basically agree on what's happened to Congress. While I may put a greater emphasis on the role of redistricting, it's important to note that I also write about how money, party discipline and the breakdown of Washington's social fabric all contribute to the political polarization we've seen in recent years. Also, and I think Tom makes this point, the fact that party activists have come to dominate the current process (in part, because of redistricting, but there are other reasons as well) has also skewed the parties ideologically.

I'm a little confused about why folks are saying I equate the governing tactics of the Republicans with the Democrats. I devote an entire chapter of my book to the repressive tactics of the current GOP majority, including denying popular Democratic and Republican amendments on the House floor and arm twisting on key votes in the dead of night. All I'm saying is that Democrats were not angels when they ruled the place, which is only fair.

As I tour for my book I'm writing a story about Richard Pombo's (R-Calif.) reelection race, which touches on issues like redistricting and the political shift of the GOP. Pombo noted today during our interview that he has little fear of being ousted, since the two parties made his seat safer through redistricting (it now has roughly a 7 percent GOP edge). Environmental groups are launching an all-out offensive against him, and it's the kind of race Democrats need to win if they're going to retake the House, but it's a tough haul.

Pombo even has a primary opponent-Pete McCloskey, a moderate, former GOP congressman who helped establish Earth Day almost exactly 36 years ago. (He's 78 now.) McCloskey is really running as a protest candidate, since he's so angry about his party's conservative outlook. As he told me this week, "I'm a Gerry Ford, Barry Goldwater, Bob Dole kind of Republican. Aren't many of us around anymore." Amazing, this idea of Goldwater nostalgia, it shows you how radically the Republicans have moved in recent years. (Incidentally, I'm staying in a Palo Alto neighborhood where folks have a bumper sticker on their cars saying, "I never thought I'd miss Nixon.") One of my favorite facts is that the average House Republican is 73 percent more conservative than his or her counterpart in the 1970s, and the average House Democrat is 28 percent more liberal than his or her counterpart in the 1970s. (This comes from what's known in political science as the DW-NOMINATE score.)

I generally classify McCain as a conservative, and he's clearly reaching out to that wing of the party right now. But as someone who covers the environment, I can say that he's remained consistent in his calls for action on global warming, something few other politicians have done in his party.