I sent the same link to a friend and you might be surprised how closely my accompanying introductory message was to what you have written here. I have been watching and reading Wilkerson for a while and I usually think his analysis is right on and so I have begun to watch for what he says. But, as I told my buddy, Wilkerson spent half his career planted way up Powell's ass and that makes me wonder if he is just looking for a new niche to fill.I even included a colon joke which I won't repeat here.

Even though that is the case, he could be an informed voice with the right experience and connections to offer insight on a variety of questions.

 Wilkerson's comments on the people he talked to in the west seemed spot on as far as describing the prevailing general ethic. I say that based on my own experience living in Utah and having traveled extensively in most states west of the Mississippi camping, fishing, shooting pool, and drinking beer in places unlike any I expect exist in D.C. and among people who are not like the crowds in D.C. either.

 So, to your point one, his host living in Idaho I think was a fair source for local/regional opinions. I am often struck by how easy it is to dismiss the beliefs of  'the other side' but I am also struck by the fact that the other side does, in fact, believe what they believe with as much conviction as do people here at Dag. Both side think the other side is wrong and that at least some of them are crazy and their ideas are counterproductive at best and often dangerous. I have talked to numerous people recently who think Obama was the big lier in both debates and Romney exposed him for what he 'really is' both times. Biden was a rude jerk, full of crap, and wouldn't recognize the truth if it was draped around his head. They say. They say it and believe it and few around them challenge it.

 Your point two describes me. I will watch the debate but I expect that most of what I will see will be meaningless as to substance.

 On point three, it should be noted that I described it wrong when I called it an interview. It is, apparently, just an ongoing contribution Wilkerson makes to that program  as an essayist. Hanging around with hunters and fishers when politics is in the air is a pretty good way to hear what they really think. It's also a pretty good way to spend a vacation. A lot of hunters and fishers are great people to be around and Idaho has, to my mind, some of the most beautiful places in our country. I have no idea how to reconcile the fact that a lot of the people with whacko ideas are pretty good people who you would like as neighbors, find easy to work with, and are dedicated family people, but they just can't seem to recognize that I am the one who is right.