Don't want to miss out on the latest in politics? Start each day with The Post Politics Hour. Join in each weekday morning at 11 a.m. as a member of The Washington Post's team of White House and Congressional reporters answers questions about the latest in buzz in Washington and The Post's coverage of political news.

Washington Post money and politics reporter John Solomon was online Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the latest news in politics.

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The transcript follows.

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Avon Park, Fla.: I'm disturbed that presidential campaigns are starting so early and that they cost so much. How did they get to be so expensive? Is is simply that TV ads have gotten more expensive through the years? I believe that money wouldn't be that critical if the primary calendar were more spread out.

John Solomon: You're not alone. On a recent trip down South I heard this sentiment a lot. We haven't had such a wide-open race since 1988. Add the compressed calendar and the jockeying to get the early lead has gone on steroids. Every candidate needs to raise money faster and earlier than ever before. I remember covering the 1988 race when people were floored that both the Democratic and Republican national parties each raised $20 million in large soft money donations over a two years period. Those figures boggled the mind. For this election, many of the major presidential candidates are expected to raise that much or more during the first three months of this year.

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Oxford, Miss.: I've seen so much written lately about Romney's political makeover and I'm just wondering: isn't this what most politicians do? Isn't John McCain rewriting his own political resume right now? And Hillary Clinton did a complete about-face when she ran for Senate. What makes Romney different?

John Solomon: This is a process that goes on every election cycle, especially for candidates who ran as moderates in statewide races and now must compete for their party's more idealogical primary voters. Mitt Romney makes a poignant case example. But he's hardly alone. I wrote a story a week ago on how John McCain the presidential candidates was turning to the very GOP big soft money fund-raisers and donors he pilloried as a reformer. Others have written about McCain's overtures to the Christian right. Likewise, Hillary Clinton is taking lots of heat in the blogs for the recent evolution of her position on the Iraq war.

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Oklahoma City: This morning's story abuot the lefty blogs targeting moderate Democratic Rep. Tauscher comes after their attempted takedown of Sen. Lieberman and as three Republicans (Rudy, McCain, Romney) who all differ with their party's base on at least some key issues rank first through third in pre-nomination polls -- all of which would seem to indicate that the GOP, not the Dems, are the emerging "big tent" party. Because big tent parties tend to win presidential elections, isn't it a bad sign that the far-left seems to be dominating the Democratic party to a greater degree every day?

washingtonpost.com: The Woman in the Middle (Post, Feb. 21)

John Solomon: There's no doubt that blogs will play a more important role in this election than in any prior presidential race. And they can be helpful to monitor for trends and issues as they emerge among the Web masses. But you need to be careful about using individual blogs as a barometer for measuring the state and mindset of the political parties as a whole. Blogs attract like-minded thinkers _ liberals tend toward liberal bloggers while centrists gravitate toward their favorite bloggers. In that respect, blogs can become echo chambers. You are likely to find some different sentiments when you compare postings on liberal blogs with those of the more centrist Democratic Leadership Council and the Center for American Progress. And yet both are important constituencies within the Democratic Party. The same is true on the GOP side as well.

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Denver: Just curious, but does the timing of the Berger article today in The Washington Post have anything to do with the Libby trial? Are Washington Post reporters being fed information about the Berger case to distract or draw comparisons to the Libby case?

washingtonpost.com: Berger Case Still Roils Archives, Justice Dept. (Post, Feb. 21)

John Solomon: I don't think so. Rather than the Libby trial, a more likely trigger for that story would have been the new information Congress released on its investigation into the Berger matter. That occurred a few months ago. I broke the original Berger story a few years back while working for AP and the congressional report had new details I had never seen before. The information in Jeff's excellent story provided a strong window into how decision-making occurred in the Justice Department.

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Ithaca, N.Y.: From your perspective as money/politics reporter can you help us out here? How common are the money-for-political-support transactions we have been reading about recently (the $200,000 Clinton payment to a S.C. state senator and the hiring of Harry Reid's son)? I know it's legal but it seems terribly shabby. Needless to say, it has made me question my habit of making small -- but for me, significant -- donations to candidates.

washingtonpost.com: While Reid Stays Out of '08 Fray, Sen. Clinton Signs His Son (Post, Feb. 18)

washingtonpost.com: Clinton Defends S.C. Campaign Hire (AP, Feb. 21)

John Solomon: One of the early strategies in this presidential campaign has been winning the war for consultants. More than any other recent election I can remember, candidates have spent more time and money and energy recruiting well known advisers _ and then making big announcements when they succeed. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been engaged in this on the Democratic side. And on the other side, Mitt Romney and John McCain have their own ongoing race. Some hires are important to strategy. When McCain hired former Bush strategist Terry Nelson last year, he got someone who simultaneously could reach out to converatives who McCain had aliented as well as build a grassroots infrastructure inside the campaign. Other hires may have more to do with keeping talent away from competitors or simply trying to appeal to narrow constituencies. In either case, the strategy is driving up early costs.

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Alexandria, Va.: Do you believe that the North Korea resolution from the six-party talks and Secretary of State Condi Rice's visit to the Middle East are examples of her increased foreign policy power? Does Condi seem to have more influence today than VP Cheney, or is it just me?

John Solomon: I think the jury is out on this. The devil on the North Korea nuclear deal _ or any future deal with Iran _ is in the details. How does the West ensure compliance? How does it handle infractions? How much aid does North Korea get upfront and how much is held back as a carrot or stick? We won't know for some time how all this works out in practical terms. But one thing is for sure: the deal was not popular in at least one segment of President Bush's own party. John Bolton's and Newt Gingrich's reactions, for instance, were pointed and unmistakable. As for Cheney, I suspect much will be written and opined in coming weeks about his influence and reach in the final years of the administration.

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Claverack, N.Y.: Are the donations made to Scooter Libby's defense fund publicly disclosed? Will we know how much he was billed for their services? Just my opinion, which counts for nothing as I'm not a lawyer and we have no verdict, but they looked kind of incompetent.

John Solomon: The short answer is that Scooter Libby is no longer a public official and therefore there is no legal requirement that I know of that he disclose the donors or size of donations to his legal defense fund. And to date, he has not.

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New York: Hi John. With the Walter Reed revelations, will there be any consequences for those Republican lawmakers who should have been overseeing veterans' treatment? It seems like some congressional offices were contacted regarding bureaucratic red tape, and there should have been some clues that something was amiss here. Thanks.

washingtonpost.com: Swift Action Promised at Walter Reed (Post, Feb. 21)

John Solomon: The stories by Dana and Ann were just fantastic. It was trademark watchdog journalism, and it helped bust the PR myths surrounding the care given to our vets. Everyone I've talked to since Sunday has read them and had a strong reaction to them. As for the accountability of politicians, I suspect there is more to be examined on that front in the coming weeks.

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Richmond, Va.: I keep reading about the billions of dollars that have been squandered in Iraq for reconstruction. First, who is being held accountable for such waste, and second, as Bush is linking the "surge" with rebuilding, who is minding the store to ensure that more billions will not be squandered?

John Solomon: This highlights an important issue that I wrote about in recent months. The job of the Pentagon watchdog for waste, fraud and abuse _ called the inspector general _ has been vacant now for well over 18 months. Bush was slow to name a replacement when the last IG quit in late 2005. And his first pick for a replacement failed to win Senate confirmation and withdrew his name for consideration around Christmas. The career staff for the Pentagon IG have been doing some interesting investigations. But without a Senate-confirmed leader, the office is somewhat weakened. Meanwhile, there's a special IG for Iraq reconstruction named Stuart Bowen who has aggressively reviewed waste in reconstruction contracting. But many of the potential issues associated with the troop surge _ like allegations of inadequate equipment _ would clear fall under the Pentagon IG.

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John Solomon: Folks, thanks again for all your good questions. Look forward to chatting again in coming weeks.

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