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 chief political reporter Dan Balz was online Monday, Sept. 8 at 11 a.m. ET to answer readers' questions about the latest news from Washington and the campaign trail.

The transcript follows.

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Archive: Post Politics Hour discussion transcripts

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Dan Balz: Good morning to everyone. The conventions are history and we're into the final 56/57 days of this election, which continues to surprise everyone. Lots of questions this morning so we'll get right to them. Thanks for joining in.

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Waterville, Maine: Dan, how worried is the Obama campaign about McCain's turnaround? Was this an anticipated post-convention bounce? Lastly, what is their plan to regain the offensive?

Dan Balz: This is the question of the day, perhaps the week. The Republican convention has given the McCain-Palin ticket a big boost and has energized their party in a way it hasn't been all year. The Obama team is weighing all this, trying to sort out convention bounce from real turnaround. No question that McCain has, for now, been able to redefine his candidacy -- more reformer, less Bush 3. Can that last? Part of it will be up to Obama to push back and that will be the focus of the next week or two, until we get to the first debate at the end of the month.

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Portland, Ore.: Mr. Balz: Sen. McCain was lauded a great deal last week at the Republican National Convention for his role in crafting several pieces of major legislation in his several decades in Congress. It would seem, however, that the measure of success should be not just passing a bill, but whether the legislation had the desired effect. There, it seems Sen. McCain's record is spotty. McCain-Feingold, for example, for all its good intentions, has not seemed terribly successful in reducing the influence of money in our elections, nor in making the process more transparent. Would you agree with that assessment, and would you say that Sen. McCain's other legislative accomplishments have been more successful? It just seems to me that Sen. McCain is all about process and not about policy.

Dan Balz: Money remains a huge influence in politics and probably always will. The McCain-Feingold struck at some abuses but it has not substantially reduced the power of money. But campaign finance is not an issue that drives many voters, so I wouldn't think that, on either side, McCain's role will have much effect on this election.

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Louisville, Ky.: Hello, Dan. Thanks for taking questions. I enjoyed following your coverage during the two recent conventions. Considering how carefully the McCain camp is handling Sarah Palin's appearances and statements, why do you think they choose Charlie Gibson? If the interview will appear on "This Week," why do you think they didn't want host George Stephanopoulos to handle the interview?

Dan Balz: I don't know how ABC and Charlie Gibson got the first interview with Gov. Palin. I don't know for a fact that it will air on "This Week," although it's possible that some of it will. I'd expect to see it on "World News Tonight" as soon as they get it done. Charlie is solid and can be a tough interviewer.

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Chicago: How long can the Palin bounce hold if she refuses to be interviewed?

Dan Balz: I think those are unrelated questions. The convention bounce eventually dissipates, and the question right now is how long the bounce that McCain has gotten will hold. Has there been a real change in the race, or is it all transitory? As for Palin, she'll be doing some interviews, starting later this week with ABC. I assume she will do more over time and there will be considerable pressure on her to do a lot of them, which the campaign will probably resist.

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Fossil, Ore.: As an independent voter, I have watched the print and broadcast news pendulum swing to much more coverage of the McCain campaign. Is this a natural reaction to the criticism of the McCain campaign of too much Obama coverage? Will it level out?

Dan Balz: The swing toward more coverage of Sen. McCain's campaign is normal. He just had his convention, which guarantees more coverage, and he made a very surprising pick for his vice president, which ramps up the coverage even more. A week ago, Republicans were complaining that the coverage of Gov. Palin was too much, too intrusive, too hysterical, etc. Now they're probably pleased with the way it has worked out. Both of these candidates will get plenty of coverage over the next two months.

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Poplar Bluff, Mo.: Dan, thanks for taking questions. Do you believe that with an energized base, that the GOP can pick up some of the close congressional races in November?

Dan Balz: It will certainly help. Republicans have been staring at real trouble in House and Senate races. If their base is far more energized than it has been, that could help marginally in some very close races.

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McLean, Va.: Do you expect to see the Clintons on the campaign trail more this fall? Obama hasn't been able to capitalize on the economy as much as one would think, and nobody's a better messenger on that than Bill.

Dan Balz: We expect to see both Clintons on the campaign trail this fall. How much is the question. Hillary Clinton is in Florida today and the Obama campaign will want her out as much as possible. But she has a big debt to retire and will spend part of the fall at fundraising events in her own behalf. Bill Clinton and Senator Obama will be having lunch in New York on Thursday and, presumably, Obama will be asking for more help from the former president. Clinton's convention speech was more than the Obama people might have hoped for. He will be an asset in making the economic argument, if he is used regularly.

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Washington: Is this a Republican country, or are the Democrats just masters of losing an election? How did McCain get a bump and not Obama? Perhaps it's too much to expect this country to swing all the way from Bush to Obama. It seems to make sense that all it could handle was a minor nudge from Bush to McCain.

Dan Balz: McCain got a bump because he had the second convention and because his selection of Gov. Palin drew all attention away from Obama and Biden. Had the pick of Palin not gone down well with the Republican base, the bump might not have been as noticeable.

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New York: Dan, as someone who intends to vote for Obama, I'm constantly puzzled at how he seems flummoxed when answering questions he should clearly expect to be asked: about NAFTA, when life begins, and most recently the surge. He seems to be thinking out loud, as though he hasn't thought it through ahead of time. Maybe the campaigns folks just don't consider these burning issues? But it seems to me it goes to character and trust, which may matter more than issues. What's going on here?

Dan Balz: That's an interesting point. NAFTA and the surge should be easily dealt with, except for the fact that he's been in a difficult position on both. He and his advisers believe he got too far out as an opponent of free trade and NAFTA during the Ohio primary and he's tried to roll himself back. On the surge, he has struggled to square his opposition with the reduction of violence in Iraq. His language in last week's interview with Bill O'Reilly as striking, although not a fundamental shift in his view that the surge has not produced the kind of political reconciliation needed for lasting success. As for the question on when life begins, he said yesterday he had been too flip in responding to that. He is a thoughtful person and your question is interesting. Does his style of answering questions make him look less decisive than he really is?

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New York: So here comes the worst part of it, right? Is there some sort of sleep chamber I can get in and not wake up until Election Day?

Dan Balz: Don't go to sleep now. This has been a great campaign, one of the most interesting we've ever seen. You'll not want to miss a minute of it!

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Washington: Now that McCain/Palin have accepted their parties nominations, does this now mean all monies spent on their campaigning for travel and ads is subject to the FEC limit of $84 million? If so, how will they be able to last two months when McCain's previous spending showed he was consuming close to $40 million a month on his own, without a vice presidential pick?

Dan Balz: The McCain-Palin ticket will have to say within the limits of the public money they've just accepted. But they will also have help from the Republican National Committee, which has far more than the Democratic National Committee at this point.

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Rockville, Md.: Mr. Balz, I am stunned by the success of the Republicans in claiming a reformist/change mantle when they have, in fact, been running the executive branch for eight years. As I believe, the International Herald Tribune pointed out last week, the Republicans are running (successfully) against ... themselves! How have they pulled this off so smoothly? Who is the architect of this feat? What role has the press played? Thanks.

Dan Balz: It's a difficult argument to make, no question, and it will be one of the most important debates of the campaign from here forward. Senator McCain is not your average Republican. Ask his colleagues in the Senate. He's battled with his own party over the years and now will try to make the case that he would do the same as president, if necessary. Senator Obama will counter that McCain would not represent a fundamental change from the Bush administration on major policies. There is truth on both sides here and that's why this campaign has just gotten even more interesting.

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Centreville, Va.: Mr. Balz, Rick Davis -- Sen. McCain's campaign manager -- said Gov. Palin would not be available for interviews until "deference" was shown by the press. As a journalist, what is your definition of the that word as he uses it?

Dan Balz: I hadn't seen that. If true, it's wishful thinking on Rick Davis's part. Reporters will be pressing for more time with Gov. Palin, as they should. But they'll also be pressing for more time with Senator Obama and Senator McCain.

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Orlando, Fla.: How much had Gov. Palin traveled in the lower 48 prior to being tapped for the vice presidency? Does she know anything about farming in the Midwest, closed plants in Pennsylvania, Hispanics in New Mexico, etc.?

Dan Balz: That's another good question that we're trying to answer. Presidential campaigns are an exercise in education for candidates, even those who have traveled widely, because they get a different view of the country as presidential or vice presidential candidates. Unfortunately for Gov. Palin, it's much harder to get a real feel for things at this stage of a general election because the entourage is much larger and the opportunity for a real close-in look at things much harder. That happens to candidates in the early stages of the nomination battles.

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Warrenton, Va.: So who in the Democratic Party is going to attack Gov. Palin, if so far Obama and Biden have declined to, and if Hillary says she won't be doing either? Then Palin knows she can just go ahead and tee off on Obama, like she did at the Republican convention. The Democrats have to be careful and not be seen to be critical of Palin just because she is a woman and a mother with strong family values.

Dan Balz: The Obama campaign seems more intent right now on keeping the focus on Senator McCain and his message. In the end, this will be a choice between Senator McCain and Senator Obama, not the vice presidents -- if history is any guide. So the Obama forces wanted to keep making the argument that McCain is an extension of President Bush. But Palin will come in for her share of criticism, whether from Senator Biden, other surrogates or third-party groups.

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Arlington, Va.: Is it more difficult to investigate Palin's background because she is from Alaska, which is (I'm guessing) harder and more expensive to get to and operate in?

Dan Balz: I've done no real reporting in Alaska but my assumption is that it's no harder there than in other states or state capitals. It's farther away but we've had people there almost from the day Gov. Palin was picked, as have other news organizations.

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Washington: Hey, Dan! If you had to guess, which do you think will cause more damage to each ticket: Palin's not giving interviews or Biden's actually doing them? Thanks for chatting!

Dan Balz: I'll leave this to all of you to answer for yourselves, a good way to end this chat. We had far more questions today that I had time to answer, so thanks to everyone and apologies to those who are still in the queue. Have a great week.

Dan Balz

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