Purple States, Episode 8: Faith in Elections

Purple States, Episode 8: Faith in Elections Synopsis

As Americans prepare to pass judgment on the nation's current and aspiring leaders, Purple States takes us back to the future. What were ordinary citizens thinking in 2008? The Purple States election series features five very different individuals, recruited from a randomly-selected pool of residents of early primary and caucus states. Together, they traveled the campaign trail, and brought the concerns of ordinary citizens to bear on their up close and personal coverage of the candidates. Their journey through the campaign aired on the New York Times (during the primary season) and on the Washington Post (in the run-up to the November 2008 vote).

The Purple States cast includes Lizz, a 23-year-old florist from Iowa; Bert, a laid-off manufacturing professional and libertarian from New England; Tamara, a 33-year-old Baptist mother of three and teacher from South Carolina; Tanya, a gun-carrying half-Cuban-American/half Puerto-Rican art gallery director from Florida, and Alex, a Californian who works for ATandT and lives with his Mexican-American son-in-law and grandchildren. Together, the members of the Purple States team ask the questions American voters are still trying to answer. They confront their differences with civility and passion - a rarity in an increasingly polarized electorate. They express anger about the political process. And they try to make sense of what they're hearing from the politicians who still dominate the political landscape.

The choice in 2008, and the options before the country now, emerged from a long and hard-fought campaign. The leading players then - Obama, Biden, Clinton, McCain, Palin, the followers of Ron Paul - are leading players now. Huckabee and Romney are in the wings for 2012. The issues contested then - jobs, health care reform, the environment, immigration, the role of government - dominate this year's battles too. Purple States illuminates what's at stake in the coming election -- for these citizens, and for all Americans.