Starting April 14th, Bert Sobanik, a citizen-journalist from Purple States, and Donald Kagan, a Yale Historian who specializes in ancient Greece and was one of the original signers of the Project for the New American Century's statement of principals, will offer a week of VLOGS that focus on the success of the surge and the future of the War in Iraq.

Kagan, who rarely does media appearances, will be answering a different question every day this week.  Questions will include: What are the parameters for victory in Iraq (Monday)?  Has the war in Iraq hampered Al Qaeda recruitment (Tuesday)?  What should America’s reaction be if an anti-American leader is elected in Iraq (Wednesday)?  Has the war in Iraq made America a safer place (Thursday)?  What should Americans consider when they evaluate the Presidential candidates and their Iraq-related platforms (Friday)?

This set of interviews is a first in a series of interviews with celebrities, experts, and pundits that Purple States will be airing as it gears up for the general election.

Visit www.purplestates.tv to see the videos.

Purple States gives Americans -- of all backgrounds and beliefs, ages and affinities, red and the blue and the in-between -- a chance to experience and interpret politics for themselves, in the company of their fellow citizens.

Purple States gives a diverse group of five ordinary citizens a chance to cover politics together, from the front lines.  Their journey is documented in a series of short narrative videos, professionally produced and edited. The members of the team also upload their own vlogs, comments on the videos, and engage with each other and with the public on their website, www.purplestates.tv. Raw footage of their time on the campaign trail is also available there.

This season our cast includes Tamara Briggman, a former teacher and a stay-at-home mom. Her husband is a contractor. Last year a spray gun exploded in his hands, rupturing his skin and filling his hand with paint. $17,000 worth of medical bills for a family without health insurance. She has been asking the candidates about their healthcare proposals.

Our cast also features Bert Sobanik, who saw three of his jobs outsourced to globalization. "Where are the new middle class jobs coming from?" he demands, railing against the forces of "progress." Bert enjoys studying the economy, and reads books on the topic in his free time. But when he talks to Senator McCain, Senator Clinton, or economist Thomas Friedman, his ultimate area of expertise is his life. "Globalization has not been good for me," he says. "Or for millions of people like me."

Tamara and Bert, along with Tanya Amador-Daigle, a Cuban-American Republican from Florida, Alex Ritchie, a liberal AT&T worker from California, Elizabeth Gotsdiner, a 23-year-old florist from Iowa, have been traveling the country as a team, in the hope of getting their questions answered and representing the concerns of millions of other Americans to the candidates.

As Purple States transitions from the primary season to the general election, we have produced a segment - available here -- that documents their struggle to make themselves heard. Come to www.purplestates.tv to see all the primary-season episodes - on topics like health care, on religion and politics, on national security and immigration - and to find out what is in store for Purple States in the general election then during the first one hundred days of policy-making in Washington.