海角大神

Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy was waiting for us on a simple chair, sitting sideways with an arm slung over the top while he pecked at his phone with the other hand. When I and a couple of local reporters walked in, he yawned, popped a Listerine strip into his mouth, and ambled up to the cameras.

We were in his hometown of Bakersfield, California, but his spiel sounded just like every one I鈥檇 heard him give on Capitol Hill. We asked a few questions, and then the press guy said, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 all the time we鈥檝e got, guys.鈥澛�

And then something changed.

It was like the play had ended, and the actor came out to say hi. He asked me whom I鈥檇 interviewed, and explained why people here are wary of reporters who fly in from out of state.

鈥淭hey already have a preconceived notion about us, right?鈥� said Speaker McCarthy, who added that those preconceptions always end up baked into the story, no matter how long his friends spend with a reporter. 鈥淭hey feel burned time and time again. ... because it鈥檚 almost like people already have the story written.鈥澛�

Indeed, Washington鈥檚 centripetal forces affect journalists as much as politicians, creating narratives that are hard to break out of. So I find it always helps to visit a lawmaker鈥檚 turf.聽

I went out to the oil fields of Mr. McCarthy鈥檚 district, drove around with a farmer as a crop-duster buzzed her pickup truck, and hung out by the tables in the back of the Bakersfield Republican Women鈥檚 luncheon, where there were gift bags for new members, buttons like 鈥淒on鈥檛 let me vote Democrat when I die,鈥� and a woman named Penny collecting donations to address human trafficking in the city.聽

In our cover story, you can hear from people who have known Mr. McCarthy for decades and worked closely with him 鈥� and decide for yourself what kind of leader he is.