Candy Crowley, “State of the Union” host on CNN, is the best political journalist in the business, in my never to be humble opinion. She is a seriously savvy, right on target writer. Combine that ability with her rich, mellow, easy on the ears voice rarely heard in a woman reporter, and you get a balanced, smart message impressively delivered with the kind of authority some man once said no woman could ever sell to the public.

Well, Sir, Candy can. She has covered all but one of the national political conventions, since Jimmy Carter. She sat down for an exclusive interview with President George W. Bush a few days before he left the White House.

I would love to meet Candy, to sit down and talk with her. From what I have read about her, she steadily made her way through the male dominated journalistic maze of political reporting on the back of her outstanding ability, professionalism, and pure hard work while raising a family as well. Her children she considers her greatest accomplishment, saying that they love her and want to be around her, so she must have done something right.

Candy Crowley is a woman for our times. She is strong, passionate, tough, and compassionate. I believe she radiates the kind of female grit seen in Scarlett O’Hara so many, many years ago as she shook that turnip toward the heavens, vowing never to go hungry again! It’s that velvet coated ferocity built into every woman’s DNA that enables us, through seemingly impossible situations, to call into action every ability we possess when necessary, especially when others are depending upon us. It is the mothering thing, the animalistic instinct to protect our young, because we simply must. I think Candy has that same fierce determination to get to the truth, to protect it, and to effectively tell us about it, because she has no choice. It’s in her DNA, in her character, in her soul. Every Sunday morning, she will be in my living room, on my television screen, telling me the TRUTH about the state of this country. She tops my very shortlist of those I trust to do that.

I believe in Candy, and applaud CNN for giving her this well-deserved venue. I await her first of many books to come, which she says she hopes to write someday. I am hoping it will be soon.

Some of her awards include:

The 1997 Joan Shorenstein Barone Award for Excellence in Journalism for her coverage of Bob Dole's campaign for the presidency.

Associated Press Broadcasters' Award for spot news reporting for her coverage of the 1980 Reagan campaign,

Associated Press Broadcasters’ Award for in-depth coverage of the 1980 Reagan campaign.

The 1999 DuPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Award for coverage of the impeachment and trial of President Bill Clinton.

Columbia University's Armstrong Award for “Freedom is My Woman”, a documentary on a prison cellblock takeover.

In 2003, an Emmy for CNN Presents' "Enemy Within."

The 2003 and 1998 Dirksen Award for distinguished reporting on Congress from the National Press Foundation.

In 2004, the Gracie Allen Award for "War Stories" (in the National News Story-Series category)

National Headliner and a Cine award for "Fit to Kill." 

In 2005, Joan Shorenstein Barone Award for excellence in journalism for her reporting on the 2004 presidential election.