Carl M. Cannon is a staff correspondent of "The National Journal." Lou Dubose is the co-author, with Molly Ivins, of "Shrub: The Short But Happy Political Life of George W. Bush," He was the editor of the "Texas Observer" for eleven years and worked briefly as politics editor of "The Austin Chronicle," Jan Reid is an award-winning novelist and magazine journalist. His most recent book is a much-praised memoir of Texas and Mexico, "The Bullet Meant for Me," He is a veteran observer and analyst of Texas politics.