I suppose I ought to have had something of substance prepared for my first post here, but I don't! Rather, let's begin this blog in the way all lasting relationships must -- with an introduction.

My name is Aabria, and I am a founder and contributing writer at RuthlessReview.net. If curiosity strikes and you decide to visit the site, I'm going to have to stress the importance of spelling the URL correctly. If you're not quite sure what I'm driving at, let me ask you this: have you ever made the mistake of visiting WhiteHouse.com? I'm not recommending you check that out, but needless to say...it ain't 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue's site, friends.

In any case, let me just throw out my basic information and spare us all four more needless paragraphs. I'm 23 years old. I was born and raised in Southern California, and currently reside in Orange County. I am an adamant Christian.  I graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science. I am African-American. Yes, I am a registered Democrat (but I'll explain that later.) I love politics, but my passion lies with Foreign Policy and International Affairs.

If you're now wondering why on earth I even bothered to create a blog on Townhall, given my obviously liberal background, you can blame Hugh Hewitt. I doubt many of Hugh's listeners have ever seen my name in order to recognize it, but I'm one of the many interns that have graced the studio in his tenure with Salem; some would say that I am, in fact, his all-time favorite. (Don't let the nickname "Prodigal Intern" fool you!) If you remember any pointless argument over UCLA's football team or Harry Potter on the show, it's a safe bet I was behind it.

Now, the truth is that I'm not nearly as liberal as I appear to be, and the only reason I'm even registered as a Dem is because of my freshman year of college. Way back in 2004, I was a freshman at the University of Iowa and eagerly awaiting my first national election as a voter. I was registered as a Republican in California before leaving for the midwest, but then there was that singularly infamous aspect of Iowan politics that called to me...an event jokingly referred to by the very mascot of my school: the "Hawkeye Cauci". The Iowa caucus has been an integral launchpoint for presidential nomination bids for as long as I could remember, and the opportunity to participate was too good to pass up. However, since W was up for reelection and therefore already the Republican nominee, I had no choice but to re-register. Having said that, I had a blast scurrying around the room with hundreds of other college students, though it felt more like a thinly-veiled excuse to channel schoolyard playfulness than a noble and time-honored political act.

Now I think it best to wrap things up here for the time being. I hope you have a little idea of where I'm coming from, and I look forward to discussing the vice-presidential debates soon!