A San Francisco radio host grown tired of media stereotypes, Rose Aguilar packed up her van, picked up her boyfriend, and set out on a six-month road trip . . . like many on the coasts puzzled about the "us" and "them" of the Red State – Blue State America. As I drove, gas prices were going up . . . abortion as a defining issue went away she says.

She wrote about it in Red Highways: A Liberal’s Journey into the Heartland. Aguilar is the host of Your Call on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco.