Why would the Monitor's Washington bureau get into the business of blogging?

This online journal (a weblog, or blog) is just the latest sign of the paper's long commitment to covering Washington and doing so using the most up to date methods.

Only months after the paper's founding in 1908, the Monitor opened its first Washington bureau run by a freelancer whose cryptic byline was W.W. Jermane. What those initials stand for has been lost to history.

But W.W.'s legacy lives on at the Monitor's Washington bureau at the corner of 16th and I Streets. Our building, which resembles a six-story concrete bunker, was designed by the famed architectural firm of I.M. Pei & Partners. What the building lacks in charm, it makes up for in location. We are just one block from St. John's Episcopal Church where President Bush worships most Sundays. And just two blocks from the house where he lives.

From this perch, a dozen or so Monitor reporters, editorial writers, and a photographer keep an eye on the folks who run the country – or at least think they do.

Our goal with this blog is to speak to the Monitor's online readers in a conversational, occasionally humorous, hopefully insightful manner about what happens here in the US capital. During this election year, much of what goes on here will focus on the presidential campaign, as will the blog. But we'll also comment from time to time on two other forces that drive this city: economics and the news media. While I will be writing most of the entries, I also plan to share observations from the Monitor's hugely talented staff here.

Cook's Capitol is written by Dave Cook. He welcomes your comments.