Get Involved: Kirsten Gillibrand's advice

Here's a quick Q&A with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on getting involved in politics. Not exactly groundbreaking advice, but enthusiastically delivered:

It's really interesting to me that she notes that she did not one, not two but three different training programs for women candidates before she ran for office, and she recommends doing so to young women considering a run. I'm of two minds about this advice to some extent. It's not that I don't think the programs have value - I've even highlighted some for you on more than one occasion. It's just that we might do well to remember that not only do most male candidates not go through so much candidate training (especially at the most local levels), but the very idea often doesn't even occur to them.

For more on how men and women tend to make different decisions about political involvement and running for office, I insist that you read Madeleine Kunin's Pearls Politics and Power.