Robbins: On that note, in all your years of being a journalist, who has given the most surprising interview – someone who really let their personality shine through?

Roberts: I believe that I have learned more interesting things from talking to voters in shopping malls than I have in my interviews. These are people who are telling you about their lives. Over the years, what you have is people telling you things that make all the data come alive, and sometimes even pre-dates the  data. I can remember back to the Reagan years. We all just assumed conservative voters would be for defense spending. I was attending a Rotary club in 1982 in Belzoni, Mississippi with farm equipment salesman and car salesmen. They said, there’s no way you can put that much money into business that fast and get something done. It was a real eye opener. That’s something you don’t get in the halls of Congress.

Robbins: What would you say is the key to getting people to answer those tough questions you ask?

Roberts: It’s very hard. And with politicians, they are media trained. They not only try to avoid answering questions, they speak in 11 second sound bites. The best way to get people to relax with you and talk to you is to is to demartianize yourself. You walk into someone’s home and you’re a martian, so you talk about the pictures of the family, and make a connection so that you seem like them.

Robbins: With all speaking and writing you do, you must find some time in there to relax. When you want to zone out, what’s your go-to book, magazine or TV show that you watch?

Roberts: I read all the time. Right now, almost all my reading is for research for a book I’m writing about women in Washington, before, during and after the Civil War, how they changed and how the city changed as a result of it. It’s heavy- duty research, so I’m reading Civil War diaries and letters and some biographies. The topic of the Civil War has been so done, so my challenge is dealing with the women who do leave and what happens to them. The ones that left don't interest me. It's when they return after the war and return to civilized society; they get really interesting. The plan is to publish it in time for our
sesquicentennial in April 15.

Robbins: If you could go back in time and meet any historical figure, who would it be and why?

Roberts: Any historical figure; there could be thousands of them. I would like to meet Dolly Madison and tickle her and make her not talk polite lady talk. Her letters are fabulous, but the way she presented her self in public, she is charming beyond her belief. I really want her to talk to me the way she talks in letters. American history is what I’ve focused on all my life; there all kinds of fascinating  people. I mean, Catherine the Great, my G-d.

Robbins: Did your teachers see that love of American History in you early on?

Roberts: I see the nuns that taught me. They were incredibly influential in my life. I met with one of the women the other day -- she runs the Temple of Understanding at the United Nations. She and I both agree that what really shaped our futures was not the courses (and she did teach me history and writing), but was debating. She was my debate coach, and that’s what I ended up doing. She feels like she did too. These nuns were terribly influential in my life. They were highly intellectual people who took girls seriously in the 1950s when it was highly unusual to take girls seriously.

Robbins: Obviously, the journalism landscape has changed much – from how journalists gather news to how it’s delivered, to who is considered a journalist to how the industry deals with breaking news. What do you say to young women and men who are considering careers in the journalism field today?

Roberts: Well, the need for the content for actual reporting and writing and delivering the information has never been greater. There are more ways to get information and use information in human history. The problem today is getting paid for it, that’s a real challenge. My husband (journalist Steve Roberts) always says the skills are incredibly useful skills: being able to write well and being able to learn something very fast, set priorities about what’s important and then write in a cogent way and deliver it. Those skills are incredibly useful. My son, who is now a banker, was a lawyer. He worked at Hill and Knowlton (public relations firm), CBS News, and then he was a lawyer. He used all of the same skills. You are learning very fast but figuring out what matters and being able to communicate it.

Robbins: You've written several books on the topic of interfaith marriage (Roberts is Catholic, her husband is Jewish), and you've spoken to a lot of Jewish audiences. What advice do you give interfaith couples or couples who are considering interfaith marriage?

Roberts: I am always hesistant to give advice, but in any marriage, the key is respect. I hear people speak to their partners in a way you never hear speak to anyone else. It's cringe making. You also need good humor. You can always tell a good marriage by the number of teeth marks on a person's tongue. Respect is even more important, though, respecting each other’s traditions. Different couples work it out differently.

Robbins: Because we are speaking to our community about your insider's view of Washington, I want to squeeze in one question about politics:

What one measure or change could have the biggest impact on restoring the civility that used to exist, 20 years ago and more, between Republicans and Democrats in Washington?

Roberts: The answer is actually very simple. The biggest impact is if (the legislators) families moved and lived in the nation’s capital where they work. They don’t do that anymore after a political decision by Newt Gingrich to portray the national’s capital as "Sodom on the Potomac"....People think it’s politically unwise to move their families there. It's expensive, they would have two houses, spouses have other jobs in other cities. It has made a huge difference in people not being friends. They aren't going to same PTA meetings, and they aren't around each other so they can be friends.

Robbins: Thanks so much for your time, Cokie. It's been a real pleasure to speak with you.

Roberts: Thank you. I have to go run to my grandson's geography bee now....