--- description: Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across America. title: State of America: Photographing Joe Klein’s Road Trip image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ab7f3e2181cc0c/69879edbf887dcde60e8c0bc/01_120604-163534-joes-road-tri.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # State of America: Photographing Joe Klein's Road Trip by [Myles Little](/author/myles-little/) ## Myles Little Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 25, 2012 6:09 PM CUT ![June 4, 2012. A view from the road: the route from Virginia Beach, Va. to Montross, Va.
Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across eight states from June 1-21. ](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ab7f3e2181cc0c/69879edbf887dcde60e8c0bc/01_120604-163534-joes-road-tri.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2) June 4, 2012\. A view from the road: the route from Virginia Beach, Va. to Montross, Va. Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across eight states from June 1-21. June 4, 2012\. A view from the road: the route from Virginia Beach, Va. to Montross, Va. Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across eight states from June 1-21.Andrew Hinderaker for TIME by [Myles Little](/author/myles-little/) ## Myles Little Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 25, 2012 6:09 PM CUT _“The campaign is in a lull. The wars overseas are winding down. Washington is paralyzed. I’ve loaded up my iPod with some new songs. There’s nothing to do but….hit the road!”_ With that, veteran TIME political columnist Joe Klein began his [three-week, eight-state road trip](http://swampland.time.com/where-in-the-world-is-joe/ "undefined"), which ended last Friday. Klein has made this sampling of the country’s political climate a yearly tradition. This time around, TIME sent three of the magazine’s contributors to accompany Klein for different legs of the journey. Here, LightBox presents a selection of their work as well as their thoughts from across America. **What was the single most memorable experience you had on the trip?** **Andrew Hinderaker**_:_ In Richmond, Virginia, at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting in a Drug Rehabilitation Center, we met a woman who’d struggled with addiction since age nine. She was a convicted felon, and now, in her 40’s, was 21 months clean. She’d recently convinced a friend to allow her to farm a piece of land. For someone like her, whose addiction left her reliant on medical care most of her life, President Obama’s healthcare legislation meant for her a fresh start. With affordable healthcare, she could be a small business owner, a farmer, an active, contributing citizen; without it, she’s just a recovering addict. We learned her story because another man at the meeting expressed his disdain at the Healthcare Reform Act. We got to watch their argument, and this woman’s story change a man’s mind. It certainly proved Joe’s point about getting to know one another; perhaps the government should sponsor free coffee and organize meetings once a week with a group of local strangers. **What was the economic and political mood of the parts of the country you visited?** **Katy Steinmetz:** People seemed disappointed and exhausted by the political and economic state of things in America. Many were hopeful, but more were resigned—past anger and yearning for a little compromise. **What was the #1 problem facing the people you met?** **Pete Pin**: This was dependent on class. For a group of upper middle class voters in Charleston, West Virginia, they were most concerned with the visceral partisanship of the country and the future of the health care law. For rural voters in Jackson and Newcomerstown, Ohio, they were most concerned with jobs and social ills. **What was their #1 reason for hope?** **Pete**: Community at the local level. I learned that in spite of the partisanship and bickering in Washington, people genuinely believed that things can and will get better, not because of intervention by the federal government, but rather because of the community coming together at the local level. **What is the national character? Are there uniquely American traits?** **Pete**: The singular thread I found was an overwhelming sense of self-reliance. Liberalism in the classical sense, John Stuart Mill. **Andrew**_:_ Everyone likes barbeque. **Did you return from the trip more or less optimistic about the future of the country?** **Andrew**: Certainly more optimistic. One of the things that struck me most about the places that we visited was all the conversation. In all these pockets of America, folks more than willing, eager even, to talk and debate reach new conclusions. I don’t think it’s the impression you’d get of our citizens from watching the nightly news, but it’s something I observed in every niche. [_Andrew Hinderaker_](http://www.andrewhinderaker.com/ "undefined") _is a former TIME photo intern and a photojournalist whose work has appeared in TIME, The Wall Street Journal and New York Magazine._ [_Pete Pin_](http://www.petepin.com "undefined") _is currently the international photo intern at TIME and a photographer whose work has also appeared in The New York Times and Forbes._ [_Katy Steinmetz_](http://swampland.time.com/author/metzbook/ "undefined") _is a reporter in TIME’s Washington bureau._ ![June 4, 2012. A view from the road: the route from Virginia Beach, Va. to Montross, Va.
Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across eight states from June 1-21. ](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ab7f3e2181cc0c/69879edbf887dcde60e8c0bc/01_120604-163534-joes-road-tri.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp) June 4, 2012\. A view from the road: the route from Virginia Beach, Va. to Montross, Va. Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across eight states from June 1-21. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  June 7, 2012\. Don Dyke, 72, and wife Marlene Miller Dyke, 71, at their home in Red Lion, Pa. The couple are local advocates of Planned Parenthood in a predominantly Republican district. Pete Pin for TIME  June 9, 2012\. The Bluegrass and Bass festival in St. Mary's, W. Va. Pete Pin for TIME  June 6, 2012\. Students Mambu Francis (L) and Edwin Lamarre at Southwest Leadership Academy Charter School in southwest Philadelphia. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  June 6, 2012\. Inside the First Baptist Church of Paschall in southwest Philadelphia. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  June 11, 2012\. From left to right, Peggy Shook, 76, and Judy Mitchell, 71, in the donations sorting room of Journey's End Ministries in Newcomerstown, Ohio. Pete Pin for TIME  June 9, 2012\. Boaters gather at the Bluegrass and Bass festival in St. Mary's W.Va. Pete Pin for TIME  June 13, 2012\. The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Pete Pin for TIME  June 11, 2012\. Mike Gammella, the President of UAW Local 1250, which represents workers at the Ford Motors assembly plant in Brook Park, Ohio. Pete Pin for TIME  June 14, 2012\. Auto workers listen to local candidates at a union hall in Heath, Ohio. Katy Steinmetz for TIME  June 17, 2012\. Signs in the business center where the Tea Party held a town meeting in Kalamazoo, Mich. Katy Steinmetz for TIME  June 19, 2012\. Rally attendees cheer for Mitt Romney as he arrives at a campaign stop outside Sweetie-licious bakery in Dewitt, Mich. Katy Steinmetz for TIME  June 2, 2012\. Santa Rich Rice, from Lincolnton, N.C., poses for a photo outside of Hyatt Place in Greensboro, N.C. He was in town for a traveling Santa class. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  June 3, 2012\. Fluvanna Dems' strawberry social in Troy, Va. Andrew Hinderaker for TIME  June 13, 2012\. Dayton, Ohio. Pete Pin for TIME  June 9, 2012\. The Reverend Jim Davidson in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church, in Elizabeth, Pa. Pete Pin for TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3789680/state-of-america-photographing-joe-kleins-road-trip/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3789680/state-of-america-photographing-joe-kleins-road-trip/"},"headline":"State of America: Photographing Joe Klein's Road Trip","datePublished":"2012-06-25T18:09:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:02.934Z","description":"Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across America.","url":"https://time.com/3789680/state-of-america-photographing-joe-kleins-road-trip/","keywords":["LightBox","politics","Pennsylvania","photography","Ohio","American","photo essay"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ab7f3e2181cc0c/69879edbf887dcde60e8c0bc/01_120604-163534-joes-road-tri.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Myles Little","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/myles-little/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt27ab7f3e2181cc0c/69879edbf887dcde60e8c0bc/01_120604-163534-joes-road-tri.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"01_120604-163534-JOES-ROAD-TRI","caption":"June 4, 2012. A view from the road: the route from Virginia Beach, Va. to Montross, Va. Three photographers joined TIME's Joe Klein on his annual road trip across eight states from June 1-21.","creditText":"Andrew Hinderaker for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3789680/state-of-america-photographing-joe-kleins-road-trip/","name":"State of America: Photographing Joe Klein's Road Trip"}}]}] ```