JAMA’s coverage of the 2012 US presidential campaign launched on January 25 with a blog posting by Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frakt, who commented on President Obama's State of the Union Address and the Republican Party's response (http://newsatjama.jama.com/2012/01/25/opinion-the-state-of-the-union-health-care-cannot-be-ignored). To provide ongoing coverage throughout this election year, we have assembled a team of leading scholars, including health economists, health policy experts, and legal scholars, to provide insight about the political aspects of health care. Many of the names will be familiar: Andrew Bindman, Stuart Butler, David Cutler, Larry Gostin, Larry Levitt, Diana J. Mason, Mark D. Smith, and Gail Wilensky in addition to Aaron E. Carroll and Austin Frakt. Periodically, these commentators will be joined by JAMA editorial board members, such as Uwe Reinhardt.