A growing force in politics.

In politics, there are trends that are fleeting, trends that are mirages and trends that matter. In this issue, we focus on a trend that just might matter a lot: cultural libertarianism. But how it could change--and may already be changing--the political landscape is far from clear.

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Who to turn to for enlightenment? Well, a good start would be two journalists who are leading practitioners of this trend: Nick Gillespie, the editor of reason.tv and reason.com, and Matt Welch, the editor of Reason magazine.

The non-profit Reason Foundation, both a think tank and publisher, has been the leading voice for libertarians since its founding 22 years ago. With roots as varied as Friedrich Hayek, Ayn Rand and Barry Goldwater, the libertarian philosophy that Reason espouses has always attracted a devoted core of believers, rallying around the banner of individual liberty. Yet there have been few notable successes, other than on the local level, among those who run for office representing the Libertarian Party. And while this year's philosophical libertarian in the presidential race, Republican Ron Paul, managed to garner unexpected support and money, he was never a serious challenger for the Oval Office. So what's this talk of a libertarian trend?

Nick and Matt argue that politics is a lagging indicator of social currents, and the libertarian mindset that they say has taken root culturally (especially among young people) is one that no political party or aspiring politician can safely ignore. I won't steal any more of their thunder; turn to page 26 for one of the more provocative articles you'll read this election year.

From those macro insights we turn to some micro nuts-and-bolts advice about political campaigning in a story that we've been referring to around the office as the "How To" article. It's the first in a two-part series, where we've asked leading political consultants to give us their top tips for amping up a career. If you're one of those people who can't recognize or stay focused on your business priorities, then this article is a must-read. Who better to learn from than pros who have succeeded where others have failed?

And on this theme of lessons learned, you'll find an intriguing article on page 20 from former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. He tackles our ongoing feature "If I Had It To Do Over ..." and lays out a regret from his days wielding power on Capitol Hill. No, it's not about the events that led to his resignation from Congress in 2006. It's about something he really gets fired up about--the failure of Republicans to keep their grip on power, and what exactly went wrong. We suspect that DeLay's article will energize his fans and ignite his foes, and that both groups will soon be showering us with e-mails. By the way, that's a good thing.

There's much more to dig into in this March issue, so I won't hold you up any longer. As always, we hope you enjoy it cover to cover.