Amy Gardner has covered local, state and national politics for 20 years. She joined The Washington Post in 2005 after stints at The News and Observer in Raleigh, The Daily Press in Newport News, Va., and The Corning Leader in Corning, N.Y. Amy grew up in Westchester County, N.Y., but as an I.B.M. brat also lived in Atlanta, Dallas, Paris, Connecticut and Vermont.