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The best parts about traveling with presidential candidates on the campaign trail are the interactions with voters, who are as diverse as our country and come to the events with hope and optimism that an individual candidate can speak to their most pressing problems.

The worst parts, without question, are the jokes.

You hear a candidate make the same jokes over and over. The part of Senator Elizabeth Warren’s stump speech where she jokes about being the “accidental” baby in her family, the part of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s story where she says there were “more cows than Democrats” in her first House district. It’s indicative of the privileged position of many of us reporters, who get the incredible opportunity to hear some of the nation’s most powerful people speak dozens of times. But it also confirms another, equally salient truth: Politicians aren’t that funny.

As a national political reporter for The New York Times, I have a lot to balance on a daily basis. The presidential campaign among Democrats is already in full swing, more than eight months before the first Iowans will cast their vote in the presidential caucus. I have been covering Ms. Warren, who has been releasing policy proposals at a blistering place, including big ideas such as breaking up Facebook, increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans and canceling student debt. That has meant being nimble and available at any moment, ready to jump on a story from a bar (as I did Wednesday) or an airport (last week), or during your favorite soccer team's most important match (don't worry, they won).