Meet Tara Palmeri, one half of the new "Yeas and Nays" column at the Washington Examiner. Tara hails from the great state of New Jersey where most of her friends have last names that end in a vowel and can name the exact landmark in each scene of the Sopranos.

This Jersey girl has been in DC since attending American University. And though she misses the bagels and Taylor ham of her homeland, she decided to stay in the District and start her career in journalism at CNN where she produced the daily political podcast, assisted production for "The Situation Room" and "State of the Union" and field produced. Now that she's taken the reigns of "Yeas and Nays" with Nikki Schwab, FishbowlDC caught up with Palmeri for a little Q and A.

If you weren't working in journalism, what would you be doing?
I would be performing since I have a background in theater. It helps me be a better journalist because as "The Bard" says, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players" - especially in Washington.

What/who is your dream interview? I would love to interview Mike Myers as every character he has created - and then write the book.

What working journalist do you most admire? Larry King because he's interviewed everyone. He doesn't make the show about him. He just asks the questions that people want to have answered and he keeps asking them until he gets answers. He chooses the news-makers of the day and finds a way to combine journalism and entertainment. Plus he's been in the business forever and could give me a few tips.

What does your morning reading list include? I grab an Examiner and a Post for my metro ride to work. From my iPhone I scan the other major papers, then I hit the Politico and the gossip blogs at the office.

What changes should we expect at "Yeas and Nays" under your rule? A lot more Jersey punch.

Other than Obama and Biden, who did GQ miss on their "50 Most Powerful" list? A bigger representation from the fourth estate could have been helpful.

Are you more of a yea or a nay? Depends on what I'm covering. I'm very opinionated so if I like it - "a yea" - but if I think it's too hoaxy, definitely "a nay."

What is the strangest or funniest pitch you've received since starting at the Examiner? The other day I got a pitch about faux fur and how it's "fabulous for fall." The e-mail contained a photo of the fur and the HSN price. I thought at first, this person is confused about what we cover, but then they actually called Nikki's [Schwab] line to see if I got the e-mail about the fur. Hmmm...