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Tales From the Trail: Uncle Sam Wants a Selfie

Want to know what the NBC News Embeds saw? Follow their daily journey to the inside of the 2016 presidential campaign here:
Image: Ted Cruz Holds Super Tuesday Election Night Watch Party In Home State Of Texas
John Evans dressed as Uncle Sam of Kingwood, Texas, a supporter of Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), attends a Super Tuesday watch party at the Redneck Country Club March 1, 2016 in Stafford, Texas. Cruz won the primary in Texas, his home state. (Photo by Erich Schlegel/Getty Images)Erich Schlegel / Getty Images

Want to know what the NBC News Embeds saw? Follow their daily journey to the inside of the 2016 presidential campaign here:

Uncle Sam Wants a Selfie

HOUSTON, TX--Ted Cruz had a major celebrity at his Super Tuesday election night party: Mr. America himself -- Uncle Sam.

Now, ordinarily I'd forgo a photo opportunity with a costumed-clad campaign rally attendee. But it's not every day you come across an Uncle Sam out of central casting. He even nailed the pose when he re-enacted the famous "we want you" pose from World War I-era army posters.

In the past seven months I've seen a pretty good Santa Claus and a solid Abraham Lincoln, but I think this Uncle Sam takes the cake.

-- Jordan Frasier from Ted Cruz’s Super Tuesday rally

Live Shots on the Move

The assumption upon taking this job is that you will, from time to time, be called upon to appear on television. I never thought, however, that I would be doing so from a moving car on the Florida Turnpike.

Using the power of the LiveU app, I swapped seats into the passenger side and readied for my hit. A digital reporter - with no prior camera experience - from another network shot me from the back seat as I talked about Donald Trump while we covered the miles between Orlando and Palm Beach. Thankfully, the iPhone was our method of shooting, a medium in which we are all more than versed.

In all the places I've done live shots - from the bank of rivers to standing on two folding chairs to gain the appropriate height - doing TV faced (literally!) by reporters from other networks and publications in a Suburban was by far the most intimidating. It also made me the most thankful for having good friends on the trail.

-- Ali Vitali covering the Trump campaign