This doesn't give me much time to relax with my family, but I have to keep an ear to the ground and hear what voters are thinking about.

我没有多少时间可以和家人在一起，但是我得及时了解选民的想法。

The more information you can take in and attend to, the better. The closer you can keep an ear to the ground and all your other senses working at a high level, the stronger your position will be.

如果你得到的信息越多，你的所有感官都在高速运转，越留意你所处的位置，越保持高度警惕，你的职位将会越稳定。