TASK DEFINITION: You will be given a trivia clue, and the category it belongs to. You should answer with the best answer that belongs in the category and is described by the clue. For simplicity, answers should be in all lower cased letters.
PROBLEM: Category: ADD A LETTER
Clue: Confer if you wish, but if you add a letter to "confer", it becomes this type of evergreen

SOLUTION: conifer

PROBLEM: Category: POLITICS
Clue: In 1958 he became the first Democrat elected by popular vote to the U.S. Senate from Maine

SOLUTION: edmund muskie

PROBLEM: Category: EDWARD R. MURROW
Clue: Critic Jack Gould called Murrow's show on this senator "the week that broadcasting recaptured its soul"

SOLUTION:
joseph mccarthy