Ronald Brownstein:

In their contest for the White House, Barack Obama and John McCain are expanding the campaign battlefield. Paradoxically, that may be the first step toward taming the partisan warfare in Washington that has blocked progress on the country's most pressing problems.

One key reason Washington is so polarized is that American politics is so balkanized. Each party has retreated from the ambition of competing nationwide in presidential elections. After some early feints, George W. Bush eventually ceded the Northeast and the West Coast to the Democrats in both 2000 and 2004; Democrats Al Gore and John Kerry eventually wrote off the South, the Plains, and much of the Mountain West. Both camps accepted most of the nation's red-blue divide as immutable.

In 2004, despite all the money and time that Bush and Kerry spent campaigning, only three states--Iowa, New Hampshire, and New Mexico--voted differently than in 2000. Fully 34 states have voted the same way in each of the past four presidential elections. That's the highest level of such consistency since before World War II.

July 5 ...

In 1810 P.T. Barnum was born in Bethel, CT. In 1811 Venezuela became the first South American country to declare independence from Spain. In 1830 the French occupied the North African city of Algiers. In 1865 William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London. In 1902 American statesman Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was born in Nahant, MA. In 1935 President Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which provided for a National Labor Relations Board, and authorized labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining. In 1940 Britain and the Vichy government in France broke diplomatic relations. In 1941 German troops reached the Dnieper River in the Soviet Union. In 1943 the battle of Kursk began as German tanks attack the Soviet salient, beginning what was the largest tank battle in history. In 1946 the bikini made its debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris. In 1947 Larry Doby signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black player in the American League. In 1954 Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session took place at Sun Records in Memphis, TN; the song he recorded was That's All Right (Mama). In 1991 a worldwide financial scandal erupted as regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).

... during his Fourth of July speech welcoming new US citizens.

Aren't these people something else? People come to see someone else speak -- to new citizens -- and these jerks interrupt the speech with tired sloganeering. (In the third video, listen to one of the protesters yell, "F@&$ you, George Bush. F@&$ you!" at about 2:00. Classy.)

Update: Just to review: The President of the United States gives a Fourth of July speech at Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, to honor, in part, new citizens -- and a protester interrupts, yelling, "F#%@ you, George Bush, F&$@ you!"

Unbelievable.



Here's more from a different angle:



Here's a ten-minute video of the speech (Listen for a protester yelling "F#$& you!" to Bush around 2:00):



"F$@& you, George Bush. F$@& you!"

The American Left: All class, all the time.

(via Hot Air)



This re-enlistment ceremony is being called by some 'the largest in US history.'

It all came down to an overtime "dog-off" in the 2008 Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest, when defending hot dog eating champ Joey Chestnut defeated legendary six-time champ Takeru Kobayashi at Coney Island, NY.

Chestnut defeated Kobayashi by eating five hot dogs first in the overtime "dog off," after both competitors tied by devouring 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes.

The event was covered live by ESPN, and was sponsored in part by Heinz Ketchup (which may not sell so well in Chicago).

After watching this contest for the first time, the thought occurs: Wouldn't a natural sponsor for this event be Pepto-Bismol, or Alka Seltzer?

The New York Times editorial board discovers that Barack Obama is a Chicago Democrat.

John Stossel takes the media to task for its hyperbolic economic coverage.

July 4 ...

In 1776 the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. In 1802 the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, NY. In 1803 the Louisiana Purchase was announced in newspapers (the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed April 30, 1803 and okayed by Congress Oct. 20). The property was purchased by the US from France for $15 million (or 3 cents an acre). The "Corps of Discovery," led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, began the exploration of the territory on May 14, 1804. In 1804 author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, MA. In 1826 50 years to the day after the Declaration of Independence was adopted, former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died; also on this day, American songwriter Stephen Foster was born in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1831 the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, died in New York City. In 1845 Henry David Thoreau began his two-year experiment in simpler living at Walden Pond, near Concord, MA. In 1863 the Confederate town of Vicksburg, MS, surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. In 1872 the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, was born in Plymouth, VT. In 1881 the Tuskegee Institute opened in Alabama. In 1917 during a ceremony in Paris honoring the French hero of the American Revolution, US Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Stanton declared, "Lafayette, we are here!" In 1934 boxer Joe Louis won his first professional fight in Chicago, IL. In 1939 baseball's "Iron Horse," Lou Gehrig, said farewell to his fans at New York's Yankee Stadium. In 1976 Israeli commandos raided Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing almost all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers. In 1987 Klaus Barbie, the former Gestapo chief known as the "Butcher of Lyon," was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison. He died four years later at age 77. In 1995 the space shuttle Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir parted after spending five days in orbit docked together. In 1997 NASA's Pathfinder spacecraft landed on Mars, inaugurating a new era in the search for life on the Red Planet. In 2005 NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft took pictures as a space probe smashed into the Tempel 1 comet. The mission was aimed at learning more about comets that formed from the leftover buidling blocks of the solar system. The Deep Impact mission launched on January 12, 2005.

Chicago (Rooters) -- In a stunning development sure to rock the 2008 presidential campaign, sources tell Rooters that presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Barack Obama will announce next week that he is leaving the Democratic Party to become a Republican.

The sources tell Rooters that Obama's decision is all part of his commitment to become the first "post-partisan" presidential candidate in US history.

Political experts in Washington are roundly hailing the decision as one of the most brilliant political moves ever made.

"The pragmatism ... the sheer brilliance ... the ability to understand how to seize the moment at the right time ... leaves me speechless and makes me realize that I am not worthy of this great, great man," said one prominent Washington insider requesting anonymity.

A Washington journalist covering the Obama campaign -- and also requesting anonymity -- told Rooters, "Obama's move to the GOP proves what I've thought all along -- this man will be the best president in the history of the country. His decision shows just how smart he is. Now it will be Republican voters' turn to experience the thrill running up their legs."

Yet another Washington journalist, and also a prominent blogger, told Rooters the obvious: he felt it was a great move made by a great politician.

"It brings me to tears when I think how great this man is. He will single-handedly stop the Christianists and the war criminals who have taken over control of the GOP," said the blogger, who requested anonymity.

Even Democratic Party insiders hailed the move.

"The man is a brilliant strategist, par excellence. He already has the potential to be the best president we have ever had ... that's all I can say at the minute, as I'm near tears," said one prominent Democratic Party elder.

An Obama campaign spokesman put it best when he said, "He doesn't just belong to us now -- he belongs to everyone. All of those gun-toting, bible-thumping morons can now claim him. The racist bigots, the uneducated -- the educated, but not from the Ivys -- all of them. What an historical moment."

As interpreted by Iowahawk.

Real Clear Politics' Jay Cost:

I have thought for a while that the Obama campaign has a kind of Chicago boldness to it. Some say that the nickname of Chicago - the "Windy City" - is not actually from the wind. [ed. -- It isn't.] Instead, they claim that "windy" is a synonym for bombastic - arising from Chicago's reputation for boastfulness in the late 19th century. Maybe that's where the name comes from. Maybe not. [ed. -- It's exactly where the name comes from.] At any rate, anybody not from Chicago who has lived there for a time will probably aver that it is a uniquely self-assured city.

Like the city it's headquartered in, Obama's campaign is very audacious (where have we heard that word before?). When there is a choice between boastfulness or modesty, the campaign always seems to boast. To me, that is very Chicago.

This attitude can make for good politics, and I'd note with interest that this cheeky meat packing town managed to snag the World's Columbian Exposition over New York City in 1893. The Obama campaign has been reaping benefits for its confidence, too. The coverage of Obama since he clinched the nomination has usually centered around all of the things he might be able to do, rather than the things he might not be able to do. I think the campaign's bravado has had something to do with that.

July 3 ...

In 1608 the city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain. In 1775 Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, MA. In 1863 the three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg ended in a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated. In 1884 Dow Jones published its 1st stock average. In 1890 Idaho became the 43rd state of the Union. In 1898 the US Navy defeated a Spanish fleet in the harbor at Santiago, Cuba, during the Spanish-American War. In 1930 Congress created the US Veterans Administration. In 1941 Harlan Fiske Stone is sworn in as the 12th Chief Justice of the United States. In 1962 Algeria became independent after 132 years of French rule; also on this day, Brooklyn Dodger great Jackie Robinson became the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1976 103 hostages were rescued by an Israeli commando unit at the raid on Entebbe airport in Uganda. The hostages had been taken from an Air France jetliner. In 1986 President Reagan presided over a gala ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty. In 1988 US Navy warship USS Vincennes accidentally shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard. In 1998 Japan joined US and Russia in Mars space exploration with the launching of the Planet-B (known as "Nozomi") probe. The mission failed to achieve Mars orbit.

James Kirchick:

The belief that “the Republican Party has been successfully scaring voters since 1968” is a comforting salve for Democrats. After all, it’s much easier for them to demonize conservatives than consider that the reason for their electoral defeats may lie with liberal ideas. Please don’t take that as a "smear.”

July 2 ...

In 1566 French astrologer, physician, and prophet Nostradamus died unexpectedly. In 1776 the Continental Congress passed a resolution saying that "these United Colonies are, and of right, ought to be, Free and Independent States." In 1881 President James Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau at the Washington railroad station; Garfield died the following September. In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act. In 1908 Thurgood Marshall, the first black US Supreme Court Justice, was born in Baltimore, MD. In 1926 the United States Army Air Corps was created. In 1937 aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first round-the-world flight at the equator. In 1961 author Ernest Hemingway shot himself to death at his home in Ketchum, ID. In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In 1976 the Supreme Court ruled the death penalty was not inherently cruel or unusual. In 2000 opposition candidate Vicente Fox won Mexico's presidential elections, ending the Institutional Revolutionary Party's 71-year reign. In 2002 American adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly non-stop a balloon solo around the world.

Markos Moulitsas, he of the fake Chicago-Tough-Guy act, castigates Barack Obama, he of the fake Chicago-Change-Agent act, in a post titled, "Rewarding good behavior." (via Instapundit and LGF)

I guess this is what happens when the Napoleonic Complex and the Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Complex intersect.

Pass the popcorn...