Sarah Palin's surprise  —  From my latest American Spectator column: … Please read the whole thing.  Sunday morning, I was driving back from Lake Weiss — where we'd shot our fabulous annual Fourth of July fireworks show — when the editor called asking me to write the column.

Palin's Prospects  —  She dashed her chances of winning the 2012 nomination, but a path to the presidency remains open to Sarah Palin.  —  Forget about Sarah Palin as the Republican presidential candidate in 2012 and probably ever.  She may have no interest in seeking the GOP nomination.

What The Right Means When They Say “America”  —  UPDATE: Several posters have pointed out the distinction between the meritocratic and democratic ideal.  I have conflated the two, and thus portions of this are wrong.  Having thought on that fact though, I still can't bring myself to see Palin is one or Obama as the other.

Republicans Should Reexamine the Public Good of Private Citizens … In that phrase, “just being a private citizen,” Senator Grassley encapsulates both why Sarah Palin is so phenomenally appealing to the Republican base and how divorced the national Republican apparatus is from the core values of party members.

Schumer: With Franken Seated No Need To Compromise On Public Option  —  One of the leading Senate Democrats in the health care reform battle said that the seating of Al Franken has given the party the purpose and direction it needs to ensure that a public option for insurance coverage remains in any bill.

Dem Senator: Second Stimulus ‘Probably Needed’  —  ABC News' Rick Klein reports:  —  As job losses mount, Democrats are growing impatient about the impact of the massive stimulus package passed earlier this year, with talk beginning on Capitol Hill about a possible second stimulus bill.

HELP Is on the Way  —  The Congressional Budget Office has looked at the future of American health insurance, and it works.  —  A few weeks ago there was a furor when the budget office “scored” two incomplete Senate health reform proposals — that is, estimated their costs and likely impacts over the next 10 years.