Confused about which lobbyists Senator McCain hangs out with and which ones don't make the cut? TPM Muckraker provides (in an easy-to-use graphical format!) a guide to McCain's network of helpful pals.

Would you have believed just a few short years ago that long-standing Republican seats in the House like Dennis Hastert's would be claimed by Democrats in 2008? Would you further believe that, in the Senate, Democrats would have legitimate chances at winning in places like Alaska, Mississippi, and even North Carolina? We know the former to be true. According to the Los Angeles Times, you can also certainly believe the latter.

Happy 4th of July. We're all celebrating in our traditional ways. My wife and I went to the waterpark before hosting a family cookout, The Fix is at the beach, and John Conyers is threatening to hold Karl Rove in contempt of Congress. Have a great time and be careful out there.

After the first failed attempt at suing Wendy Davis to get her off the ballot, Kim Brimer is trying again to avoid having to run for reelection to his state Senate seat in Tarrant County.

Are we really in the business now of referring to people that came up under and worked for Karl Rove as his acolytes? Really? I guess we must be as it has certainly happened, this time in reference to a big re-org over at the McCain campaign.

Searching for "terror," "Clinton," or "Hillary" at the McCain campaign website reveals a strange gem. On all but the last of these search terms, this entry shows up as the second hit. Unfortunately, clicking on the link leads to a blank page, but the brief preview is amusing enough by itself.

If you haven't read the story at Burnt Orange Report about how an agitator in their comments named Buck Smith turned out to be David Beckwith, a member of John Cornyn's senior staff, you really should. The hilarious part is that he was caught because he reused an old email address. The GOP once again fails to learn the internets, and ends up on the news for it.

If you haven't heard about the summer Campaign Camp that State Representative Mark Strama puts on, I encourage you to read about it here. It is not only a great way to engage young people in politics, but it also gives them the tools to make use of their talents in organizing wherever they end up.

Believe it or not — and I'm not at all sure that I do — Politico has Romney out in front in the GOP VeepStakes.

The slowest time in presidential politics between the end of the primaries end and the general election begins this week with July 4. From Friday until Labor Day, things should be pretty slow and laid back. Or at least, they usually are. In this race I suppose anything could happen. MSNBC's First Thoughts (featuring Chuck Todd, of course) explains it all.