Reporter’s Note: I can’t imagine that President Obama has time to read letters from every Tom, Dick, and Harry…well, at least not Dick and Harry.  Nonetheless, he has asked American for input and I’m obliging with a letter a day.

Tom Foreman | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Dear Mr. President,

You must be psychic! Or I’m clairvoyant! Or between us we could bend spoons with our minds. Or, considering the subject I’m about to raise, maybe a higher power is at work. Once again, just as I was thinking of writing to you about a particular subject, you took it on!

I was about to ask when you were finally going to select a church for your family (seeing as how you already said you wanted to) when holy cow you’ve done it. As I understand it, you are going with a non-denominational place up near Camp David, huh?

Good call. As much as I wish presidents could simply choose their churches like the rest of us do (meaning, based on family history, the comfort of the pews, and the distance from our homes) I’m not naïve enough to think that is easily done in this day and time. No matter where you go, people are going to scrutinize every sermon, every song, every prayer, every collection, every Sunday School lesson, to see if there is something not…well, in religious terms…kosher. And as sure as Sarah Palin is packing the moose heads from her office, given enough time people who want to find something bad about any place of worship will succeed.

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Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin announces she's stepping down this month.

Tom Foreman | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Cue the orchestra; a tune like you might expect from Yanni if he were thrown from an airplane with his fingers duck taped to a keyboard. High above the center stage a spotlight blooms like a fuel-air bomb on a hair thin wire. The background glows muted, and Warholesque with mountain ranges, rivers, glaciers, frost-bitten miners, and pink salmon. The gaping maw of a Kodiak is projected onto the hardwood, a hundred feet below.

Behold, the final act of Cirque Du Sarah.

Seriously, in all the weirdness of political theater that we’ve seen in recent years, the Governor of Alaska’s air walk from virtually nowhere only a year or so ago, to GOP darling, to pop culture puzzle, to this… this unexpected leap into the unknown this afternoon, left my mouth hanging open. (And in the wake of that Argentina hopping South Carolina Gov, that’s saying something…)

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Fireworks? Family picnics? What makes you feel patriotic on 4th of July?

Dave Schechter
CNN Senior National Editor

For many years, my friend Eve hosted an old-fashioned Fourth of July picnic in the meadow behind her home. Hayrides, sack races, softball and tug-of-war. Grilled chicken, marinated onions, tomatoes and smores. Red, white and blue bunting. After dark, fireworks.

And a flatbed equipped with a microphone and speakers, for anyone who wanted to do a reading, lead a sing-a-long or, in general, speak their piece. After three decades, a production of this magnitude for some 200 invited guests became too much. Knowing that last year’s would be the final large-scale Fourth of July picnic in the meadow, I took my turn.

After suggesting that it was unfortunate that people have their patriotism questioned when they voice a vision for their country different than whatever holds popular sway at the time and that intolerance could be found at all ends of the political spectrum, I read a selection of quotes about patriotism, some of which are included in those offered here:

“I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” – James Baldwin

“Each nation feels superior to other nations. That breeds patriotism – and wars.” – Dale Carnegie

“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right in America.” – Henry Clay

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Michael Slackman and Nazila Fathi
The New York Times

The most important group of religious leaders in Iran called the disputed presidential election and the new government illegitimate on Saturday, an act of defiance against the country’s supreme leader and the most public sign of a major split in the country’s clerical establishment.

A statement by the group, the Association of Researchers and Teachers of Qum, represents a significant, if so far symbolic, setback for the government and especially the authority of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose word is supposed to be final. The government has tried to paint the opposition and its top presidential candidate, Mir Hussein Moussavi, as criminals and traitors, a strategy that now becomes more difficult — if not impossible.

“This crack in the clerical establishment, and the fact they are siding with the people and Moussavi, in my view is the most historic crack in the 30 years of the Islamic republic…”

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Michael Jackson, loved by millions, but not by all.

David Puente
AC360° Producer

Get this — about half of all Americans count themselves as fans of the King of Pop. That’s what a new CNN poll released today says. It might seem right now like everyone’s a Michael Jackson fan.

But it turns out there are big gender, generation, ethnic and even political gaps when it comes to who admires Michael Jackson.

Interviews for the poll were done between June 26-28, with just over 1000 adult Americans. Here are some of the results, tell us how accurate you think they are and how you compare…

Would you say you were a fan of Michael Jackson, or not?

Yes, a fan 51%

No, not a fan 49%

Of that total of fans and non-fans the results here broken down further by gender and race:

Men        Women        White        Non-White

Yes, a fan                                       45%         56%              42%            73%

No, not a fan                                 54%         43%              57%            27%

Broken down by age:

18- 35- 50-

34 49 64 65+

—– —– —– —–

Yes, a fan 58% 62% 49% 24%

No, not a fan 42% 38% 49% 76%

Even broken down by political party:

Republican                       Democrat

Yes, a fan                                    63%                                     35%

No, not a fan                              36%                                     64%

Reporter’s Note: President Obama is trying to grab a little rest this holiday weekend. At our house we are continuing with our summer movie-fest of classic films, and I’m continuing my marathon of letters to the White House.

Tom Foreman | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

Dear Mr. President,

Happy 4th of July! Your first as President! That must be a truly unusual sensation, and I hope it is sitting well on your shoulders, like a brand new suit that fits just like an old one. I understand you are trying to catch a little break at Camp David, and I hope that is going well too. As I mentioned last weekend, we are watching a broad range of classic films this summer, and as promised I will skip the presidential advice each Saturday for a while, to simply chat about what we’ve seen and some of the great lessons we might all learn from these masterpieces. We enjoyed Breakfast at Tiffany’s this past week, and we have Mr. Smith Goes to Washington in the lineup, but the movie I really hope we get to while the fireworks are flying is The Great Escape. What a spectacular film! And, I must say, a perfect Independence Day movie. It has everything: Brave soldiers, adventure, suspense, loyalty, and frustrated Nazis!

But most of all, it has Steve McQueen. For my money, as respected as McQueen was during his life, he has been far too easily forgotten by the modern movie crowd. His Captain Hilts was stalking the reels of this film with impossible style in 1963; the same year Captain Jack Sparrow, aka Johnny Depp, was born. McQueen was cool before cool was cool. Or at least soon afterward.

But he is also, in The Great Escape, the very model of a certain type of American that has been utterly essential to our nation’s success. Hilts is a dreamer. He looks at the impossibility of being locked up in a German POW camp, and sees only the possibilities of breaking out.

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Tonight on 360°, the surprising career change for Gov. Sarah Palin. She’s quitting her job as governor of Alaska by the end of the month. The big question tonight is: Why?

Want to know what else we’re covering tonight? Read EVENING BUZZ

Scroll down to join the live chat during the program. It’s your chance to share your thoughts on tonight’s headlines. Keep in mind, you have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules.

Here are some of them:

1) Keep it short (we don’t have time to read a “book”)
2) Don’t write in ALL CAPS (there’s no need to yell)
3) Use your real name (first name only is fine)
4) No links
5) Watch your language (keep it G-rated; PG at worst — and that includes $#&*)

And take a look at our live web camera from the 360° studio. Watch the WEBCAM

Greg Clary
CNN

The heat was just too much for a life-sized cheese statue of Abraham Lincoln in Washington Friday, as the cheddar head slid off and shocked the gathered crowd.

A woman shrieked in horror when the head collapsed at her feet.

Troy Landwehr spent more than forty hours carving the statue out of a one ton block of Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese. The carving is for the annual Cheez-It Big Cheese events which are patriotic cheese carvings unveiled around Independence Day.

In years past, the carvings have included the signing of the Declaration of Independence and Mount Rushmore.

After putting Lincoln together again, Ledweher told CNN what type of cheese works the best for these carvings.

“The young cheddar works the best. It has the best oils and consistency. Other cheeses are too soft and will melt and (some) are too hard and you won’t get a smooth surface when you cut on them,” said Landwehr.

Apparently, this cheese wasn’t quite hard enough.

Michael Jackson rocking out with Orianthi during a rehearsal for his London comeback .

Asia Lindsay
AC360° Intern

Who is the blond female guitarist Michael Jackson dances with in the videotaped dress rehearsal for his tour — just two days before he died?

She is Orianthi Panagaris, an Australian guitarist who has recorded her own work and also played with Santana and also with Carrie Underwood at the Grammys.

She calls herself just Orianthi, and now she has been thrust into the limelight.

Orianthi has declined to talk about Jackson since his death, but here’s what she tweeted:

“looking back on some wonderful memories and feeling really sad, MJ was ready and was taken far too soon, he was such a wonderful person.r.i.p”

We feel the same way, Orianthi.

Patients undergoing surgery may receive Diprivan to keep them sedated during the procedure.

Elizabeth Landau
CNN

Diprivan is a powerful I.V. anesthetic drug used for patients undergoing certain surgeries and diagnostic procedures.

The drug is making headlines with the claim from a nurse who worked for pop icon Michael Jackson that the singer, who died June 25, had repeatedly asked her about the drug. Nurse Cherilyn Lee told CNN that Jackson had brought up Diprivan about three months ago, saying he needed it for insomnia and that his doctor said it was safe.

“He said, ‘I am so sleepy. I cannot sleep. I want to have at least eight hours of sleep,’” Lee told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

The medication, whose generic name is propofol, renders the patient unconscious for as long as doctors deem necessary. The patient wakes up almost immediately after the infusion is stopped, experts say.

But treating sleep disorders is not an approved use of the drug. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says Diprivan should be given only by people trained in the administration of general anesthesia and who are not involved in the conduct of the surgery or diagnostic procedure.

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