Unity08. A people's movement to take our country back.

In a recent opinion article in the Los Angeles Times, Tamar Jacoby, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and coauthor of "Reinventing the Melting Pot: The New Immigrants and What It Means To Be American" urges Americans on both sides of the political spectrum to re-engage in political discussion - with each other.

In a segment entitled “Are Centrists Losing Out?” on Hardball with Chris Matthews, former U.S. Senator John Danforth – an Episcopal priest -- discusses his new book “Faith and Politics” and how elections today are no longer fought over voters in the middle, but those on the extremes. Click here to watch…

Is the country more divided than ever five years after 9/11? If so, why do you think that's the case? Can we again find the same sense of unity we felt in the immediate aftermath of 9/11? Should we? Talk about it here.

Editorial cartoon by Scott Stantis, The Birmingham (Ala.) News, for USA TODAY.

Maile Lesica, a Founders Council member and part of the Unity08 college team, talks about how Unity08 is an opportunity to get involved - and help shape the Unity08 movement - without compromising your beliefs.

Lasley Gober, Unity08 Founders Council member, speaks about how we need to think critically about who we are as Americans and the issues that are crucial to our future instead of taking the easy way out.

In “Party No. 3,” NY Times columnist David Brooks says that there are “two major parties on the ballot, but there are three major parties in America. There is the Democratic Party, the Republican Party and the McCain-Lieberman Party.” In the wake of Lieberman’s primary loss and America’s growing dissatisfaction with politics, Brooks considers an emerging third choice. Read the article here (subscription needed).

In this audio blog, Unity08 Founder, Doug Bailey, provides background information about himself and the reasons why he thinks Unity08 is needed in a time when the parties focus more on mobilizing their base than governing well.

You asked for anonymous commenters to be given the boot, and we have obliged. Starting today, if you wish to post comments to blogs or the Shoutbox you will need to either register or log in. While we realize this might have a temporary dampening effect on the number of comments, we hope that overall it will improve the level of discourse on the website.

What better place or time to ask Americans what they think of politics today than Washington, DC on the 4th of July? Watch the video to see what people had to say to our Unity08 roving reporters. Then, let us know what you have to say by commenting in the blog, posting your opinion in the Shoutbox or sending us your own video or audio clip. Or, better yet, post it to YouTube and we'll link to it.

Yesterday, at a kickoff for political pundits Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein’s new book “The Broken Branch,” former Speakers of the House Thomas Foley and Newt Gingrich spoke on the dreadful state of Congress. Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote “The Ex-Speakers Speak With One Voice on the Sorry State of Congress,” about the event.