It doesn’t get much closer than it did in Flight 3.  Readers picked Barack Obama’s “Whether we like it or not, we remain a dominant military superpower” remark as the semifinalist by just 13 votes out of over 5300.  I understand that ACORN may have been responsible for busing voters across the border from Townhall in order to defeat the “3000%” entry, but since we have a vouching law, the only thing I can do is offer my sympathies — and no, there will not be a Minnesota-style recount, either.

Instead, we’ll turn our attention in the 2010 OOTY chase to Flight 4, where the choices just keep getting tougher:

• Criticizes AZ immigration enforcement for paper checking while Secret Service checks immigration statusof students at Obama event
• “Information becomes a distraction” with X-boxes, PlayStations, iPods, iPads
• “I mean, I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money.”
• President who demands that Americans show health-insurance papers suddenly skittish about residency documents
• Playing golf instead of paying respects to the late Polish president

Don’t forget to come back tomorrow for Flight 5!  Also, I’ll still be looking for fresh OOTD candidates, even though I’ll likely hold off publishing them until after the first of the year.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at[email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!