As always, the annual Fourth of July Palisades Parade was a scene to behold: campaign cars and trucks — some, like Kwame Brown’s massive vehicle, barely able to navigate the narrow streets of the riverside neighborhood — signs, and, of course, free stuff. Our own Martin Austermuhle was inundated with candidate giveaways — water and towels from Adrian Fenty (“not very soft, like the candidate!”), a fan from Vincent Gray, a pocket constitution from Mary Cheh and even a green ball from Muriel Bowser — over the course of one of D.C.’s foremost chances to, quite literally, see our politicos paraded out in front of us. (DCist founder Mike Grass provides some fun coverage of the political side of the parade over at City Desk.) DCist staff photographer Michael DeAngelis joined Martin on the scene Sunday to document this District tradition, catching several adorable hacks and flacks-in-training.