Okay ... be warned ...
just so you know, I've obtained a new flower book - called Northwest Weeds, the Ugly and Beautiful Villains of Fields, Gardens and Roadsides.
I figure this new reference resource won't make my stellar track record of misidentification any better, but now I can be wrong with much greater authority...
I'm thinking this plant, illuminated by the rising sun on Independence Day 2009, is a Chicory - Cichorium intybus... It was introduced into the United States because its roots are used as a coffee substitute.