On behalf of this estimable blog, here are the 2008 Constructive Curmudgeon Awards.
1. New Politician of the Year: Sarah Palin. She came out of nowhere and set the political establishment on its ear. It's too bad about her running mate, though.
2. Postmodernist Politician of the Year: Barack Obama. All image, all the time; surface over depth; pastiche over foundation; nausea, nausea.
3. Stooges of the year: The mainstream press's handling of the Postmodern Politician of the Year.
4. Surprise political event of the year (outside of Sarah Palin): Proposition #48 of Colorado received 27% of the vote. Yes, it lost, but this was the first proposition of its kind to make the ballot. That 1/4 of the voters would support a strong pro-life amendment to the Constitution is nothing to laugh at. (I collected signatures for it, put up signs in the neighborhood, and contributed. I will never give up on this issue.)
5. Old Politician of the Year: George W. Bush. His approval ratings scrape the floor; we conservatives did not like all the federal spending; the war in Iraq could have been handeld much better (an earlier surge). But consider this: The United States has not been hit by a terrorist attack in seven-and-a half years. Sleep walking (or running) Americans seem to have forgotten this amazing fact. It does not just happen of its own. Bush's policies, as unpopular as they have become--Gitmo, warrantless wire taps, the Patriot Act--are largely responsible. God have mercy on us under Obama.