The Rearview Mirror

As is every one's M.O. on the last day of the old year, it's time for the VoterVault's look back at the year that was. Here are our top 10 political happenings from 2006, in order of our subjectively perceived importance:

1. The Midterm Elections: The War was the story as voters showed up to vote against Republicans. The Democrats had the good fortune of being the only viable option, and found themselves back in power, with Nancy Pelosi at the helm in the House (see the great Onion piece about her as the first female speaker).
   
   
2. Iraq: the call from the radical Left for an immediate withdrawal, and the call from McCain for a surge of troops has been moderated by many in the notion that there are only "bad options and worse options". Agreed, but keep up optimism--it brought down the Soviet Union, while pessimism brought us down in Vietnam (ridiculously oversimplified).
   
   
3. Airliner Plot: Remember how the Brits and Americans stopped a major plot near its execution? Few do. Good news fades faster than any other kind of news.
   
   
4. Iran: Their rise to the front of the world stage was rapid. They have surpassed North Korea in both the "dangerous" and "crazy" categories. Don't worry, Kim Jong Il still remains unrivaled atop the "weird" list. The U.N. finally slapped them with sanctions, only to have their president say something to the effect of "the world will regret this". Hitler, anyone?
   
   
5. Illegal Immigration: As hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and their supporters marched the streets in the South and Southwest's major cities, backlash against them was already forming. That Congress will do anything about it now that Democrats have taken over is unlikely. Especially with 2008 approaching.
   
   
6. Hezbollah and Israel: Seems like ages ago, but it was only this past summer that Hezbollah invaded Israel, captured two soldiers, and sparked a month+ long conflict that left much of Lebanon in ruins. Oh yeah, and Ariel Sharron wasn't there due to his stroke.
   
   
7. Saddam Convicted: This may well lead to one of the top stories of 2007, as they seem set to hang Saddam for mass murder within weeks. Will the Sunnis riot? Will this intensify the Sunni-Shiia conflict? We'll know soon.
   
   
8. Dick Cheney: Shoot a guy in the face and as long as he's not seriously hurt, it makes for great comedy.
   
   
9. Congressional Scandals: The GOP had one nasty year in Congress: Tom Delay, Bob Ney, Mark Foley, Jack Abramoff. The Dems did a little better, but were still newsworthy. Remember the Dem Congressman with $90,000 in his freezer? Or how about the little-covered Harry Ried land scandal? Rumors are floating of a shady Barack Obama real estate deal as we speak. Yup, it was a rough year for Congressional ethics.
   
   
10. Tie: Rumsfeld Resigns/Valerie Plame leak case. Rumsfeld should have been out before the election, and 43 looked like he had his tail between his legs when it finally went down. The main story in the leak case wasn't what happened, but what didn't: Karl Rove was not indicted. Scooter Libby is still on trial for perjury, but there was no real evidence that someone in the White House was the first to leak her name.

That's a rough but exciting year. We'll see you back here on Tuesday for a new year of the VoterVault. Have a safe and happy New Year's celebration.