Top 10 Stories Of 2006 By Eugene Robinson

[papau]

A cute column in which the ABC note saw only a mocking Sen. Clinton's "epic rightward march" and changed "allegiance in the Culture War."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/02/AR2006010200973.html

Top 10 Stories Of 2006
By Eugene Robinson

Tuesday, January 3, 2006; Page A17
<snip>
(1)George W. Bush will continue his bid to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for "Most Frequent Use of the Blame-the-Messenger Strategy (Modern Era)." We saw the latest example Friday when the administration reacted to disclosure of its vast domestic surveillance program by launching a Justice Department investigation -- not to reexamine the electronic spying itself, which seems to violate the law, but to identify the whistle-blower who brought this practice to light. Next target: Who's leaking all that unhelpful news from Iraq, such as figures on American casualties and reports of torture by U.S.-trained Iraqi police?

(2)The administration will see steady "progress" in Iraq, even if the new government's first act is to sign a friendship pact with Iran. This "progress" will allow some U.S. troops to be brought home in the summer and fall. Unfortunately, they will have to be sent right back to Iraq in mid-November, after the midterm election. But who could have foreseen that?
<snip>
(4) Whenever she's asked, Condoleezza Rice will deny she's even thinking about running for president. But when reporters get back to the office and review their notes, they'll discover that the door was left open just a crack -- that she said "I don't want to" run, not "I won't." Meanwhile, Rice will discover that solving the world's crises somehow requires taking quite a few domestic trips, a la her recent homecoming tour of Alabama. Photogenic little children, American flags and miles of campaign-style bunting will magically appear whenever the cameras are rolling.
(5) Hillary Clinton will also deny that she's running for president -- at least until she gets reelected to the Senate. But all the while, she will slog ahead on her epic rightward march, reinforcing her change of allegiance in the Culture War. When her support for a bill to outlaw flag-burning fails to soften the hearts of the most adamant Hillary-haters, she may have to go all the way and announce she intends to honor our troops in Iraq by baking a batch of cookies for each and every brave unit.
(10) Americans will suddenly wake up and question the Bush administration about Iraq, about domestic spying, about global warming, about tax cuts. But just then, as the president fumbles for answers, a compelling news event will steal away the nation's attention.<snip>