Top 9 stories of 2009

In compiling this Top 9 list, VUI diverts from its usual humor from such and looks at the serious news events that seemed to shape the culture in South Carolina and beyond.

9) The death of Senator Teddy Kennedy. Like Kennedy or not, he was the left’s old champion. Even those of us who disagreed with Kennedy’s politics can respect the dignified way he fought brain cancer and recognize the significance of his death.

8) The change of culture in American sports, such as college football. Successful coaches such as Mark Mangino of Kansas and Mike Leach of Texas Tech were fired for events concerning their treatment of players. The days of the successful coach who made their players run until they puked are over. American culture now demands coaches of sports win and be nice. Further, sports seems to be less important, as college and professional sports had a hard time in 2009 putting butts in the seats so to speak. Then there was the disappointment that was Tiger Woods. Sports is no longer the escape from politics, economics and scandal it once was.

7) The passing of great pundits, such as Robert Novak, William Safire and Walter Conkrite. Like them or not, those men represented an old fashioned honesty in telling it like they saw it that is missing in American politics and punditry today.

6) The so called “stimulus” package. Never before in American history has so much money been spent by Congress in such a short period of time. The bill creates unprecedented debt for the American people.

5) “You lie!” Those famous words shouted out by South Carolina’s Joe Wilson became a rallying cry on both the right and left of American politics.

4) Barack Obama becoming President of the United States. Not only is Barack Obama the first African American to become President, his policies shifted the war on terror to more of a criminal justice action and he pushed through the above mentioned stimulus package. Agree or disagree, Obama’s taking the White House shifted policy significantly.

3) The death of Michael Jackson. VUI never really cared much for Jackson and most of his music, but American Presidents have passed away with less media attention. Jackson also was an example of how tragic a life of constant fame and attention can become.

2) (Tied) Governor Mark Sanford’s trip on the Argentine Trail. In May, Mark Sanford was being considered for President of the United States. By July, he was a joke on late night talk shows. By December, his wife was filing for divorce. The dueling interviews of the Sanfords and all the hoopla surrounding Sanford’s trips not only made South Carolina the butt of political jokes, it derailed the Presidential plans of a candidate who had been groomed by the Club for Growth and Howard Rich.

2) (Tied) The saga of Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin remained a larger than life figure in 2009, despite the McCain Palin ticket’s defeat in 2008. Palin resigned the office of Governor of Alaska abruptly in the summer. Palin’s daughter’s “baby daddy” posed for Playgirl. The mainstream media scorned Palin. Yet, when Palin released her book and went on tour, she played to record crowds and had record sales. Palin seemed to tap into the anger people have about big government being ran by big business.

1) The economy. President Obama and the Democrats leading Congress offered the record stimulus package, continued Bush’s policy of bailing out banks and auto makers, but unemployment still rose. Each time in 2009 Americans were told there was a light at the end of the economic tunnel, that light seemed to be an oncoming train ready to hit them. Even good economic stories in South Carolina, such as the Boeing investment, were met with staggering job loss numbers.