Cynical Nation

2004 was a crazy ol' year, and a lot happened, much of it good. I've tried to compile a list of my Top 20 Moments from 2004. This is a rough draft, of course, subject to revision. Let me know if you think I missed anything significant.

1. John Kerry clinches Democratic nomination (okay, I know this doesn't sound particularly exciting, but trust me, it lays the groundwork for much of what follows.)
2. Joe Wilson exposed as a liar and a fraud.
3. CBS is exposed as corrupt, bitterly partisan, and untrustworthy.
4. The U.N. and its leadership, through a series of scandals, are exposed as criminally corrupt and ineffective.
5. The Swift Vets demonstrate that Republican interests can use 527s too! (And, thanks to Republican's superior business acumen, generate a much higher ROI than MoveOn and George Soros!)
6. John Kerry's pathetically horrific midnight "rally" in Ohio after the GOP convention. It was around this point that I truly started to believe Bush would win.
7. Martha Stewart goes to jail!
8. Arafat goes to hell!
9. Democracy takes hold in Afghanistan.
10. John Howard's landslide re-election in Australia.
11. "And I think if you were to talk to Dick Cheney's daughter, who is a lesbian...."
12. Hmm, let's see, it seems like there was something else.... Oh yes, now I recall! FOUR MORE YEARS, BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13. Daschle receives his walking papers.
14. Barbra Streisand's stunned silence for days after the election.
15. Michael Moore's limp, pathetic "Hey, cheer up, guys! It could be worse!" message after the election.
16. Paul Krugman's sudden decision to go on "sabbatical" to work on a "book."
17. Ted Rall's nervous breakdown and subsequent temper tantrums.
18. The look on Juan Williams' face as the results came in -- priceless.
19. The laughably wrong prognostications of Kos, Hunter Thompson, and others.
20. George Soros and MoveOn's utter and complete failure to accomplish... well, anything, really.