It’s been quite a year, readers. We began with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, the climax of TPM’s two years worth of reporting on the election, and the news hasn’t stopped since.
So now, on the eve of a new year — an election year! — that promises more and more news, we want to take a look back at our readers’ most favorite stories of the year, as measured by page views.
We’ve seen scandals national and local, sexy and greedy and strange; we’ve seen outright lies repeated with conviction; we’ve seen racism and “your mom” jokes. Two of these stories are about Sarah Palin’s fibs, two are Senate smackdowns and one is just plain adorable.
Without further ado, our 10 most clicked, looked, read and ogled stories of 2009:
1. Jindal Admits Katrina Story Was False
When Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal gave the Republican rebuttal to President Obama’s not-state-of-the-union speech in February, he was blasted for his childlike tone and cheesy backdrop. But the really bad part of the speech was a story he told that put him in the center of Hurricane Katrina rescue efforts and made him sound like a hero. But, after digging by TPMmuckraker and others, Jindal admitted the story just wasn’t true.
2. GOP Lawmaker’s Graphic Sex-Bragging Caught On Tape
A member of the California state assembly apparently didn’t realize his microphone was on when he leaned over to the guy next to him and bragged about his sexploits with not one but two mistresses — in graphic detail. (What does “eye patch underwear” mean anyway?) Come to think of it, “Hot Mike” Duvall was pretty popular in TPM headquarters, too.
3. Mysterious Private Security Firm Gets Control Of Empty Jail In Small Montana Town
This was the first of several posts on the American Police Force (which then became the American Private Police Force), a strange and shadowy firm that took over a jail in Hardin, Mont. After TPMmuckraker’s dogged reporting, the firm backed out of the deal.
4. Palin: Obama’s “Death Panel” Could Kill My Down Syndrome Baby
Fun fact: Sure, it would have gotten noticed by others, but TPMDC’s own Eric Kleefeld was the first to notice former Gov. Sarah Palin’s coined phrase, which caught on like fire in the August health care melee.
5. Conservative Activist Forwards Racist Pic Showing Obama As Witch Doctor
A Florida doctor and anti-reform activist forwarded a racist image of President Obama dressed as a witch doctor (bone in his nose, feather headdress, loincloth) to a Tea Party listserv.
6. Fourth-Grader To Obama: Why Do People Hate You?
Dress an adorable child in a sea-green sweater vest and have him ask the president of the United States why people hate him so much, and you got preciousness of epic proportions. (Yes, there’s video.)
7. A Loyal Bushie Burrows Into Obama’s System
In a truly special example of “burrowing,” one of former President Bush’s climate change deniers found a permanent job in Obama’s National Science Foundation.
8. Franken Cuts Lieberman Off, Won’t Let Him Finish Floor Speech
After the public option and Medicare buy-in were dropped from the health care bill in order to make sure Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) was on board, many progressives surely fantasized about telling Lieberman to shut up already. In this video, Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) did just that. (For the record, Franken’s office assured us that Franken was following leadership orders to keep everyone within their time limits.)
9. Even Fox News Fact-Checks Palin’s Claims About Dollar Coin
When Palin tried to claim that Obama was moving “In God We Trust” to the edge of the dollar coin, it was a lie too far for Fox News, who promptly and efficiently debunked her claim.
10. Kyl: ‘I Don’t Need Maternity Care.’ Stabenow: ‘Your Mom Probably Did’
This was just a really good burn. When Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) argued in a committee meeting that insurers shouldn’t be mandated to require maternity care — because he doesn’t need it — Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) shut him down.
Honorable Mention: Sex Scandal Flow Chart
This wasn’t a story, per se, but it’s too good not to mention. Our reader’s “Interactive Guide To Recent Republican Scandals” was so handy it came in between numbers 5 and 6 on this list.
