Posted on 12/26/2009 5:26:06 AM PST by rabscuttle385
Pity Ben Bernanke. The guy was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year and the reaction rivaled fish sticks in the enthusiasm category. Old Ben might well be the guy of 2009, but few know who he is or understand what he does.
Being chairman of the Federal Reserve may have advantages, but public visibility is not among them.
Here’s all you need to know: After being honored by Time, Oprah did not call Ben.
When you think about people of the year, the list is short. Perhaps, Lady Gaga, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ... maybe the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who drove the health care bill. This was not a good year for actual people.
My person of the year is U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. He iced the honor last week when he hammered the insipid Al Franken for being disrespectful to U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., on the Senate floor.
McCain smacked Franken good because the former actor known as Stuart Smalley would not give Lieberman a few extra moments to finish his remarks on health care, a major breach of Senate etiquette.
Earlier this year, McCain told the world the Iranian government was punishing its own people and urged President Barack Obama to support dissidents inside Iran. The president did not and McCain made a big deal out of it. Good for him.
Also, McCain has been articulate in warning Americans that the new health care legislation will lead to financial and medical chaos. McCain may be wrong, but he’s been clear and consistent about his opposition to the bill, giving Americans another side to consider.
So where was this McCain during the campaign last year?
There are some Americans who now have buyer’s remorse because they voted for Obama. But, really, McCain did not do much to inspire confidence.
The former fighter pilot refused to launch aggressive attacks on the liberal positions of his opponent (like government-driven health care), and he shied away from raising questions about Obama’s dubious associations (Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers). If you believe Sarah Palin, she was salivating to make Wright the poster boy for Barack’s campaign. McCain shot Palin down — sorry for the choice of words.
But in 2009, McCain became unleashed, using his credibility and visibility to urge the president to commit more troops to Afghanistan and to stop putting America last in his foreign speeches. Unburdened by expectations, McCain seemed almost gleeful to debate the Howard Deans of the world over fiscal responsibility.
He also led the exposure of bribes to Democratic senators to vote for health care. It could not have been easy for McCain to lay out his colleague, U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, basically a good man, for accepting a unique Medicare deal for his state. If that wasn’t a vote bribe, nothing is.
Thus, McCain is my person of year. His ascendancy might have come a little late, but at least we know there’s an honest guy in the Senate who is taking no prisoners. (Sorry, again.)
Bill O’Reilly is host of the Fox News show "The O’Reilly Factor." His column is distributed by Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles 90045.
I have despised BOR for many years.
Both can go pound sand.
It takes a real loser to want to glorify another loser...
BOR’s logic for Person of the Year is incredibly simplistic! Al Franken is O’Reilly’s worst enemy, so since McCain smacked down Franken for his dissing of Lieberman, BOR now thinks McCain is the greatest!
Unbelievable! If any of us had smacked down Franken, he’d likely think we were the “cat’s meow” as well.
But if McCain was such a big deal, he would have campaigned better, won the election and would have led our country somewhat better than the doofus administration we’ve got in their now.
A self-absorbed pompous ass glorifying yet another self-absorbed pompous ass. May God protect America from these fools!
His greatest sin is this...
McCain failed America when his chance for true leadership arose because he was too timid to attack Obama where it really mattered.
Obama is a muslim, he is anti-American, and he is a Socialist. His attendance at Jeremiah Wright's church matters, his association with anti-Americans matters, that a preponderance of evidence indicates he is a muslim matters.
McCain put his own desires above the needs of the country.
McCain wanted a picture-book campaign in which he could again be a hero basking in the accolades of his honor-loving fellow countrymen. His selfish insistence on running his "honorable campaign" against a thoroughly dishonorable man betrayed America.
McCain valued his own personal image of "honor" above his duty as an American to identify an enemy of our Country (particular when this enemy is on our own soil and running for the presidency) and to carefully identify the enemy's weaknesses...and to attack at the points of greatest weakness. .
Whether McCain was duped, tricked, or simply outmaneuvered by Obama is besides the point.
McCain let America down because he refused to fight!!!
McCain let America down because he refused to fight!!!....................................He blew it! He put a leash on Palin, the one thing that moved him up in the polls and prevented a total landslide for Obama.
Ooh yeah... McCain.
How’s that compromise thing working out Johnny?. How’s that reaching across the isle working? How’s the “Gang of Whatever” working?
I really don’t believe that any Republican could’ve won the presidency in 2008 because the voters of this country were drunk on the anti-Bush kool-aid served by the MSM. Sad, that people of this country can’t think for themselves, or do their own research. For whatever reason, they prefer to be spoon fed and believe lies.
McCain, more than likely, had he won, would’ve been a one-term president, then we’d most assuredly would’ve had a DemoRAT in office come 2012.
I also blame the idiots who voted so many RATS into Congress. Are Americans this darned stupid to have a one-party system in control? Apparently, yes.
The best we can hope for is taking control in 2010 and stopping some of this liberal agenda. Who would’ve believed such damage could be done to our country in such a short time? These people are insane!’
I remember BHO making the comment to McCain, “You don’t know what you’re up against.” And, he didn’t. Neither did he take heed to the Marxist’s words or take advantage of the things we knew about Zero. No, he had to play Mr. Nice guy. I almost puked when he made his concession speech and said that BHO was now his president. He isn’t mine, and never will be!
I disagree with Sen McCain and many things but he was smart enough to select Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008.
That choice was a great gift to the conservative movement.
Before or after she endorsed McCain in the 2010 Ariz. Senate GOP primary election on the verge of a possible candidacy declaration by J.D. Hayworth, who, according to Rasmussen, would be in a dead heat with McCain?
John McCain is a lame has been. It is past time for him to retire!
Had he any character, he would have resigned FRom the US Senate as soon as he was chosen the Republican nominee.
At least Bob Dole was “all in” when he ran for President!
What's really galling about BOR, is he actually thinks people care what he thinks.
All power to McCain when he does right.
McCain greatest sin is McCain - Feingold.
You can trace almost all the success of the democrat crime machine to that legislation which gutted the way that GOP raised money.
The SOB borders on treason
Actually, McCain should be the runaway choice as Hypocrite of the Year. He’s running for re-election, and has much to cover up and deny if he is to win,. False impressions are a must until election day 2010. Of course, O’Reilly would never be sharp enough to pick up on all that.
Meanwhile, his sidekick Lindsey works behind closed doors with Chuck Schumer on the the amnesty push, while Juan keeps a low profile on that issue, and others.
Well that sounds just about right—one arrogant, self-important sell-out heaping praise on another arrogant, self-important sell-out.
I may get flamed for this, but McCain is my person of the year 2008.
As much as I cannot tolerate his wearing the enemies uniform in the guise of bipartisanship, he introduced the world, and me, to Sarah.
I will be forever grateful for that.
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