Last Open Thread of 2009

New Year’s Eve open thread for you.

Topic (if you choose): Which politician or celebrity most embodied the awfulness of this decade?

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  • El Mystico

    Oh, mercy… So many names springing to mind it’s hard to pick just one. A promiscuous hack like Lieberman, a paranoid creep who draws the world into their crazy like Cheney (all of them), a soft-headed leaderesque beverage like Bush, various prominent members of the media circlejerk… Goddammit, I was so born at the wrong time having to spend my young life in this bullshit decade. The only upside of it all is that when I’m an old, grizzled prospector i’ll be able to say things like, “That was back in aught-four, when people was just discoverin’ the blogotubes. Ah, there was mad rush of bloggin’ by folks hopin’-a strike it rich with them internet dollars. Course it weren’t like that for most folks…”heh I could talk like a grizzled 2080′s prospector all day.

  • http://www.bobcesca.com Bob_Cesca

    Some names off the top of my head (that aren’t George Bush or Dick Cheney):Larry the Cable GuyGlenn BeckSean HannityLenny Dykstra

  • Jan

    Sarah Palin.MORON of the decade.

  • jhw22

    George W Bush. Plain and simple.Happy New Year all!! :) Jennifer

  • staci

    Joe Wilson — the personification of rudeFox News — for feeding bullshit to the masses as if they are giving communionRush Limbaugh — see Fox NewsJoe Lieberman — for not knowing when his 15 minutes were done

  • camel54

    I’m with Jan, Sarah Palin. She is the easily the embodiment of stupid, of lying, of style over substance or message over meaning however you want to say it. The adoration her followers feel for her is beyond reason and screams of blind worship. I wish I never had to hear another word about that woman for the rest of my life. She is the worst of the worst.

  • http://radicalsahm.blogspot.com/ Radical SAHM

    Puppet master Dick Cheney. Doesn’t have “dumb” as an excuse.

  • Hielo

    Easy. Traitor Joe – He did not even hide the fact that he is a full-on whore for the insurance cartel. In prior years, he acted like he actually cared about the country.Now we know which country.This year, he was honest. He will not run for office again but will make millions as a lobbyist for any old corrupt corporation or foreign power.There is nothing shittiest enough to happen to this dick in future years.

  • Kat

    Picking a celeb was easy. Paris Hilton, hands down – a woman who reached celebrity status with seemingly no other talent than for self-promotion. That our society helped her reach that level of celebrity says something really awful about us.Choosing a politician is more challenging, because the pool is so large. I think I’m going to have to agree with others about Sarah Palin. She came terrifingly close to being the leader of our country, just because she gave a bunch of idiots tingly feelings in their nether regions.

  • Vicki Smith

    McCain — because he picked Sarah

  • LK

    “Celebrity”:1) Balloon Boy’s Parents2) John and Kate3) The Lohan Family4) Octomom5)Reality TV “stars”Polticians/ Media (excluding Cheney and Bush of course because…well they deserve their own evil doer list)1) Sarah Palin – Hands down #12)Glenn Beck (and Fox News)3)Ann Coulter and Joe Lieberman4) Karl Rove5) John Edwards

  • eljefejeff

    LIEberman. Easy. Not even close.

  • camel54

    So here’s where we start taking sides between Sarah and Joe and we start hurling profanities at each other and swearing that whoever disagrees with us is a troll or disingenuous. Let the last progressive grudge match of the year start…NOW! I’m hearing The Flaming Lips’ Flight Test scoring this.

  • incredulous72

    I would have to say Cheney/Rumsfeld. That tag team’s main objective was war from the beginning; so much so they didn’t even bother to lift a finger when they got the intel about a terrorist attack on our soil a month before it happened. They actually used it as a catalyst to go to war in Iraq. They lied to get into that damn country and they lied about what they lied about to get into that country. If anybody came out against the adminstration or the war, they were called a traitor or worse. Remember what they did to John Kerry in 2004 with the whole Swiftboat scam. And let’s not forget all that mercenary money Cheney has been making ever since 9/11.He talks more now than he ever did while holding public office.As far as celebrity goes, if I NEVER hear this name again I’ll be blissful; SARAH PALIN.Oh, forgot . . . she actually held public office too.

  • http://nanotyrnns.blogspot.com/ Nanotyrannus

    George Bush, hands down.

  • Hielo

    “Larry the Cable Guy”? Why?

  • eljefejeff

    I misread the question. Joe is 2009.The decade is Bush. Easy. Cheney may have been the man behind the curtain, but Bush was the face. Screw him. He’s the one who gave the orders. We’re in Iraq because of him. We screwed up in Afghanistan and let bin Laden go because of him. We squandered the goodwill of the world after 9/11 because of him. This is why, despite the issues I have with Obama, I’ll never forget how bad things were and how lucky we are to have a guy who gets it.I have a French friend who told me of the candlelight vigils they held for us in France after 9/11, and just one year later we were boycotting France because they didn’t agree with us on the Iraq War. That was all Bush. Goddamn how I hated him. The worst. The absolute WORST.

  • kansasdem

    Fuck you Bob!I love ya’ man but I just wanted to say that because I’m a liberal douche nozzle.And may you experience many, many more fuck you’s in your lifetime ;^)

  • kansasdem

    Adding: anyone that didn’t say GW is a bigger douche nozzle than me!

  • JackDanieL

    Absolutely DubyaNot only did he preside (even if in title only) over the majority of the decade, but he embodies the willful stupidity that this nation seems to embrace

  • cvoge

    It’s weird more people aren’t saying Karl Rove.

    Agreed, Sarah Palin is as smart as a fence post and would easily be the one to choose for 2009 Doof of the Year; Glenn Beck being a close second.

    But, Turdblossom has been an influence throughout the decade. And a rotten one at that. His list of criminal accolades stretches from beginning to end of this decade.

    In politics, we need less people like Rove and more people like Richard Clarke and Senator Russ Feingold. People who want the best for our country, not what’s best for their wallet/ego.

  • Jim in Michigan

    It has to be Cheney, hands down. He was the real mastermind behind the Iraq war, patriot act, warrantless wiretapping, torture, the energy bill written by big oil, and oh so much more. He is Dr. Evil, possibly the anti-christ, if you’re into that sort of thing. If he supports something, it is wrong. If he is against something, it is right. I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with anything he said.

  • Dr. Squid

    I say Shrubya, because it was that type that paved the way for “Ignorance is a virtue” politicians like Sarah Payme.But why Larry the Cable Guy. Because not only did he celebrate ignorance, he did it with a fake personality dreamed up by a buttoned down shirt wearing private school educated snob from Nebraska.

  • alopecia

    After much internal debate—oh, forty or fifty seconds’ worth, at least—between George Walker Bush and Richard Bruce Cheney, I have to go with Bush.Yes, Cheney is pure, unadulterated, scheming evil, but that doesn’t distinguish him from a half-dozen politicians from every era going back to the year dot. Junior’s unique combination of ignorance, incuriosity, disengagement, and sense of entitlement make him emblematic of a truly awful decade.In case I don’t make it back before midnight, Happy New Year to you all and best wishes for 2010.

  • GOVCHRIS1988

    The Appointed 46th Vice President of the United States Dr. Dick Strangelove.

  • jhw22

    I want to expand on why I think Bush is the worst politician of the decade. Granted, Cheney pulled a lot of the puppet’s strings, but the thing that was most dangerous about Bush was his born-again-Christian persona that allowed the right to jump all over issues as if it were God’s will. People believed Bush had God on his side. For eight years, we were victims of a religious war on US. He was the symbol of all the behind-the-scenes crusading against non-conservatives by fundamentalists. He, alone, served as the face of all that was bastardized compassion. At least Cheney didn’t pretend to get God’s counsel.Jennifer

  • Kat

    Jackasses aside, Happy New Year, y’all!!!

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1AghS3sNSk Matt Osborne

    Bob, the totality is so awful that I didn’t even know where to begin, so I made this video.

  • Jan

    Tiger Woods for being the worst dog of a husband ever.

  • jhw22

    Sorry Jan, but if we’re going to go there, I’d seriously have to say Scott and Drew Peterson tie for worse husband of the decade.Jennifer

  • Jan

    Yup. Agreed Jennifer.Just so many dogs to pick from.

  • thruwithbuzz

    The politician that embodies the suckitude of the decade would be Uncle Dick. And the celebrity is Scott Peterson. Tiger Woods may be a scum bag, but he didn’t kill his pregnant wife.

  • thruwithbuzz

    Happy New Year everyone. My question is why the fuck would you want to be in Times Square on New Years Eve?

  • http://talkingtotangodaddy.blogspot.com tangodaddy

    not just the past year but the last forty five years the Bush family has been the biggest blight America will ever see. A hand in JFK and 9/11 may 2010 bring justice.

  • emsique

    I kinda like the underpants bomber. He brought new meaning to the term “Warhead”.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1AghS3sNSk Matt Osborne

    Ten years ago, I had a job and a track toward the career I wanted. My back didn’t hurt all the time and I was happy.2009 ends a decade of total suck.

  • Bull Schmitt

    Don’t over-think this one, Awesome Blog commenters…The 2000 and Oughts: The Decade America Got Dicked.

  • GItheJOE

    Politician of awfulness: George W. Bush – only in America can we elect(TWICE) someone that is proud their stupidity. God Bless America. FUCK!Celebrity of awfulness: Paris Hilton – She managed to make herself famous by giving another person herpes and taping it with night vision. Again, God Bless America.

  • http://www.bubblegenius.com pea

    The producers of reality TV have a lot to answer for. And Rupert Murdoch, of course. I’d say the toothless mainstream media is guiltier than anyone this last decade, for letting eight years of a hawkish theocracy go unreported, for choosing sensationalism over sensibleness. For pandering to the hoopleheads and taking the low road at almost every turn.Fuckers. The Fourth Estate has fallen by the wayside. It’s people like Bob here, and Rachel Maddow, that are the carriers of the torch. Welcome to 2010, welcome to the Fifth Estate. Thanks, Bob (and Elvis, and Stranahan, and Redmond, and Jumpy, and all you commenters). This is the only place I go to every day.Happy happy. Screw you, oughties.

  • JackDanieL

    Happy New Year everyone.Thanks for the digs Bob.Lets get after it this year.-JD

  • FIONA

    A happy and healthy New Year to everyone.An awfulness that persists – Dickie C.

  • teddy duggan

    Bob Cesca.(Oh, wait – you said celebrity, right? Sorry.)Then I’d have to say… Larry Kudlow the Cable Guy.

  • Hielo

    Just watched Matt’s video. Excellent! Thanks Matt.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1AghS3sNSk