It’s that time again – the 10 worst predictions of 2008.  You’ll never guess who took the gold:

“If [Hillary Clinton] gets a race against John Edwards and Barack Obama, she’s going to be the nominee. Gore is the only threat to her, then. … Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.” —William Kristol, Fox News Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006

Weekly Standard editor and New York Times columnist William Kristol was hardly alone in thinking that the Democratic primary was Clinton’s to lose, but it takes a special kind of self-confidence to make a declaration this sweeping more than a year before the first Iowa caucus was held. After Iowa, Kristol lurched to the other extreme, declaring that Clinton would lose New Hampshire and that “There will be no Clinton Restoration.” It’s also worth pointing out that this second wildly premature prediction was made in a Times column titled, “President Mike Huckabee?” The Times is currently rumored to be looking for his replacement.

Make sure and click through the C&L link to Foreign Policy and read the long version.  After the jump, an abbreviated list of the other honorees.

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For sale – one (1) U.S. Senate seat, barely used (only 4 yrs); includes matching desk, black Suburban w/ driver, access to candy desk and cloakroom, bean soup. Must sell quickly. Cash only: $5,000,000 OBO.  Call direct at 312-814-2121, ask for Rod.

• it’s ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests or bribes

PostingID: 86763248

My prediction was correct: Rod’s lawyer says he isn’t going anywhere. 

Rod would have made a good Republican.

Buried in in the Blagojevich avalanche we find the following:

Larry Craig, not surprisingly, isn’t happy a Minnesota court rejected his attempt to withdraw the guilty plea in his airport bathroom sex case.

His statement: “I am extremely disappointed by the action of the Minnesota Court of Appeals. I disagree with their conclusion and remain steadfast in my belief that nothing criminal or improper occurred at the Minneapolis airport. I maintain my innocence, and currently my attorneys and I are reviewing the decision and looking into the possibility of appealing. I would like to thank all of those who have continued to support me and my family throughout this difficult time.”

I will be extremely disappointed if he doesn’t appeal. Way to keep it in the news Larry!

From ThinkProgress:

Additionally, the “court upheld the government’s power to ban ’sexual solicitations’ in a public restroom, rejecting Craig’s claim that the law violates freedom of expression.”

Larry Craig Miffed But Still Guilty [Politico]

Oh my:

Federal authorities took Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) and his chief of staff John Harris into custody this morning on federal corruption charges. Before the arrest, the Chicago Tribune had reported that a “three-year federal corruption investigation of pay-to-play politics in Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration has expanded to include his impending selection of a new U.S. senator to succeed President-elect Barack Obama.” According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald’s Office:

A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife. At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich discussed obtaining:

– a substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions;

– placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year;

– promises of campaign funds – including cash up front; and

– a cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself. 

Might as well be blatant about it.

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Remember Plymouth?  Oldsmobile?  Those car brands disappeared mostly because they duplicated another line’s models (in this case Dodge and Buick) by just changing the badges.  “Badge engineering” some called it.

Now GM must slim down.  The question is – which brands and nameplates to cut?

DETROIT — General Motors says it will eliminate eight nameplates by 2012.

But determining which vehicles will go isn’t as simple as finding eight sales duds in GM’s lineups. GM will kill more than eight vehicles — while adding several others — by 2012.

And what does GM consider essential?

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Jane Hamsher annoys me sometimes, but she makes sense in today’s post about replacing my junior senator:

Everyone seems to be salivating because Caroline Kennedy called David Patterson [sic] and is apparently interested in the Senate seat being vacated by Hillary Clinton.

It’s a truly terrible idea.

Her leadership could have been really helpful when the rest of us were trying to keep the progressive lights on and getting the stuffing beaten out of us by a very well-financed right wing for the past eight years.  But when things were tough, she was nowhere to be found.

But what really resonates with me is this:

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