Some prefer Auld Lang Syne.  But the Extreme family goes for this …

Time magazine picked Vladimir Putin.  Weekly Standard went with David Petraeus.

They’re both wrong.  The Man of the Year, the winner of 2007 Extreme Man of the Year honors, is Tony Snow.

He’s the smartest hire the Bush administration made.  He was the most articulate voice on Iraq policy — and most other policies.   He had the most compelling non-military personal story of anyone in the administration.  And he’s someone who pulled off the unthinkable: he went out on top, with both his conservative credentials intact and with the love and adoration of the media.  Never again in our lifetime.

There’s also quantitative reasons to make Tony Snow Extreme Man of the Year.  An examination of our top ten most-read blog postings in 2007 puts Tony in the number two and number ten spots.  Clearly there was an appetite for Tony Snow.

Here’s the full listing of the most-read Extreme Mortman blog postings from 2007:
1) Oddly, our biggest hits in 2007 were about 2006 — the top ten funniest political quotes of 2006 and the top ten funniest things celebrities said about politics in 2007. So let’s go ahead and plug again this year’s lists: top ten funniest quotes by politicians in 2007 and top ten funniest media quotes of 2007.

And the rest of the list:

2) The best of Tony Snow versus Helen Thomas exchanges at the White House.

3) Don Rumsfeld chatting up Doug Feith! “Not just chatting, laughing. Laughing really, really hard. The kind of laughter that’s so hard it could cause a mistrial if the Scooter Libby jury ever heard it.”

4) After the Virginia Tech tragedy, a member of the White House press corps asks: “Does there need to be some more restrictions? Does there need to be gun control in this country?”

5) CNN’s “Fairness Doctrine”: the New Hampshire Democratic debate

6) “First, the Democrats turned against President Bush on Iraq. Then, Republicans. Now, who’s next? Could it be — yes, it is … it’s the White House press corps that doesn’t care for Bush’s Iraq policy. At least Bush’s Iraq policy on the White House press corps.”

7) “You know you’re in really sorry shape as a presidential debate moderator when another member of the press — a far more famous and powerful member — demands your resignation. That’s where we stand today with Des Moines Register editor Carolyn Washburn — and the Washington Post’s Dana Milbank.”

8) Remembering when we were all worked up about global cooling — the April 1975 Newsweek cover story.

9) “It’s Mourning in America“: Maria Bartiromo leaves us all depressed following the Republican presidential candidate economics debate.

10) Tony Snow: “As some people in this room are suddenly finding out, the alternative minimum tax is a way of declaring working people rich and raising their taxes. I know a number of you have suggested in recent days that you’re starting to feel the bite of the AMT.”

We’ll probably hear lots more in the coming hours and days about Hillary Clinton’s special relationship with Benazir Bhutto.  Here’s one anecdote, however, that might not get as much attention.

From the Washington Post’s coverage of Hillary Clinton’s 1995 visit to Pakistan:

At the luncheon table, Clinton was sandwiched between Bhutto and her mother, Nusrat Bhutto. The two Bhutto women have engaged in an acrimonious public feud since the mother sided with Benazir Bhutto’s brother — who opposes the prime minister politically — during Bhutto’s election bid 1 1/2 years ago.

At today’s lunch, Nusrat Bhutto began devouring a salad with her fingers before the guest of honor sat down, and then made a show of reading the menu during Clinton’s brief speech, drawing embarrassed looks from others seated at the table.

We never pass up an easy opportunity to show you the Greatest.  Photo.  Ever.  And to ask the Greatest.  Question.  Ever:  Which of these two famous fellows is high on dilaudid?
Today’s excuse comes courtesy of Anne Schroeder Mullins’ sensational “Shenanigans” gossip column in Politico  (by the way, they dropped the “The.”  It’s no longer “The Politico.”  Now, just “Politico.”  Just like it’s no longer “The Shenanigans.” Anyway, here’s the item …):

Last week, the speaker’s office had a staff party celebrating the day Nixon met Elvis, which we hear was immortalized on the Hill by Pelosi’s chief of staff, who, as a tribute, sang “Blue Christmas.”  (Blue as in Democratic, of course.)

This morning we spotted John Harwood — newly minted with the New York Times — on CNBC talking about the presidential campaign.  John also worked in several plugs for this Sunday’s Washington Redskins game against the evil doing Dallas Cowboys.  Intrigued, we asked John for more insights and predictions.  John kindly obliged and sent us the following brilliance (Kornheiser, eat your heart out):

The Washington Redskins are the Mike Huckabee of the NFL. For a long time they appeared to be going nowhere. Now, undermanned but charming, they are on fire.
Part of the charm is their amazing quarterback Todd Collins, who has performed brilliantly for injured starter Jason Campbell despite sitting on the bench for 10 years.  He would be hands down the NFL comeback player of the year if not for the fact that he isn’t coming back to anything. Rather, he’s essentially starting his career at age 36.
Another part is the resilience of a team that has survived the murder of Pro Bowl safety Sean Taylor. Major factors have been strong performances by two of Taylor’s University of Miami teammates, Santana Moss and Clinton Portis.
All of this has raised the odds that the Redskins may defeat a demonstrably better team, their hated rival the Dallas Cowboys, in an emotional home-field finale. Also helping: the fact that the Cowboys may rest a few injured stars.
And don’t forget the impact this could have on the Iowa caucuses. Speaking for every red-blooded Washington-based political reporter who will be in Iowa this Sunday, I can say that no one should expect me to cover any campaign event during the three hours this Sunday when this football epic will play out.

First, our last trivia answer:

mesothelioma

The correct answer we were looking for came from Charles Lattan: “The online ads promising a cure for what asbestos-induced disease fetch the highest Google search rates?”

We also enjoyed Richard’s response:  “What do the Baltimore Orioles owner and the Bureau of Engraving & Printing have in common?”

Now, the next Extreme Trivia answer:

The first CIA official to take the witness stand against another CIA official.

What’s the question?

Ah, defeating Communism without firing a bullet.  Ah, inflation rate decreased to less than 4.4% — with 68 consecutive months of job growth. Ah, tax cuts.

That was just Ronald Reagan.  Imagine what could have been — if we had only elected Ed Brooke.

From today’s Washington Post:

… in the Republican Party, Sen. Edward Brooke of Massachusetts had quietly begun thinking of himself as a future president. As the first African American to be popularly elected to the Senate, in 1966, he had quickly become a national star, called on to give speeches and appear at fundraisers across the country. According to Brooke, Michigan Gov. George Romney talked to him about a Romney-Brooke ticket in the early phases of the 1968 presidential race.

Romney’s campaign imploded after the governor made some ill-advised remarks about being the victim of “brainwashing” regarding the Vietnam War. But the Romney overture got Brooke to pondering his own ambitions. “Why couldn’t I be president of the United States? Is it too soon? How strong would the support of blacks be? Would I be acceptable to white voters in the South and Midwest as I assumed I would be for white voters in New York and the Northeast? I delved into it more than I have said,” Brooke disclosed in an interview.

Like Obama, Brooke had just arrived in the Senate and was already wondering what more he could become. He had been an Army officer in World War II, attorney general in Massachusetts and “had gained a lot of confidence,” as he put it, in navigating segregated environments. In Brooke’s time, the prevailing wisdom was that the only imaginable path to the Oval Office for a black politician would be to somehow get picked as a running mate first. On a few occasions, notably when Richard Nixon was pondering replacements for Vice President Spiro Agnew, Brooke’s name was floated. Soon Brooke began thinking grander possibilities. He even perused some national voting data his staff compiled.

“Had I been reelected in ‘78 and served another term,” he says, “I would have thought about testing the waters.”

Brooke, however, lost that year’s Senate race to Democrat Paul Tsongas and never reentered politics.

And to think, we came thisclose to cheering a Brooke-Bush ‘80 campaign — and reaching a far shinier city on the hill.  Ah, perchance to dream.

We’ve spent some time here at Extreme Mortman chronicling Congress’ involvement in sports (here and here)
We contend that Congress legislating professional sports is ridiculous.  Congress, apparently, disagrees.

So imagine our continued incredulity to learn this:

The NFL avoided a potential backlash by fans unable to watch the New England Patriots’ attempt to complete a perfect regular season, announcing yesterday that the NFL Network’s telecast of Saturday night’s game between the Patriots and New York Giants also will be carried by NBC and CBS.

Why did the NFL cave?  Largely due to pressure from Congress. Some examples:

New York Times:

The league’s decision to simulcast the game came amid mounting Congressional pressure to make the potentially historic game more broadly available.

The Connecticut delegation wrote to Commissioner Roger Goodell that the league’s definition of home markets was “unduly narrow,” leaving fans in cities around the state where loyalties are divided between their Giants and Patriots, without the same local broadcast option afforded the New York and Boston markets.

The Rhode Island delegation also protested the league’s market designations that would have deprived Patriots’ fans in Providence and throughout the state of seeing their team go undefeated unless they subscribed to DirecTV or the Dish Network, or got the NFL Netword from their local cable operators.

The league was also warned by Senator Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania and the ranking member of the committee, that it was “exercising its substantial market power to the detriment of consumers.”

Washington Post:

Previously, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) wrote a letter to Goodell and a cable executive urging a settlement.

Chicago Tribune:

“As a Bostonian, I couldn’t be more pleased that in just five days, the New England Patriots will attempt to become the first NFL team in 35 years to finish the regular season with an undefeated record,” Kerry wrote. “But as someone who represents all of Massachusetts and not just those in the Boston media market, I remain deeply troubled that today as many as 250,000 Massachusetts households, and millions of Patriots fans nationwide, may be denied access to this historic sporting event.”

With this kind of meddling going on, I’m now resigned to joining the bandwagon.  Ny new position: I hope that Congress demand the Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.  I’d settle for a sense of the Congress resolution, but if they want to withhold funds from the Iraq war effort until the Redskins win the Super Bowl, I’m fine with that.

… the one to the effect of “Thou shalt not murder.”

Here’s Mike Huckabee making a killing in Iowa this morning

Clearly the Huck stops here.  And in the Christmas seasonal spirit of citing Christ … onward soldiers!

Now, the next installment in Extreme Mortman’s regular feature: A peek inside the blog-reading habits of our nation’s top reporters and media celebrities. Rebecca Roberts hosts 1600 on XM Radio’s POTUS ‘08 (channel 130), which covers the presidential election 24/7. Go ahead and ask her anything: Why are there 99 counties in Iowa? Mitt Romney’s middle name? She knows it all. Roberts comes to XM most recently from NPR, where she subbed for the regular hosts on such programs as “Talk of the Nation,” “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition.” She lives in Washington, DC, with her husband, Dan Hartman, an investment banker, their three grubby little boys, and a dog named Frog. And you just have to check out her sensational blog every Monday at Glamocracy.

Please give a warm Extreme Mortman welcome to Rebecca Roberts. Here are the blogs Rebecca Roberts tells Extreme Mortman she reads:

I check Real Clear Politics, Politico, Washington Post’s The Trail, New York Times’ The Caucus, Los Angeles Times’ Top of the Ticket, several times a day

I also make regular checks on: Redstate, XX Factor, Talking Points Memo, Blue Hampshire.

For media gossip, can’t beat FishbowlDC and DCRTV.

and I’m COMPLETELY addicted to PostSecret.