Originally published by Mike DeVine, Legal Editor for The Minority Report

[Gamecock does not consider the mere winning of an election to qualify one for person of the year. The "Politician of the Year" award is reserved for election winners. The person of the year is the individual whose actual accomplishments had the greatest impact on the lives of the most people during the year.]

Man of the Year:
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

Runners Up: Red Chairman Ben Bernanke, General David Petraeous, President George W. Bush and Cheif Justice of the United States John Roberts

President Bush has been our man of the year most years since 2001 due to his actions in keeping us safe since 911; economic policies that softened the tech bubble and 911 recession and that gave us many years of prosperity; and in liberating over 50 million people from tyranny in Iraq and Afghanistan. The latter task was mostly accomplished last year, with this year and the next few being mostly mop up operations in Iraq and keeping terror havens unsafe in Afghanistan.

Given that the US economy is (was?) mostly governed by the private enterprise of millions, we would rarely consider Treasury Secretaries or individual entrepreneurs for the award unless they have a great impact thru technology or policy.

Bill Gates comes to mind from many years ago.

This year is another such exception where the actions of one man has had and will have in the future a great impact on millions of people here and abroad. His actions were in response to a veritable Econ-911 when bank to bank loans threatened to cease around, ironically, September 11, 2008. Lehman Brothers began to disintegrate the next day with these events coming on the heels of the Bear Stearns debacle months earlier and a year long housing and credit crunch crisis.

Enter Henry Paulson (pictured with Bernanke) to center stage with a series of weekend bailouts of individual firms and a $700B bailout of banks designed to prevent the collapse of the banking system and unclog the banks lending arteries. After many zigs and zags and some $7+Trillion later in equity buy-ins with banks and guaranteed loan bailouts in conjunction with the FED, the financial system stands and some mortgage re-fis loans are being made.

But at what price to our free market system and possible future infaltion, not to mention opening the door for an Obama-Dem dominated government that prefers government to private eneterprise?

Time will tell, but what the time in 2008 already told was that, for good or for ill, the person whose actions had the greatest impact were those of Henry Paulson.

Politician of the Year:

President-Elect Barack Obama

Runners-Up: Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin

Worst Political Move:

Hillary Clinton’s failure to organize and compete in caucus states.

Best Political Theatre:

Vladamir Putin leaving the Beijing Olympics to direct the invasion of Georgia while President Bush led beach volleyball chears.

Most Underrated:

President Bush for sending in the Armed Forces of the United States by air and sea to Georgian ports and Tiblisi airport and the Secretary of State on the ground in Georgia, Poland and Unkraine to disabuse Russia of any notion that the West would be so intimidated that Russia could hope to gain more land than slivers in Ossetia.

Most Dishonest:

Tie: The Drive-By Media coverage of Obama and Obama’s statements concerning his knowledge of the views of Reverand Jeremiah Wright.

Most Honest:

The Reverand Jeremiah Wright stuck to his views even from under Obama’s bus.

Fifteen Minutes of Fame:

Obama’s brother living in hut in Kenya.

Best Idea:

Senator Bob Corker’s (R-TN) amendments to the proposed Detroit Auto bailout bill that would have required major re-structuring by Ford, GM and Chrysler.

Worst Idea:

Tie: Union card check, higher energy taxes, cap and trade, the banning of Edison’s light bulb and the Interior Department’s decision to put the polar bear on the endangered species list.

Most Over Reported Story:

Alleged man made global warming.

Most Under Reported Story:

Actual non-man made global cooling.

Biggest Government Waste:

The budgets of EPA and the Interior Department.

Best Government Spending:

CIA, FBI, Gitmo, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard

Best Conservative Website and Master

The Minority Report with The HinzSight Report and the design work and daily content provided by Steve Foley

Best Conservative Writers

Mark Steyn, Erick Erickson and Dave Hinz

Best Chicken:

Tie: Gamecock and Foghorn Leghorn

Happy New Year!

Mike DeVine’s Charlotte Observer, Examiner.com and Minority Report columns

“One man with courage makes a majority.” - Andrew Jackson