The Top 20 Political Moments of 2009

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: In The News

(AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

We've put together a slideshow illustrating the top 20 political moments of 2009, as decided by the CBSNews.com political team.

Deciding on the top spot was easy: The inauguration of America's first black president was a historical moment that will be remembered for generations. After that, however, things got more complicated.

We decided to give the number two spot to the town hall protests, the physical and symbolic manifestation of the rage felt by a sizable minority of Americans over the direction of the country.

In third was the president's decision to send more American soldiers to put their lives on the line in Afghanistan. Fourth went to the passing of American icon and "Lion of the Senate" Ted Kennedy, while fifth went to Sarah Palin, who this year solidified her place as perhaps the most polarizing figure in politics today.

Those are just the first five. Click here to see what rounded out the list. It's more fun than a hike on the Appalachian Trail.

SLIDESHOW: THE TOP 20 POLITICAL MOMENTS OF 2009

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by pjk12354 December 30, 2009 7:52 PM EST: I hope Sarah Palin is smart enough to understand that she needs to be much more than a life-support system for a vagina to run for national office.; Reply to this comment


by lakota2012 December 29, 2009 4:05 PM EST: "We decided to give the number two spot to the town hall protests, the physical and symbolic manifestation of the rage felt by a sizable minority of Americans over the direction of the country."
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Just a bunch of miNOrity SORE-LOSERMEN unable to accept defeat in an electoral college landslide, due to the majority of Americans that felt our great nation was on the completely wrong path during the 8 miserable years of bushworld, where the true manifestation of de-regulation, lack of oversight and the lack of accountability gave us the bush/cheney Great Recession of 2007-2009.; Reply to this comment


by antoniof123 December 29, 2009 6:32 AM EST: I got to say this about Sanford and those like him. They lived by the sword and were hypocrites and now they will die by the sword.

Careful to throw stones in glass houses.; Reply to this comment