2009 was a year of many fierce policy disputes, the death of a Senate icon, scandals that hit both major political parties, and the nation’s first black president.
President Barack Obama said 2009, his first year as commander in chief, has been an “extraordinary year.”
Indeed.
Rank-and-file House members, including Reps. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) and Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), became household names.
New scandals hit South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) and Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.), as old ones involving House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) intensified.
There was no shortage of stunning developments, ranging from Sarah Palin’s (R) resignation as Alaska governor to Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize to Sen. Arlen Specter’s (Pa.) decision to leave the GOP.
There were bizarre moments as well, including Obama going way off message during a healthcare reform press conference by saying Cambridge, Mass., police officers acted “stupidly” in arresting Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates. America was introduced to Michaele and Tareq Salahi, alleged White House party crashers. Meanwhile, Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) said there are 17 socialists in Congress but declined to name them.
Policy disputes on Capitol Hill grew heated amid record government spending on the stimulus package, auto bailouts and an increased U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
via 2009: An ‘extraordinary’ year in politics – TheHill.com.
