Biggest Jerks of 2008

(NEWSER) - Traditional media outlets and on-the-spot amateurs alike captured the year's biggest US political moments. Here is Politico's look at some of the biggest scoops:

• Palin meets Couric: Interviewed by Katie Couric on CBS, Sarah Palin fumbled with softball questions such as which publications she reads. Democrats and Tina Fey pounced.
• Edwards indulges: Major media outlets ignored a report of John Edwards' extramarital affair, but the National Enquirer caught him in the act.

Month-by-month, WikiAnswers lists the top questions of 2008

(NEWSER) - Need a primer on 2008? TechCrunch runs down common questions from each month on WikiAnswers:

• January: When was the last time snow fell in Baghdad?
• February: Why did the Hollywood writers go on strike?
• March: Why did Bear Stearns fail?
• April: Which races has Danica Patrick won?
• May: How successful was Sex and the City?

Alaska governor went zooming up search charts in '08

(NEWSER) - Every year, Google releases its analysis of the global zeitgeist based on billions of searches around the world. Newsweek reports the highlights:

• Sarah Palin: "Obama" was the most searched for term overall, but the Alaska governor grabbed the top spot on the fastest-rising list.
• Beijing 2008: The world was understandably electrified by the spectacle of the Olympics in China.

Web offers chance to poke fun, change a few minds

(NEWSER) - Viral election videos offer campy calls for change, seamless special effects, and more than a few celebrity cameos. Laughs aside, “over the past decade they’ve also impacted politics—sometimes changing the course of elections and frequently providing a few laughs in an otherwise wonky world,” Jeffrey Ressner writes in picking Politico's top 10 of '08.

1. Yes We Can: Will.i.am’s minimalist all-star Obama tribute "may be the most creative video of any type to emerge this year.”
2. Dear Mr. Obama: An injured Iraq veteran explains why war is a good thing.

'A lot of journalists would love to have a word' with press-shy candidate

(NEWSER) - The French-Canadian radio host who fooled Sarah Palin into thinking he was French president Nicolas Sarkozy chalks up his coup to simple hard work. “Call it luck, call it perseverance, call it what you want,” Marc-Antoine Audette tells ABC about Saturday’s 7-minute interview. He says his staff spent 4 days working the phones before eventually scoring the exclusive. More»