What were the notable political moments?

By NationalJournal.com Staff

updated 12:02 p.m. ET Dec. 18, 2006

WASHINGTON - It was the best of t-- well, wait. 2006 wasn't really the best of times for anyone, unless you were a Democrat out for blood. In which case, OK, pretty good times.

Horse race politics served as the backdrop for nearly all the year's events, from the atomic rise of YouTube to the long fall of President Bush. The first time we offered these awards, in 2004, we named Bush the big winner. Obviously, with his party losing its grip on Congress and his administration reeling from Iraq, two years can make a world of difference.

With that in mind, we present this year's Awards Of Excellence. They offer no prizes besides recognition of a job well done, a performance well regarded or, for those on the flip side of our accolades, an embarrassment too bad to forget. And eternal shame -- until next year, at least.

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Republican of the year
The Reagan Republican
Trying to move away from the neocons' post-election fallout zone, the GOP hinted at a back-to-basics approach with the much-heralded Iraq Study Group. It was stocked with familiar faces from Ronald Reagan's heyday: his one-time chief-of-staff, James Baker; his first Supreme Court nominee, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor; his attorney general, Edwin Meese; and his deputy CIA director, Robert Gates, who left the ISG when he was nominated for Defense secretary. Another Reagan official who burst back onto the scene this year, former Navy Secretary Jim Webb, put the Gipper in a campaign ad but will join the Senate as a Democrat. Nostalgia was about all the GOP had going for it in '06.

Honorable mention: Arnold Schwarzenegger
The Governator crawled back from his 2005 nadir to steal every midterm issue from his hapless opponent. By late summer, as he held summits with Tony Blair and the Dalai Lama, Schwarzenegger looked more presidential than the president.

Dishonorable mention: Elizabeth Dole
Most people don't wish to speak ill of the amiable NRSC chair, but that may have been her problem; she lacked the ruthlessness of her DSCC counterpart, Charles Schumer. She lacked Schumer's fundraising abilities, too, and her inability to capitalize on her party's structural advantages can't be ignored.

Agree or disagree? Send us your thoughts!

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Democrat of the Year
The Independent Voter
The Democratic Party couldn't have pulled off its midterm sweep without this bloc (if it's even cohesive enough to call it that). Independents and libertarian-minded voters may have been more interested in firing the current leadership than embracing the Democratic agenda, though, so the future of this marriage depends on the party leadership's sensitivity to these new (perhaps temporary) converts.

Honorable mention: Howard Dean, Charles Schumer, Rahm Emanuel
It's no secret that Dean and Emanuel spent a good part of the year at odds, to put it mildly. But the trio tasked with winning back Congress pulled it off despite the disagreements, making the 2006 Democrats the first party since the 1938 Republicans not to lose a single seat in an election.

Dishonorable mention: Bob Menendez
This New Jersey senator almost made Democrats miss the abovementioned record. Dogged by ethics allegations in a year when they were anathema, Menendez saw his lead dwindle, but New Jersey voters apparently decided a Republican Senate was scarier than a shady senator.

Agree or disagree? Send us your thoughts!

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Comeback of the Year
Joe Lieberman
Lieberman's big smooch with President Bush after the 2005 State of the Union became a symbol for angry lefties who wanted the pro-war Connecticut senator kicked out. They nearly got their wish in August, when Ned Lamont's primary challenge succeeded. Forsaking the Democrats in name if not in ideology, Lieberman ran as an independent and ignored the big-name Dems who frowned at his party of one. Voters brought him back by double digits in the fall; he'll make a triumphant return to the Senate with an "I/D" after his name.

Honorable mention: Al Gore
About eight years too late, "An Inconvenient Truth" made Gore look presidential -- a passionate, serious advocate rather than the wooden wonk parodied on "Saturday Night Live." Suddenly, '08 talk resurfaced.

Dishonorable mention: John Kerry
Suddenly, '08 talk evaporated. Kerry's foot-in-the-mouth "botched joke" at the midterms' clutch moment most likely killed his chance for another White House run in everyone's mind but his own.

Agree or disagree? Send us your thoughts!

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