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CNN Live Event/Special
All The Best, All The Worst Of 2010
Aired December 24, 2010 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You can't make an omelet without breaking some eggs, but this year, it was like the whole carton overturned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the opportunity we've been waiting for.
FOREMAN: From the witches brew of politics --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CAMPAIGN AD)
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE: I'm not a witch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: -- to the rolling boil of the economy.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The unemployment rate is still unacceptably high.
FOREMAN: From the hot pepper of pop culture, to the sometimes exhilarating --
(VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Sometimes hard to swallow main course of big news.
TONY HAYWARD, CEO, BP: We're doing everything we can to stop the damn leak.
FOREMAN: Everything came crashing down. And here to help pick up the pieces in our CNN Diner, we have our own Anderson Cooper, the NFL Network's Rich Eisen; truTV's Sonny Hostin; standup comic, Pete Dominick; our super Twitter Tweeter, Jack Gray; Julia Reed from "Newsweek"; "The Onion's" Baratunde Thurston; CBS "The Talk" host, Julie Chen; CNN's Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer -- all part of "A.C. 360's" ALL THE BEST, ALL THE WORST OF 2010.
(on camera): Welcome.
I'm Tom Foreman.
This was, once again, a tough year all around. It seemed like anything well done was rare. Sure, we found some sweetness mixed with a sour, a little taste of good alongside the bad. But mostly, week after week, the menu gave us the same thing over and over -- more problems.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's time for a nerd.
FOREMAN (voice-over): We kick off with the worst biggest baddest political story of the year, the mid-term elections, where candidates of all stripes roasted each other.
SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA: Want to know just how out of touch Harry Reid is?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boehner Land.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Obama is the worst president in history.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: It was a strange year, I think.
BARATUNDE THURSTON, "THE ONION": This was a hard year.
RICH EISEN, NFL NETWORK: 2010 was a year to forget.
ELIOT SPITZER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": We don't like anybody.
COOPER: There's so much polarization.
PETE DOMINICK, COMEDIAN: I thought the election was kind of a freak show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our country is fading.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: The attacks were relentless, from demon sheep --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CAMPAIGN AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A wolf in sheep's clothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: -- to the call girl callout --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CAMPAIGN AD)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The true case of the senator and the madam --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: -- to open gunplay.
(VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN PARKER, CO-HOST, "PARKER SPITZER": The ads were phenomenally entertaining, but also really, really nasty. JULIE CHEN, HOST, CBS'S "THE TALK": People say they hate nasty negative campaigns, but you know what, it works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Submit to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Not always.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Submit to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Worst of a bad lot, Democrat Alan Grayson's Taliban Dan spot in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CAMPAIGN AD)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taliban Dan Webster, hands off our bodies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACK GRAY: That was despicable. I don't know what he was thinking.
FOREMAN: Best last laugh -- the target of that spot, Republican Dan Webster, took Grayson's Congressional seat in a landslide.
Best out of the frying pan into the fire -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who took more heat than anyone else in the negative ad onslaught.
DOMINICK: The people in her district that know her the best actually really like her. The people outside of her district, the rest of America, are wondering whether or not she has the ability to blink.
JULIA REED, "NEWSWEEK": She seems as disconnected to me as Obama, but in -- in a -- in a less likable way.
FOREMAN: We'll have more on the president in a bit.
But first --
(VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: -- best case of making the major parties blink -- like it or hate it, the rise of the Tea Party.
SUNNY HOSTIN, TRUTV: I still don't understand where they came from.
Is it really the Republican Party in disguise?
And they've just been so successful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I think that means we're winning.
HOSTIN: It's shocking to me.
FOREMAN: They did not grab as many Congressional seats as they would have liked, but they did grab the Washington establishment by the collar.
CHEN: The Tea Party exists because of partisan politics.
FOREMAN: And the Tea Party gave the partisans a hard shake.
REED: All people do is complain about how people don't vote and there's apathy and blah, blah, blah. And now you've got these people out there and half the country is going ew, freaky. You know, I think that these guys have been great for the system. And they sure as hell have been great for the Republican Party. It's like a gift on the platter.
SPITZER: I don't agree with the ideology of the Tea Party, but citizen activism is good.
THURSTON: I think there's a lot of very inflammatory and potentially dangerous rhetoric we saw.
COOPER: You cannot deny that -- that the Tea Party had a major impact on politics in the United States and in the national discussion about politics in the United States in 2010.
GRAY: And I think there are a lot of folks out there in the Tea Party who just -- who really do believe in smaller government and lower taxes.
PARKER: Whether they have any staying power, I'm not sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CAMPAIGN AD)
O'DONNELL: I'm not a witch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Worst use of magical powers -- Delaware Senate candidate, Christine O'Donnell, made the Republican favorite disappear in a primary puff of Tea Party steam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CAMPAIGN AD)
O'DONNELL: The people of Delaware have spoken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: But then banished herself, trailing far behind Democrat Chris Coons, who won the election. REED: Well, she's a lunatic. I mean, you know, but I mean but -- so she's not senator. So this is all good.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CAMPAIGN AD)
O'DONNELL: What I believe is irrelevant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Best pounding of the pundits.
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whoo, Nevada.
FOREMAN: Sarah Palin.
REED: A borderline lunatic.
CHEN: Love her or hate her, she's definitely entertaining.
FOREMAN: The hockey mom gone rogue proved all the predictions of her political demise dead wrong, surging in prominence in Republican and Tea Party circles, giving us a new book, a new word of the year, refudiate, and even a new reality show.
EISEN: I think Sarah Palin would say she's not doing a reality show, she's -- she's showing you the peaks and valleys in the -- the -- the indigenous life of -- of Alaska. And by that I mean her husband, I think.
PARKER: I think she is a brilliant politician. I think she has an instinct for the zeitgeist and for what people need to hear. But I don't see her as a serious political figure.
FOREMAN: Worst substitute for a teleprompter -- Palin's scribbled crib notes on her hand "Note to self, watch Bristol on "Dancing with the Stars."
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: Palin laughed off the critics, as she often does.
COOPER: It infuriates those who don't like Sarah Palin, but -- but those who -- who really, really like her, you know, they find it charming and -- and brave.
HOSTIN: We really can't be dismissive of Sarah Palin. I think we'll see her again and again and again. And you betcha we're going to see her in 2012.
DOMINICK: Who's going to beat her, Mike Huckabee?
Come on.
They're going to out-Jesus each other? FOREMAN: Biggest winners -- the Republicans, with a massive sweep of seats to take control of the House. Hey, don't cry about it, you won.
SPITZER: In terms of a momentary electoral success, they had a -- a knockout punch for November of 2010. And now we're going to have to see how it plays out going forward.
FOREMAN: Biggest loser -- bipartisanship. Voters still wanted the parties not so much.
DOMINICK: They didn't even run on pretending that they would work together.
THURSTON: The sentiment around collective failure of our two party system is well founded, in my opinion.
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": No, no, no.
FOREMAN: Best tongue in cheek, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's Rally To Restore Sanity And/Or Fear.
(MUSIC)
Best never say die spirit -- the write-in candidacy and endless vote count for Senator Lisa Murkowski.
EISEN: Every year, you've just got to wonder which state is going to be the one that still counts deep into November. And Alaska, you're it this year. Congratulations.
FOREMAN: Best non-political political story -- Chelsea Clinton's wedding to whoever that guy is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome.
FOREMAN: Best double play -- the two President Bushes throwing a pitch at the World Series.
Worst lack of diversity -- Elena Kagan was confirmed. And that means the entire Supreme Court attended Yale or Harvard Law School.
HOSTIN: They all belong to the same club.
FOREMAN: Worst photo-op -- Congressman Charlie Rangel doing the two-step at his birthday bash while ethics investigators were cuing up the "We Caught You" waltz. They hailed him for shady business deals, unpaid taxes, adding his name to the long list of D.C. power players in recent years who have wound up on the wrong side of the moral compass.
REED: You know, as my mother would say, this is trashy and enough of this.
FOREMAN (on camera): Pop culture rolled out plenty of best and worst this year -- movies, music, TV -- some trashy, some silly, some sultry, all of them approved for minors.
(voice-over): And it's all coming up, along the with best tech, the worst celebrity and a double rainbow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my god, it's full on.
FOREMAN: It's all the best, all the worst 2010.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN (voice-over): The world of big news gave us the best real reality show of the year -- the nearly two-and-a-half month saga of the trapped Chilean miners.
HOSTIN: I love that story. I mean who knew that the Chilean miners were so hot?
DOMINICK: America, we need to learn from these guys. These guys are motivated.
CHEN: The Chilean miners story was, hands down, the best story of the year.
REED: I mean somebody compared it to the moonwalks and it really was kind of like that.
FOREMAN: Their journey to and from the underworld was riveting, their story inspiring, their return to the land of the living full of happy endings even Hollywood can't top.
GRAY: I was utterly shocked that everything worked out. And, by the way, they had a live feed via fiber optic cable from down in the mine?
I mean what the hell is that?
PARKER: Was that unbelievable?
Oh my gosh, I was -- I was stunned. Chile.
Go, Chile.
CHEN: Then they come out alive and only to be greeted by wives and mistresses.
EISEN: Some of them probably wanted to go back in the ground once their wives got a hold of them. I'm so happy you're alive, but now I've got to meet your gumar right here?
What the heck?
FOREMAN: Best use of his time underground, Edison Pena, who worked out in the cramped quarters beneath the earth, then came out to run the New York City Marathon.
CHEN: This guy -- how much training could he have done? THURSTON: As if he hadn't overcome enough human struggle and demonstrated the power of the human spirit enough by surviving all those weeks underground. I thought that was a really, really, really beautiful thing.
FOREMAN: Worst winter weather -- the blizzards that had folks in the Washington, D.C. area running for cover faster than a sex scandal -- 40 inches of snow, no flights, no open roads, no power for hundreds of thousands, good times.
GRAY: The snowstorm was insane.
DOMINICK: The newspapers had a really fun time trying to name the blizzard, Snow-Pocalypse.
THURSTON: Snow-Ma-Geddon.
DOMINICK: Snow-Calepsy.
PARKER: I've never actually lived in a place that had that much snow before. That was a new experience for me, because I'm a Southern girl.
COOPER: Really?
I have no -- I have absolutely no memory of any snow this year whatsoever.
FOREMAN: No wonder. He was in Haiti for the worst big story of the year -- the earthquake that left nearly a quarter million people dead, a million homeless and countless sorrows.
COOPER: Every reporter I know who was down there and every cameraman and producer who had spent -- has spent time in Iraq and Afghanistan, I mean they all -- I think we all agree Haiti was the -- the worst thing any of us have -- have ever seen.
DOMINICK: Haiti -- earthquakes, cholera, mudslides. It made the book of Revelations look like "Goodnight Moon."
GRAY: I mean Haiti was -- had so many challenges before the earthquake hit.
FOREMAN: Worst follow-up, the snail's pace of relief that trickled in all year despite worldwide promises of quick and steady aid.
THURSTON: It's not just a bad news story, it's sort of a -- a bad policy story on top of a bad news story.
REED: And there's got to be a better way to -- to provide -- I mean to provide longer-term aid to places like Haiti.
FOREMAN: Worst domestic story -- give it to the Gulf -- the explosion that took 11 lives and produced the oil spill that just kept on spilling. DOMINICK: The Gulf oil spill was, quite possibly, one of the most depressing events, certainly of my lifetime. Watching this oil on a live feed just gush and gush and gush.
HOSTIN: And nothing was working and it was gushing and gushing and gushing. It was shocking that we couldn't plug a hole.
THURSTON: The Gulf oil spill was one of those reminders that decisions have consequences.
REED: I don't think people who weren't there, not on the ground, really realized how it was like the keystone cops bumbling around down there on the -- on the coastline.
PARKER: Well, clearly, we should have called Chile in. We just didn't realize it.
FOREMAN: Worst math -- BP's original estimate that only 1,000 barrels a day were going into the water.
COOPER: Meanwhile, you have independent scientists who look at it for a few hours and say there's 70,000 barrels of oil pouring out of that thing.
EISEN: And it -- it was sort of like the Iran hostage situation. We couldn't do anything about it. And it made us feel impotent. It made us feel captive.
SPITZER: And, of course, you have this big rich company that's still doing extremely well, CEOs who appear not to kind of get what's going on, the government fails to respond.
FOREMAN: Worst initial response -- the official one from BP and the White House, too.
HOSTIN: And to say that we've been involved from -- from day one, I mean what was the in -- involvement?
SPITZER: It was sort of the perfect "here's what's wrong with everything these days." And it just kind of leaves you exhausted.
EISEN: And finally it's capped, and who's talking about it anymore, as if there's no problem, economically, ecologically, environmentally, in that area?
FOREMAN: Best news for our troops -- the end of combat operations in Iraq.
Worst news -- Afghanistan rumbles on with no clear end in sight.
GRAY: I worry that the country is not fully aware of how important and how much is at stake in Afghanistan.
FOREMAN: Worst community relations -- the war over the proposed Muslim center and mosque near Ground Zero.
COOPER: You know, the questions about what it means to be an American and who is an American and what -- what is America.
HOSTIN: I think it showed so many people in the world at large that we're intolerant.
And is that the message that -- that should -- do we want people to think that Americans are intolerant?
FOREMAN: Worst interloper -- the Florida pastor who tossed gasoline onto the barbeque by threatening to burn the Koran.
GRAY: I thought it was reprehensible and disgusting. And no one should be allowed on television with -- with that mustache and those mutton chops. He should have been voted off the island.
FOREMAN: Best security -- TSA's stepped up scans and pat-downs at airports.
Worst invasion of your personal space -- the same thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And if you touch my junk, I'm going to have you arrested.
CHEN: Here's the thing, traveling is not what it used to be. Traveling sucks. I travel all the time and I still can't get it right.
FOREMAN: And worst really little problem for a really big city -- New York's bedbug infestation.
HOSTIN: Well, I dressed as a bedbug for Halloween.
PARKER: Well, Tom, I didn't meet one, I'm happy to report.
SPITZER: There are some scientists out there who think ants and -- and roaches are going to rule the world in a few hundred thousand years and, you know, maybe bedbugs are going to join that coalition.
Who knows?
FOREMAN: Coming up, the best and worst in sports, including the trick play of the year. And Anderson, apes and a bunny suit -- oh, my. Go hide your kids, hide your wives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're looking for you. We -- we gonna find you.
FOREMAN: The kitchen is just heating up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOREMAN: Harry Potter and his pals lit up the movie theaters once again. Part one of "The Deathly Hallows" was one of the biggest blockbusters to sail through the world of entertainment this year.
And another out of this world adventure made the color of money turn blue. (voice-over): Best money maker --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM, "AVATAR," COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You should not be here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: "Avatar" was released late in 2009, but this year reigned supreme as the biggest box office winner ever,
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM, "AVATAR," COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Repetition. Repetition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: -- becoming the first film to gross more than $2 billion.
DOMINICK: Before seeing the movie, "Avatar," I was an atheist. After seeing the movie "Avatar" with my wife, we actually went home and connected our tails together.
REED: I don't want to see a bunch of blue people running around. I mean I like movies that -- where people look like me, pretty much.
EISEN: To me, what it was, it was "Dances with Wolves" in a different galaxy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM, "AVATAR," COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nami. Qe --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Qehong (ph) Nadi (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nadi.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nadi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Other big openings, "Toy Story 3," "Iron Man 2," "Alice in Wonderland." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ALICE IN WONDERLAND," COURTESY SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in love with you. I want you to pick me instead of him.
FOREMAN: And the "Twilight" saga, "Eclipse."
THURSTON: I actually really liked "Inception".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WARNER BROTHERS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know how to search your mind and find your secrets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Worst disappointment --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why don't you start calling me Gordon?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps." Maybe it should.
Best surprise --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY SCREEN GEMS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to repeat the grand finale?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
What?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: "Easy A" -- smart, funny, a morality play for amoral times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY SONY PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm talking about taking the entire social experience of college and putting it online.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Best thing on screen about people online.
EISEN: I loved "The Social Network." I thought that was fantastic.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE SOCIAL NETWORK," COURTESY COLUMBIA PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your best friend is suing you for $600 million.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: I don't know how accurate it was about the founding of Facebook, but I just thought it was kind of a fascinating story.
GRAY: Look, all I know about Facebook is that Mark Zuckerberg is laughing all the way to the bank.
FOREMAN: Best alternative to wasting your time online -- wasting it on the sofa. REED: I'm a TV junkie. I love -- I love "The Good Wife." I love "Dexter." That show is brilliant.
(MUSIC)
SPITZER: I am a sap for "Glee".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "GLEE," COURTESY FOX)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Glee club is fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOSTIN: I'm surprised Eliot watches that.
GRAY: My favorite TV show is "Modern Family."
EISEN: Now, "Breaking Bad" is my favorite television show. That -- that is just genius.
PARKER: I still like "Law and Order"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's all have Red Bulls for lunch.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Best show to air while you were sleeping, Comedy Central's Tosh.O.
COOPER: I think the guy from Tosh.O is really funny and I think the -- the videos they pick and -- and find, the Web videos are amazing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY MTV)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello. Party's here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Worst commentary on our culture -- the raging success of "Jersey Shore."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY MTV)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you done?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
THURSTON: I watched it. I liked it and I hated it at the same time.
DOMINICK: I do fear that Americans would vote for this Snooki for Congress at this point. I'm concerned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY MTV)
NICOLE "SNOOKI": I want us all to have a good time without no drugs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: I went to high school with all those people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tannest, hottest, craziest guidos.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHEN: My friends are proud to call themselves guidos and guidettes.
COOPER: One episode and you've got it. I mean go to a party --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY MTV)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be awesome.
(MUSIC)
COOPER: -- pump their fists in the air, make out with multiple people, grow up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY MTV)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a single girl. I'm free to do whatever (EXPLETIVE LANGUAGE) I want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
REED: I do not want to like watch the escapades of a bunch of trashy folks on national television.
HOSTIN: But it's fun to watch. We all have a little bit of trash inside of us, let's admit it.
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: On to music --
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: The best reason to buy a neck brace, Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair."
THURSTON: I just worry about people's health. You know, whipping your hair back and forth, you should do it with care.
COOPER: I -- I am not really listening to a lot of music right now. I'm kind of lame in that way.
PARKER: I have no idea what I'm listening to.
Isn't that terrible?
(MUSIC)
HOSTIN: I will say that I downloaded Eminem. I thought he was really good.
(MUSIC)
CHEN: If you listen to his lyrics, he has a lot to say.
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: Worst wardrobe malfunction -- Lady Gaga, who reached for a dress and grabbed an entree.
COOPER: A meat dress?
You know, that's Lady Gaga.
SPITZER: It was kind of revolting, wasn't it?
I mean it was -- that was just awful.
EISEN: It was a medium rare dress, which is the way I like them.
(MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She gets on every magazine cover in America. If I put on a meat suit, I'd be lucky to get attacked by my neighbor's dog.
THURSTON: I mean as long as the meat dress doesn't touch me and no one around her got any kind of salmonella or other kind of microbe from the meat dress, then I think we'll be all right.
REED: What a smart chick. My hat's off to her.
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: Hats off, too, for the best song of the year in terms of sheer popularity.
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: "California Girls."
CHEN: I have to admit, I know it's bubble gum, but I just love that Katy Perry.
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: Then she came up with the worst way to tickle Elmo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM SESAME WORKSHOP) KATY PERRY: Are you ready to play dress up?
ELMO: Dress up?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: Her steamy visit to "Sesame Street" was dropped after parents saw too much of her muffins.
HOSTIN: Who gets bounced off of "Sesame Street?"
Jeez. Wow!
(MUSIC)
DOMINICK: I'm the father of two little girls. I have to watch thousands of hours of "Sesame Street." I think I'm entitled to a little cleavage shot from time to time that doesn't include Miss. Piggy.
(MUSIC)
EISEN: I was hoping to see the Katy Perry segment over and over again.
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: Best group you did not listen to this year but should have -- the New Pornographers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY NBC)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Morons, incompetent morons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: Best comeback --
CHEN: We love comeback stories in America and the best one of the year was Conan O'Brien.
FOREMAN: The kicked around Conan returned to late night and beat both Letterman and Leno in the initial ratings.
SPITZER: I wish him the best and he deserves it, because he's a very creative guy.
HOSTIN: You know, he really got the short end of the stick and has come back on top.
GRAY: I've been a "Letterman" fan forever.
What's that?
Oh, Conan works for TBS now?
That's -- that's part of our company?
I mean I'm Team Conan.
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: Best never went away --
COOPER: 2010 was the year of Betty White.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY TV LAND)
BETTY WHITE, ACTRESS: I've been the caretaker of this house for 50 years.
What do (INAUDIBLE)?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOMINICK: Betty White, I have got two words to say to you -- never die.
GRAY: Look, I'm not saying we're engaged, I'm just saying we're registered at Macy's.
PARKER: She's just a great -- what I would call a great broad. I think -- are we not allowed to say that anymore?
(MUSIC)
FOREMAN: We had no shortage of celebrities behaving badly - Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton.
PARIS HILTON, MEDIA PERSONALITY: Yes, your honor.
CHARLIE SHEEN, ACTOR: Hey, I get it. You're bored. You're lonely. You can't afford a hooker. But, come on, do it in your room.
HOSTIN: Charlie Sheen gets my vote for just the worst-acting celebrity.
FOREMAN: But give the Worst Bad Actor Award maybe to Mel Gibson for his supposedly recorded rants.
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR/DIRECTOR (voice-over): You look like a [bleep] on heat, and if you get raped by a pack of -
CHEN: If that really is Mel Gibson on those tapes, that's pretty bad.
GIBSON: But they'll never take our [bleep].
DOMINICK: I personally can no longer watch "Braveheart" and enjoy it.
FOREMAN: And best romance - KATE MIDDLETON, ENGAGED TO PRINCE WILLIAM: So excited.
FOREMAN: -- the engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton, setting the stage for a spectacular royal wedding next spring.
FOREMAN (on camera): Coming up, is that a cell phone in your pocket, or are you Brett Favre? The worst thing in Washington, besides Congress.
And the best speech ever anywhere.
PHIL DAVISON (R), CANDIDATE FOR STARK COUNTY TREASURER: Drastic times require drastic measures.
FOREMAN (voice-over): There's nothing drastic about it. It's "All the Best, All the Worst 2010."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center in Atlanta. "Best and Worst 2010" continues in a moment, but first, the news you need to know right now.
Late this afternoon Delta Airlines canceled about 500 Christmas Day flights, including some 300 in or out of Atlanta. A storm is expected to bring rain, sleet and snow to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states this weekend. Delta, United Continental and AirTran are waiving penalties for travelers who have to reschedule their weekend trips.
And if you are traveling by air over the holiday period, you may find that airport screeners are paying close attention to your insulated beverage container. The bottles are allowed, but a TSA statement says passengers may encounter additional security measures. There are - there are growing concerns that terrorists may try to conceal explosives in such containers.
And winter weather continues to snarl air travel in Europe. In Paris, part of Charles de Gaulle Airport was evacuated due to snow piled up on the roof. Almost 2,000 passengers were relocated out of one terminal, the scene of a deadly roof collapse half a dozen years ago, what comes to mind for many.
Hundreds of flights in and out of Paris were canceled today due to a shortage of de-icing fluid.
And Afghan and international security forces apparently prevented an attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul today. A military statement says the patrol killed two men who opened fire as the troops approached two vehicles thought to be loaded with explosives. The security forces also confiscated a large number of weapons.
And despite war in parts of the world, there are also prayers for peace this evening. Christmas midnight mass is underway right now this hour in Bethlehem. While thousands of tourists and pilgrims have gathered, the number of Christians in the Palestinian territories is shrinking, now estimated at under 50,000.
And at the Vatican right now, live pictures, Pope Benedict XVI is saying midnight mass in the Basilica of St. Peter's.
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POPE BENEDICT XVI, CATHOLIC CHURCH'S 265TH POPE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
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WHITFIELD: During his sermon tonight, the Pope said wherever the mass and Holy Communion are celebrated around the world, islands of peace will arise.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN Center. Straight ahead, more of "The Best and Worst 2010."
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FOREMAN: President Obama spent pretty much the whole year on the griddle. As the heat went up, his approval ratings went down, and just as a majority of voters once seemed to think he could do no wrong, this year some acted as if he could do no right.
It was enough to make even the presidential seal come unglued.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We cannot sustain - oops. Was that my - oh, goodness.
COOPER: The president's seal falling off the podium. Yes. I don't know. Maybe, you know, we've spent some money on other stuff, we can't afford glue anymore.
SPITZER: It's been a horrendous year. He hasn't convinced anybody that he has moved us or even knows how to move us in a direction that is appropriate.
THURSTON: Unable to satisfy his own constituents from the left and certainly unable to find common ground with those on the right.
EISEN: I'd say President Obama had a bad season.
REED: Bad year for Barack Obama. You know, certainly a terrible year for Barack Obama.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Hands down, the worst problem - the economy. And the worst number - unemployment, stubbornly holding at nearly 10 percent.
THURSTON: That's a really, really high figure.
GRAY: People without jobs don't give a rat's [bleep] about jobs reports.
SPITZER: So when we say we added 50,000, 100,000 this month or last month, we are not even close to beginning the process of getting the economy back where it has to be.
GRAY: If you're without a job, that's not helping. You need to see real relief.
THURSTON: I think we're lacking some imagination here, so what we actually do productively, economically in this country.
COOPER: Until people really see improvement in their own lives or in their neighbors' lives, you know, I - I think it's going to be hard for people to believe it.
REED: Everybody, no matter what level you're at, I think is dialing back expectations for themselves, for their kids. That's - that's horrifying.
DOMINICK: Well, the - the fact is it - it did get better, a little better this year, and - and some could argue that it didn't get worse. But if you'd like to know how tough it is, take a trip to sunny Michigan.
FOREMAN: And that's not the worst place to post your resume. Say, which state had the highest unemployment?
HOSTIN: I'm going to say Florida.
EISEN: I'll go California.
SPITZER: Worst unemployment rate of any state in the country, I think, is Nevada.
FOREMAN: Correct. Gambling on their future, with a jobless rate over 14 percent.
And the state with the best employment picture?
EISEN: I'll go Nebraska.
REED: It might actually be Louisiana.
FOREMAN: Eliot?
SPITZER: I think it is North Dakota.
FOREMAN: Correct, with unemployment under four percent.
EISEN: Eliot Spitzer. Fantastic. God bless him.
REED: I don't know what they do in North Dakota.
GRAY: They resent South Dakota.
DOMINICK: Well, the reason why North Dakota has such low unemployment is they only have five people that live in the state, and they're all there to maintain Mt. Rushmore - or is that South Dakota?
FOREMAN: Unemployment problems coast to coast created a terrible environment for the president. So did the continuing mortgage crisis, the soaring deficit.
THURSTON: It's a tough job. The worst job in the world.
CHEN: What, this is the first term for him? Any person going into that position, I don't think, could have done much better.
DOMINICK: Americans, we're not a - we're not a patient bunch.
FOREMAN: Worst moment, that CNBC town hall meeting when he was confronted by a voter.
VELMA HART, LOST HER JOB: I'm exhausted. I - I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for. And I'm waiting, sir. I - I'm waiting. I - I don't feel it yet.
FOREMAN: She later lost her job.
CHEN: What could any of us say if we were in his shoes at that moment?
PARKER: Obama, I think, was shocked. You could tell he was taken completely by surprise.
REED: Even the people that liked this guy, they - they're having to work on it. You know, I mean, I don't want to sound like I think Obama's a bad guy, because I don't. I just - I'm just puzzled increasingly by him and his style of governing.
HOSTIN: I think he, you know, came in on this change, yes, we can, yes, we can, yes, we can, and now it looks like, well, no, we can't. No, we can't, no, you can't.
FOREMAN: The news was certainly not all bad for the president.
THURSTON: It's easy to forget health care legislation, record- setting financial reform from an historic presidential perspective. He's got to be pretty happy with those results.
OBAMA: For the first time in six years, Ford, GM and Chrysler are all operating at a profit.
FOREMAN: The bulls pushed the markets up.
DOMINICK: If you really want to make a lot of money, you have to come to New York and work on Wall Street, because their salaries are the highest they have ever been.
COOPER: His supporters will say there - there are - there things he accomplished, but, obviously, you know, as he himself said, he took a shellacking in the - the Midterm elections. CHEN: What do we want him to do? Lose his cool and pull his hair out and scream and shout and - and kick? I mean, not very presidential.
GRAY: This year he had problems with not just conservatives, but liberals.
FOREMAN: Best or worst political schizophrenia, depending on how you look at it, the independent voters who pushed Barack Obama into office, and this year pushed away from him just as hard.
COOPER: I think we saw a lot of independents frankly just switch in 2000 - into 2010.
SPITZER: Independent voters are saying we will vote for those who produce. Show us the money, show us the goods, show us the jobs.
PARKER: Oh, absolutely. And then I think that - that more people now identify themselves as independents than either Republican or Democrat.
HOSTIN: When you would say, let's say even 10 years ago, I'm an independent, people sort of looked at you with - with some contempt. Now, if you say at a party, a cocktail party, I'm an independent, you're all of a sudden interesting.
PARKER: It's the new cool.
FOREMAN: And the new cool left the president in the cold.
FOREMAN (on camera): In a moment, the worst case of getting overheated about politics, good plays and bad sports, and the Bed Intruder Guy.
ANTOINE DODSON, BED INTRUDER GUY: You are so dumb.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Stay smart. Stay tuned. "All the Best, All the Worst" will be right back.
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FOREMAN: This was a huge year for sports, big games, big deals, lots of big chances for all the best and all the worst.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Best underdog coming out on top, the New Orleans Saints from a city still staggering back from Katrina, making it to the Super Bowl for the first time in team history, and winning. Who dat? We dat!
DOMINICK: The New Orleans Saints win was the feel good sports story of the year.
REED: When they won, we could hear the shouts from every single house. It was astonishing.
COOPER: That was amazing, and, you know, for New Orleans, it was just an incredible moment.
CHEN: I'm - I'm not a huge football fan, but I wanted to see New Orleans have this win.
EISEN: I think it could be one of the top moments in - in sports history for what they - what the championship meant to this one particular town.
FOREMAN: Best athlete role model of the year, because he signed with the Saints in the wake of Katrina and stayed, joining his teammates in countless projects to help the city rebuild, quarterback Drew Brees.
THURSTON: Drew Brees is - is a god among men.
CHEN: But the moment that really touched my heart was when Drew Brees is holding his little son.
EISEN: It was amazing. It still gives me goosebumps to think about it.
FOREMAN: Worst counter play, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger and Minnesota's Brett Favre, both caught up in accusations of improper sexual conduct, but denied by both.
GRAY: As far as Brett Favre, didn't he retire three times already?
REED: I don't care. If Brett Favre wants to send pictures of his genitals to somebody, that is totally his business.
EISEN: I wouldn't believe it. How about that? I'm not going to believe it.
FOREMAN: In basketball, the Lakers took the trophy, and LeBron James took the award for worst over-hyped move from struggling Cleveland to struggling Miami, dissing New York in the process.
HOSTIN: Good riddance to LeBron. Good riddance.
EISEN: It was a terrible year for LeBron, but he's rich beyond his wildest dreams now.
FOREMAN: In hockey, the Blackhawks hoisted the cup. In baseball, San Francisco brought the World Series home.
In Canada, the Winter Olympics drew 2,500 athletes from 82 nations. Best set up for a snowball fight, if there were snow.
DOMINICK: I loved the Winter Olympics, although it's so much better when they have winter during it.
PARKER: Yes, I missed the Winter Olympics. Was that in the winter?
EISEN: You know, the - the dance tribute to the indigenous whales of the Northwest Canadian territory was a bit much for me.
FOREMAN: The Unites States won the most medals overall, Canada the most gold. Good on, hey?
SPITZER: I would trade virtually everything I - I have succeed or thought - think I've succeeded in doing in life to - to be able to do the Olympic downhill and finish it. This is just amazing, amazing stuff.
COOPER: I don't follow sports. I can't even pretend - I mean, I can say, like, hey, yes, did you see the game? But I don't really know what the game is.
FOREMAN: Worst interference, the vuvuzela horns at the World Cup.
CHEN: I was on board and then it was, woo, woo, woo.
EISEN: Those things need to - need to be balled up together in one big, blue plastic ball and shot into space, never to be heard from again.
FOREMAN: Worst fair weather fans - us. We followed every kick right up until our team was booted.
DOMINICK: Americans loved, loved, loved soccer for seven minutes every four years.
PARKER: I didn't get the soccer bug.
HOSTIN: Since when has soccer been such a big deal?
FOREMAN: For the record, the trophy went to Spain.
Worst horsing around? The jockey fight after a rough and tumble Breeder's Cup race. Best horse play, Zenyatta - 19 straight wins, one loss by inches retiring as the money-winningest mare of all time.
Best endless love, at Wimbledon, two players, 183 games, 11hours.
DOMINICK: It was the longest tennis match in history and I sat there drinking my beer and eating chips, thinking, wow, those guys are in great shape.
SPITZER: It was not great tennis, it was a great feat.
FOREMAN: And best sneak play, Driscoll Middle School quarterback Jason Garza took the ball, paced off a non-existent penalty, then took off to a 6-6 tie for the championship game for Corpus Christi, Texas.
FOREMAN (on camera): There was so much beyond the world of sports that just had to be seen - new internet sensations, new folks grabbing their 15 minutes of fame, and, of course, the best new technology of the year.
DOMINICK: The iPad is - is changing the way that we smear glass.
REED: And this is - it's just fantastic.
HOSTIN: And the apps, I mean, I'm app crazy.
EISEN: Being able to say that makes you sound up and with it.
SPITZER: Oh, I have it. I turned it on once. It looked cute.
COOPER: I loved the way the iPad looks, and would like to be the kind of person who would have an iPad and would know how to use it and use it for all sorts of things, but I'm not.
FOREMAN (voice-over): Worst and best social networking site, it's still Facebook, but -
THURSTON: You know, this is the year I unfriended all my Facebook friends. I think the unfriend button is probably my favorite piece of technology which I never tested before 2010.
FOREMAN: Best challenger to last year's best tech, the iPhone, Google's Android system.
(TEACH ME HOW TO DOUGIE VIDEO PLAYS)
FOREMAN: Best online dance sensation, "The Dougie." Best student, Wolf, learning it from Doug E. Fresh himself.
Best internet crime fighter, Antoine Dodson. A guy broke into his sister's room, he told the local news crew, and the video went viral.
DODSON: We got your t-shirt, even that fingerprints and all. You are so dumb.
HOSTIN: I think it came from such a good place. I mean, he was outraged.
PARKER: Love that guy. Oh, I love that guy.
THURSTON: I think it's a beautiful story of empowerment.
EISEN: And I actually incorporated that into one of my catch phrases on - on NFL Network this year. I actually used, "Hide your kids, hide your wife."
COOPER: And I think he - he's actually - he got auto-tuned. I really want to be auto-tuned, a benchmark or milestone.
FOREMAN: Best moment of Zen - Double Rainbow Guy.
PAUL VASQUEZ, DOUBLE RAINBOW GUY: Double rainbow all of the way across the sky!
FOREMAN: Best music video, period, Keenan Cahill and 50 Cent.
(VIDEO FOR "DOWN ON ME" PLAYS)
FOREMAN: Best video to keep your mom from getting a tattoo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oww!
FOREMAN: Best speech anywhere, ever, Phil Davison running for office in Stark County, Ohio.
DAVISON: I will hit the ground running, come out swinging, and end up winning!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is just too much.
FOREMAN: Worst misread, the host on "Australia's Top Model" announcing the wrong winner.
HOSTIN: I couldn't keep my eyes off of it.
FOREMAN: And best attempt to talk to the animals gone completely wrong, Anderson's visit with the apes where he dressed up in a bunny suit.
COOPER: The easiest answer is I was wearing a bunny suit because an ape told me to, but that doesn't really clarify much, does it?
GRAY: And he thought Charlie Sheen had issues.
FOREMAN (on camera): Our time is running out, but we have one last treat heading your way, all of our wishes for the next year's best and worst. Stay put.
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FOREMAN: It's almost closing time here at the Best/Worst Diner, but we can't leave without wheeling out the dessert cart and asking our guests what would you order up for America in the coming year?
THURSTON: Take a moment to reflect, to stop, and actually listen to someone else. You may find they're saying something quite different from what you thought.
DOMINICK: Sit down and read. Read to your kids, read to yourself, read to a homeless person. Just read.
COOPER: My wish for America is just that it - it continues to move forward, that it continues to innovate, it continues to be this - this shining beacon on a hill.
CHEN: Stop the hate. Stop the bullying. And just give peace a chance. HOSTIN: My wish for America for the coming year is more prosperity and kindness.
SPITZER: It's going to sound trite, but let's - you know, let's create some jobs for the folks who really are desperate for jobs.
EISEN: I would wish for more jobs, more people to get jobs, who need them desperately.
PARKER: I wish for jobs.
GRAY: My wish for America is just like it is every year, good health and safety.
REED: I just want us to feel like there's some hope.
FOREMAN: So wipe the tables down and put up the chairs. That's it for 2010.
I'm Tom Foreman. Thanks for being here. From all of us at CNN and AC 360, we wish you all of the best and none of the worst in 2011.
