the list of 9 for december 15, 2005:
NINE PEOPLE WHO REPRESENT THE YEAR 2005
Five years ago I made a list about the nine words that sum up 2000 - the various catchphrases andbrand names that were on everybody's tongue that year. I feel that 2005 has been more aboutparticular personalities - people you'd never heard of before, but who suddenly became big news.Chances are, you won't be hearing about most of these folks even next year, so fleeting is theirfame (or, rather, their infamy).
- TERRI SCHIAVO. This braindead Florida woman ignited theright-to-die debate for millions of Americans.
- CINDY SHEEHAN. Mother of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq,she became an outspoken figurehead for the anti-war movement.
- I. LEWIS "SCOOTER" LIBBY. Indicted as a probable WhiteHouse leak in the revealing of CIA agent Valerie Plame's identity to the press (as revenge for herhusband's published criticism of the Bush administration's justification for the Iraq War), VicePresident Cheney's chief of staff is, as of this writing, either the patsy or the tip of theiceberg as the investigation into the leak continues.
- NATALEE HOLLOWAY. This year's variation on themissing-and-presumed-dead cute white woman, the Alabama teenager disappeared while onvacation in Aruba and the typical media circus ensued.
- MICHAEL BROWN. The Hurricane Katrina catastrophe isarguably the biggest American story of 2005. At the center is the criticism of the FederalEmergency Management Agency's bungled response to the disaster, and FEMA's fall guy is its(now-former) chief, Michael Brown, by most accounts a shallow and inexperienced nitwit.
- STEVE CARELL. Though the crazed Tom Cruise is the actorwho made the most headlines in 2005, thanks to his publicity-hungry "relationship" with B-listactress Katie Holmes, as well as other ill-informed choices, a star was definitely born this year:Steve Carell, little-known before January but now a major presence both on TV (the surprisinglywell-reviewed US version of "The Office") and the big screen (the surprisingly successful40-Year-Old Virgin).
- THOMAS MESEREAU. Michael Jackson's defense attorney in hischild molestation trial, he managed to get his creepy client acquitted despite damaging evidence,after which Jackson split for the Middle East where presumably he can now fondle all the youngboys his little heart desires, with the King of Bahrain's compliments.
- KANYE WEST. Likely to be a familiar face for some time,West's notoriety exploded in 2005 with his music and his ballsy "George Bush doesn't care aboutblack people" remark on a televised Hurricane Katrina aid benefit.
- HARRIET MIERS. Already nearly forgotten by the end of2005, President Bush's candidate for the U.S. Supreme Court backed away from her nomination afterattacks from both sides of the political spectrum.
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