Top Ten Comebacks of 2010. Top Ten Fleeting Celebrities of 2010. Top Ten Feuds of 2010. Ten Biggest Apologies for 2010. The Top Ten Campaign Ads for 2010. Politician-speak is often a numbing string of familiar platitudes, vague exhortations to change government and do right by the American People. Jerry Brown's ad, which put statements from his Republican rival for governor, Meg Whitman, side by side with nearly identical sound bites of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, could probably have been made with any two politicians.
But Brown's is a veritable masterpiece of the genre. Simultaneously throwing the dead weight of Schwarzenegger's abysmal approval ratings around Whitman's neck and marring the political neophyte with the mark of the incumbent, the 40-year career politician turned the tables on his well-funded foe. The core message of the ad, produced by veteran strategist Joe Trippi, comes through in the very first line, as the two Republicans echo, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. " Next Joe Sestak, "The Switch" Top Ten Political Gaffes in 2010. On March 23, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were understandably excited about signing into law a health care reform bill they had campaigned on and endured a marathon slugfest to pass through Congress in their first 13 months in office.
After introductory remarks, an overjoyed and loose-lipped Biden whispered, "This is a big f***ing deal," into the President's ear as he turned the stage over to Obama. The exchange, which was loud enough to be picked up by the microphone, quickly made its way onto cable TV and into the blogosphere. The notoriously gaffe-prone Biden later apologized for the blooper and kept a good sense of humor about it. Organizing for America — the remaining political arm of Obama's '08 campaign — even started selling "Health Reform is a BFD" t-shirts at its online store. Health care reform is likely to remain one of the defining moments of Obama's presidency and in this viral age, Biden's blunder will likely have a similarly long shelf life.