2008 Presidential Election

Remember hearing "record turnout is expected" before last year's election? Time reports it was the work of 29 of the world's most influential behavioral scientists, psychologists, and economists. They knew people are more likely to do something if they think others will do it. Like vote!

Now the president is using the team to put policies in place and funnel stimulus money into programs that will help America help itself. How so?

1. It's easier to say yes than no: Excited for the automatic-enrollment pension plans? I'm sure. Well, it's because the government doesn't want to pay our assisted-living rent when we're 90. A 2001 study showed only 36 percent joined 401(k) plans when they had to opt in, but 86 percent stayed in when they were automatically signed up.
2. You'll spend the extra cash in your next paycheck: Beginning this month, $116 billion worth of payroll tax cuts, compliments of the stimulus package, will roll their way into paychecks. Why the paltry change when Obama could have given out $600 checks like Bush? Not because it didn't work, though true, but because Obama knows why it didn't work: people spend when they get a few extra dollars and save lump sums.

To see the other two, read more

Well someone was going to cash in on the story of Obama skyrocketing to the White House. Who knew it would be an unknown, unpaid volunteer? Rahaf Harfoush, former comment moderator on my.barackobama.com, apparently did.

She volunteered for the campaign during its final three months, along with two to three dozen other people in the same role. While she was buoyed by her background as a research coordinator for the book Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, there was nothing remarkable about her résumé or time there.

Since then she's gone for profit, billing herself a "social media strategist" who "helped develop the most innovative, comprehensive, and high-stakes social media campaign ever conceived." She's given speeches on the campaign's successful media tactics and is now writing a book, Yes We Did! An Inside Look at How Social Media Built the Obama Brand.

So while she's becoming a spokesperson for the campaign's afterlife, bewildered staff members on Obama's new media team scratch their heads. Good thing they are getting paid!

Now that America has become familiar with President-elect Barack Obama's political agenda, the country has taken interest in the soon-to-be president's personal quirks and preferences. A clip surfaced of Obama on Check Please! Chicago, a Chicago series that features locals reviewing restaurants. In the August 2001 episode, the then-Illinois state senator raves about Dixie Kitchen, a Southern-, Cajun-, and Creole-influenced restaurant in his South Side neighborhood of Hyde Park. In the clip, Obama sounds surprisingly . . . well, just like us. "It's not gourmet cuisine, but that's not why I go to the Dixie Kitchen," he says. "What I'm looking for is food that tastes good for a good price." Yet his introspective nature is already evident, when he admits the johnnycakes are "dangerous," so "I've learned from my mistakes." Watch the clip when you read more

Hillary Clinton may not have won the presidency, but she did prevail as CitizenSugar readers' favorite woman in power of 2008. With 45 percent of the votes going to Hillary, Condoleezza Rice placed a distant second with 17 percent.

While she won't start 2009 as the nation's first female president, Hillary will most likely be the face of America abroad, serving as the top-US diplomat. So much of Hillary's public life has been directed toward trying to call the White House home, so I'm excitedly curious to see how she evolves during her next chapter in leadership.

Some write-in votes included: DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, Sen. Diane Feinstein, Sen. Claire McCaskill, and Sen. Barbara Boxer. All these impressive women leaders make it hard to choose just one favorite! Check out all the other highlights of the past year!

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The Presidential candidates worked the late-night talk show circuit during the 2008 campaign, making more than four times the number of appearances with Letterman, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and the likes than the 2004 lineup did, according to new research.

Candidates showed off their face-to-face skills with 110 appearances on late-night comedy shows, a sharp shoot up from 25 in 2004, according to the Center for Media and Public Affairs. Fifty of those spots occurred before the primary votes were even cast, offering the chance for candidates to show their comedic chops and create ideal YouTube or cable news sound bites. And, as a former Hillary Clinton adviser said, "It's a lot more risky, as Sarah Palin will attest, to do an interview with Katie Couric than it is with Jay Leno".

John McCain made 17 guest appearances and created quite a hullabaloo when he canceled on Letterman. President-elect Barack Obama clocked 15 appearances, third behind Republican Mike Huckabee, who now has his own show on Fox News Channel and was promoting his book. Do you think the late-night appearances helped you get to know the candidates?

Photo courtesy of NBC

CitizenSugar readers apparently care about results! Barack Obama's victory speech won favorite Barack Obama moment of 2008, beating out all the other choices having to do with Obama's path to the White House.

On election night Obama greeted the world from Chicago's Grant Park, exclaiming that:

Change has come to America. If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible. Who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.

The road ahead will be long, our climb will be steep, we may not get there in one year or even in one term, but America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you. We as a people will get there.

One of the top write-in choices involved Obama's comments on the yet-to-be-chosen White House puppy. For other top moments of 2008, check out all our highlight coverage!

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John McCain's graceful concession speech on Nov. 4 won the award for CitizenSugar readers' favorite John McCain moment of 2008. As many of you said in the comments, the fact that McCain lost did not make this your favorite moment, but rather the quality of the speech swayed you.

McCain conceded the presidency less than 30 minutes after the polls closed on the West Coast, telling supporters in Arizona:

These are difficult times for our country and I pledge to him [Obama] tonight to do all in my power to help and lead us through the many challenges we face. I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our goodwill and earnest effort to find ways to come together.

McCain put up a tough fight for the Republican nomination and the presidency, coming out gracious and humble. Check out the rest of our Best of 2008 coverage!

First Lady Laura Bush can host opulent diplomat dinners, but can she still stir the pots? As the first lady and her husband, President George W. Bush, get ready to move out of the White House next month, they're looking forward to returning to the humdrum of everyday life. For her, this means getting back into the kitchen. "I haven't cooked in 14 years," she told Fox News Channel's On the Record. Perhaps the first lady could use a refresher course on how to peel shrimp or some simple tips on one of the most basic cooking skills: scrambling eggs. "He can't even remember what it was like, and neither can I," she admits. "This will be interesting."

What advice do you have for First Lady Laura Bush as she attempts to polish her rusty cooking skills?

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While the McCain campaign sometimes appeared reluctant to let VP nominee Sarah Palin talk to the press, her interviews with Charlie Gibson and Katie Couric proved to be CitizenSugar readers' favorite Sarah Palin moments of 2008.

When Charlie asked Sarah if she hesitated over her level of experience when McCain asked her aboard the Straight Talk Express, Palin said: "I didn’t hesitate, no . . . I answered him yes, because I have the confidence in that readiness and knowing that you can't blink." But Palin did blink a bit when Charlie asked for her thoughts on the Bush Doctrine.

Saturday Night Live also took a liking to the Katie Couric interview, as Tina Fey used Palin's exact words to become your favorite Lighten Up moment of the year.

And yet another Palin interview came in second place — her Thanksgiving-timed chat with a reporter that went down while turkeys were slaughtered right behind her. Thanks for the memories, Gov. Palin! Check out some of the other top memories of the year.