The AP Gets it Wrong Again

The Associated Press today released the top 10 news stories of 2005. Funny, the year is not over, but I digress.
Of course the number one story is Hurricane Katrina. As a natural disaster is rivals only the devastating Sumatra Earthquake of 2004. I mean, there are not many other weather calamities that wipe out whole cities as did Katrina.
But, where the AP blew it is that the recent Iraqi elections were no where to be found on the top ten list. What the AP did, cleverly, is lump it in general about Iraq as a whole as the number three story of the year.
Of course there is the mention that this past year saw the 2,000th plus deaths of brave American soldiers and the 30,000 plus dead Iraqis and the suicide/homicide bombings. But the election, and the previous constitutional elections in this past January, is the real story of Iraq.
It trumps the trial of Saddam, any other news out of Iraq.
Why? Because it happened!
With all the doom and gloom the the Iraq war opponents, led the the Cindy Sheehans and Dr. Howard Deans, this should not have happened whatsoever.
But it did!
President Bush did not cut and run when the polls showed support waning for the war. He ramped it up. Recently he gave a series of speeches that explained in detail why we are there, the mistakes made and why we are still there to finish the job.
That, my friends, is leadership.
And now, the Iraqi people will, as they have against all the odds, stand up and find the leaders that will continue to fight against insurgents and terrorists. I am confident they will and that should be the story of the year.
But success, especially where President Bush is concerned, is not something that the AP or anyone else in the "Mainstream" media ever warrents a top ten story of the year.