Like many papers around the country, the San Jose Mercury News published its top 10 stories of the year just past. Imagine my surprise when I got down to number 10:
- Nancy Pelosi elected House speaker. On Jan. 3, 2008, something happened that had never happened in the 219-year history of the House of Representatives: Lawmakers addressed their leader as "Madam Speaker." San Francisco's Nancy Pelosi, the daughter of a Baltimore mayor and mother of five, defeated Republican John Boehner for the top House post, turning the lower chamber in a more liberal direction and becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of U.S. government.
Writer Paul Rogers (or an editor) changed it in the online edition of the story:
On Jan. 3, 2007, something happened that had never occurred in the 219-year history of the House of Representatives: Lawmakers addressed their leader as "Madam Speaker." But despite the historic shift, Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Congress struggled in 2008 to make their mark. ...
There you have it: the 9 1/2 top stories of 2008.