Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The 2008 election: Where are they now?

Salon catches up with some of the also-rans, has-beens and future standouts from the 2008 election cycle.


Sarah Palin appointed herself leader of a rebel faction of the Republican Party, exchanged her signature up-do for side buns, and now tours the country, appearing at state fairs as a CNN hologram and imploring, "Help me, Karl Rove, you're my only hope," to wildly enthusiastic crowds. She is a spokesmodel for Neiman Marcus.

After his loss to Barack Obama, John McCain wrote three best-selling tell-all books apologizing for abandoning his principles and dedicated his life to overturning Proposition 8. In a barefoot service on the beach at Malibu officiated by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and witnessed by Nancy Pelosi, McCain married Joe Lieberman. A year later, the major motion picture "Maverick Hearts," based on the McCain-Leiberman love story, won the best picture Oscar, along with a shared best actor prize for its stars, Clint Eastwood and Wallace Shawn.

Rudy Giuliani ran for Senate in New York in 2010. Following the advice of his mostly non-English-speaking Hungarian campaign staff, he decided it was not important to campaign in Albany, Poughkeepsie, Buffalo or Staten Island during the Republican primary, and was stunned when he was beaten soundly by underfunded opponent Willie Randolph. He retired to a gated community in Florida, where he spends his days mumbling, "Nine-eleven, nine-eleven."

Many more.

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