Best YouTube Moments of 2007

It's December now, and I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be cool to think back over the past year about what the best things were, and then put them on a list?"

It's a radical concept, but let's see if it catches on. "But what about things that happen before New Year's Day, but after you do your list?", you might ask. Those things never happened.

Today, I want to take a look at the year in YouTube. I've got some clips loaded here, and I'll guide you through them after the jump. They're not all explicitly political, but YouTube represents the democratization of media, for better or for worse, as in the story of Dustin Hoffman, (not that one) a musician and cashier who fought with armed robbers just because he "wanted to look good on YouTube."

So, relax and prepare for the great, grainy, hot mess that is YouTube 2007.

In very inexact order, here are some of my favorite Youtube moments of 2007:

1. Sunshine on Protesters: My first 2 videos are of Andrew Meyer being tased at a John Kerry speech, and some very clever protesters being escorted offstage at an Alberto Gonzales speech. The great thing here is that these moments are now frozen in time and accessible in a way that regular TV is not. In the case of Meyer, I was disappointed that so many people focused on his reputation as a provacateur rather than what the incident said about the state of dissident speech in America.

In the case of the Gonzales protesters, I had 2 thoughts: First, somebody paid to have Gonzo give a speech? And second, that the man with the Habeas Corpus sign presented Gonzales with only one, perfect choice: Ignore Habeas Corpus.

2. 10 Questions: An ingenious, if burgeoning, debate Presidential format whereby citizens ask questions via Youtube, vote on the final 10 questions, then rate the candidates on how completely they answered. My favorite answer is here, Huckabee's game attempt at addressing the medical marijuana issue. Kudos to Mike, too, for being first to answer.

3. GOP Youtube Debate: This was probably the most fun I've ever had watching a debate, and this is my favorite clip, Mitt Romney making Giuliani look foolish to the point where he almost gets booed off the stage. The debate was revealing in several ways.

4. Chris Dodd's Turn to Hold the Democrats' Spine: Dodd speaks from the heart and makes a tough promise, to hold off a revised FISA bill that would grant retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies. A rare example of true political courage.

5. Vote Different: The opening salvo of Campaign '08, Youtube style. The clip caused quite a stir, and I wondered why Obama's campaign would run away from such a well-crafted message.

6. Obama Girl: A viral music video spoof that deconstructs R&B videos and the cult of personality with equal acuity. Plus, that's a really hot girl. Courtesy of BarelyPolitical.com.

7. Fox News Too Hot For Youtube: Digg and Youtube both flagged, as "Adult Content", a video from Brave New Films consisting entirely of footage that had originally aired on Fox News.

8. Let the Shusting Begin!: David Shuster doles out as bad a hurting as I've seen on basic cable to Representative Marsha Blackburn. Also, as deserving.

9. Jackie Mason Gets Mad: I love this trainwreck of an interview from The Young Turks. Who knew Jackie Mason was political? I knew he hated "Instant Hole", but that was about it.

10. M.C. Rove: This one clip is like every season of the British "Office", rolled up into one long cringe.

11. Senator Larry Craig: I don't think he did anything wrong, but it's hard to resist this piece of unearthed video, chastising Bill Clinton in the most ironic of terms.

12. Be Vewy Quiet! Mitt's Huntin': Varmints. It's funny no matter who says it, but Mitt just amplifies the effect with his milquetoast intonation. Classic.

13. Huck and Chuck: I give Huckabee major cool points for cottoning on to the Chuck Norris phenomenon. If only he could get caught up on some other stuff, like science and women's lib.

Those are my political picks. Now, here are some bonus clips for you, in a similar vein to Keith Olbermann's Oddball segment, the best thing to happen to Youtube, or vice-versa, this year. I won't comment on them all, except to say that these were suggested to me by real Americans like you, or were just plain ubiquitous. Yes, "Dramatic Prairie Dog" is here. Enjoy.