TVSquad

I've always had a problem with Barbara Walters and her list of the 10 most fascinating people of the year. There are always a few people on the list that definitely belong there, such as a President or a politician or the person who starred in the biggest movie of the year. But her 2008 list, which she revealed last night, is pretty lame.

I've found four people on the list that I think should be there: Barack Obama, Tina Fey, Sarah Palin, and Michael Phelps. If you wanted to stretch it you could include Thomas Beatie, the pregnant man, but I'll stick with the other four. It's obvious why Obama and Palin on the list. Fey is on there for not only winning several awards but also for being a major player in the intersection where the election met pop culture. Phelps won 300 gold medals at The Olympics.

They're dyin' to call this for Obama, aren't they? (In fact, they just did at 11 PM ET) In our last update, NBC called Pennsylvania for Obama before barely any votes were counted, then they were on top of Ohio like lions on a limping elk. According to their board, the big O has over 200 electoral votes already, whereas the New York Times website says Obama only has 159. Do the networks have better exit poll data than the Times or are they just too eager to wrte the conclusion to The Obama Story? It's anyone's guess. At least they're not falling all over themselves to call it based on Ohio, like other sites are doing.

More observations:

• From the girlfriend: "Ann Curry looks foxy! Well, she does!" I agree. Curry's rockin' the boots on the virtual set tonight.
• They showed the green room again at 9:30. BriWi's doing it for "full disclosure," but when the graphics turn off, Curry ends up looking so lonely in there.
• Speaking of which, Curry told Brian Williams that "she felt like she was in a video game," then her Sincerity Chip kicked in and she added "Whatever it takes to get the information out to people, Brian." Sure, because phony columns, fake birds, and spinning graphics are the only way to do that.