BIGGEST WINNERS

George W. Bush has put to rest questions about his legitimacy as president, and his ability to do the job, erasing the Democrats’ best case against him. “Some things have changed permanently,” says Democratic pollster Mark Penn. “Bush will no longer be seen as potentially incompetent.”

Rudy Giuliani exemplified leadership in a time of crisis, proving that a politician can have a messy private life and still exhibit strong character in his public life. He’s even won over his party’s right wing. Assuming his health holds up, he could be a presidential contender.

Nancy Pelosi is the first woman in either party to win a high leadership position. As Democratic whip, she will be in the front lines of trying to gain back Democratic control of the House. Smart and articulate, she is positioned to break through the gender barrier on the Sunday-morning talk shows, where, according to a recent survey, men dominate.

A rumpled, professorial Jim Jeffords is the new cult figure on college campuses. He changed the balance of power in Washington, and Republicans still haven’t forgiven him. He finds solace in his new national reputation–and his book sales.

In a culture searching for fresh faces and the next new thing, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is a refreshing throwback. After 25 years writing arcane papers about national security, Rumsfeld has emerged as the hero of the small screen–our John Wayne.

Hillary Clinton started the year on the defensive over her husband’s pardons and her brother’s cashing in and charges she had stolen furniture from the White House. Now she wins plaudits from everybody for her dutiful work habits and deference to her more senior colleagues–and she prays regularly with conservative Republicans.

Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch deserves recognition for bringing an open mind to the issue of stem-cell research. Hatch has always voted on the pro-life side of reproductive-health issues, but he came out publicly to support stem-cell research at a time when the White House desperately needed political cover from the right to allow the research to proceed, even in a limited way.

Michael Jordan isn’t a politician in the strictest sense, but he has been a terrific goodwill ambassador for the city of Washington, and for all of basketball. At a time when basketball was losing audience, and the Washington Wizards were at the bottom of their division, Jordan came out of retirement to revive both the team and the NBA.

BIGGEST LOSERS

Enron employees and stockholders. They paid the price for the company’s malfeasance while higher-ups got to unload their stock well before the bubble burst.

Bill Clinton tarnished eight years of peace and prosperity with his tawdry exit from office. Now he’s assembling a handful of loyalists to repair the damage. Richard Nixon taught us that it’s never too late to rebuild a legacy. But being mentioned in the same breath with Nixon is not where a Democratic president wants to be.

John Walker wanted to be the perfect Muslim, and now he stands accused of a crime against his country. The scope of that crime has not yet been determined. President Bush initially seemed sympathetic. But with polls showing strong public sentiment opposing leniency for Walker, Bush has toughened his language.

Former Republican National Committee head Jim Gilmore is the shortest-serving party chairman in history. He couldn’t hold the governorship of his home state of Virginia, which is heavily Republican, and he is so lacking in charisma that fellow Republicans privately mocked him as “Mr. Sizzle.” But it was his policies that spelled his doom. As governor, he couldn’t deliver on a promise to roll back Virginia’s car tax when the Republican-led legislature rebelled in the face of falling revenues.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat get a joint award for failing to break out of the destructive pattern of violence they have fallen into, and for the stagnant thinking that keeps them there.

Remember prescription drug coverage for seniors? Both George W. Bush and Al Gore promised that if elected that would be a top priority. But even before September 11, Congress was having trouble coming up with the funds to cover such a costly government program and still fund Bush’s tax cut. Now that the economy is in recession and money is needed for homeland security, prescription drug coverage is off the agenda.

Texas Sen. Phil Gramm announced his retirement earlier this year and everybody said nice things, especially about the fact that he was walking away from his Senate seat while still in his prime. Now congressional committees investigating Enron’s collapse are wondering whether his decision to leave the Senate had anything to do with potential conflicts of interest. Gramm’s wife, Wendy, was on Enron’s board of directors while her husband chaired the Senate Banking Committee, whose oversight responsibilities should have caught Enron’s troubles.

Lastly, who can forget–though we’d like to–the starring players in the year’s two biggest scandals: Marc and Denise Rich and the high-level web of associations that produced a presidential pardon; and Gary Condit, who still thinks he’s the one who was wronged. The voters in his California district will be judge and jury, as they should.