THE 10 WORST PREDICTIONS FOR 2008, as chosen by Foreign Policy magazine, under the new editorship of Susan Glasser. The magazine has also posted an explanation of why each 'winner' was so absurd.
1. 'If [Hillary Clinton] gets a race against John Edwards and Barack Obama, she's going to be the nominee. Gore is the only threat to her, then. ... Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I'll predict that right now.' -William Kristol, Fox News Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006
2. 'Peter writes: 'Should I be worried about Bear Stearns in terms of liquidity and get my money out of there?' No! No! No! Bear Stearns is fine! Do not take your money out. ... Bear Stearns is not in trouble. I mean, if anything they're more likely to be taken over. Don't move your money from Bear! That's just being silly! Don't be silly!' -Jim Cramer, responding to a viewer's e-mail on CNBC's Mad Money, March 11, 2008
3. '[In] reality the risks to maritime flows of oil are far smaller than is commonly assumed. First, tankers are much less vulnerable than conventional wisdom holds. Second, limited regional conflicts would be unlikely to seriously upset traffic, and terrorist attacks against shipping would have even less of an economic effect. Third, only a naval power of the United States' strength could seriously disrupt oil shipments.' -Dennis Blair and Kenneth Lieberthal, Foreign Affairs, May/ June 2007
4. '[A]nyone who says we're in a recession, or heading into one- especially the worst one since the Great Depression-is making up his own private definition of 'recession.' -Donald Luskin, The Washington Post, Sept. 14, 2008
5. 'For all its flaws, an example to others.' -The Economist on Kenya's presidential election, Dec. 19, 2007
6. 'New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will enter the Presidential race in February, after it becomes clear which nominees will get the nod from the major parties. His multiple billions and organization will impress voters-and stun rivals. He'll look like the most viable third- party candidate since Teddy Roosevelt. But Bloomberg will come up short, as he comes in for withering attacks from both Democrats and Republicans. He and Clinton will split more than 50% of the votes, but Arizona's maverick senator, John McCain, will end up the country's next President.' –Business Week, Jan. 2, 2008
7. 'There is a real possibility of creating destructive theoretical anomalies such as miniature black holes, strangelets and deSitter space transitions. These events have the potential to fundamentally alter matter and destroy our planet.' -Walter Wagner, LHCDefense.org Foreign Policy: '[I]t appears that we are still here.'
8. 'The possibility of $150-$200 per barrel seems increasingly likely over the next six-24 months.' -Arjun Murti, Goldman Sachs oil analyst, in a May 5, 2008, report
9. 'It starts with the taking over of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which has already happened. It goes on to the destruction of the Georgian armed forces, which is now happening. The third [development] will probably be the replacement of the elected government, which is pro-Western, with a puppet government, which will probably follow in a week or two.' -Charles Krauthammer, Fox News, Aug. 11, 2008
10. 'I believe the banking system has been stabilized. No one is asking themselves anymore, is there some major institution that might fail and that we would not be able to do anything about it.' -Henry Paulson on National Public Radio, Nov. 13, 2008