Morning Edition, December 31, 2008� They seemed so important at the time, didn't they? The issues over which much ink was spilled, many talking heads blathered, and, in some cases, congressional committees were convened. But as we prepare to turn the calendar page, what seemed monumental then has all the significance of a Dennis Kucinich stump speech in retrospect.
So before they completely fade from memory, let's take a look back at some of the top "non-troversies" of 2008:
* Was that Chinese Olympic gymnast 14, or was she 16? And did anybody really think the same country that puts lead paint on our children's toys was going to come clean about this? America needed to let this gold medal loss go and just relive the Olympic magic with another Michael Phelps commercial.
* In chattering-class politics, The New Yorker ran a cover caricature of Barack and Michelle Obama as dangerous radicals - an attempt at satire that displayed the wit and charm of an Ivy League sorority pledge at an all-you-can-drink cosmopolitan bar. Some readers said the drawing was offensive; some said it was too clever for its own good. And 99 percent of America said: "What's The New Yorker?"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98697202
