Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader from Louisville, recently criticized President Obama's plans for reducing carbon emissions by stating it would cost every household about $3,100 a year. But his opposition might stem from the fact that he's accepted $474,658 from oil companies in the 2000-08 period, making him a leading recipient of oil contributions.  

As I learned working on a political campaign this fall, guessing is a genuine art form for politicos of all stripes. Each person guesses over another's guess about what might happen next, and the cycle continues ad nauseam. Accuracy is fine and all that, but speculation and rumor-mongering is much more fun. In that spirit, here are my predictions for 2009.