Rusty Saber: Kafkaesque election top story of 2000

Is it my imagination, or has the year 2000 gone by in a flash? It seems like it was only a few days ago that 2000 was ushered in; now it's already been ushered out. If it's true that time flies when you're having fun, it must have been a hilarious year.

A year ago, I predicted the presidential election would be the biggest story of 2000. It seemed to be a safe prediction I just didn't know how safe. The process of electing the president takes so long that it naturally captures the headlines for much of the year.

The process begins with presidential candidates throwing their hats in the ring; hectic jockeying for position in the primaries; winnowing away the losing candidates until only one from each major party is left; the glittering made-for-television party conventions and the head-to-head, no-holds-barred campaign leading up to the election. The process generates enough news to make the election the biggest story of any election year.

Little did I know a year ago just how big a news story the election of 2000 would be. Who could have foretold the Kafkaesque scene of vote-counting in Florida to determine which candidate would get that state's 25 electoral votes? The five weeks it took to name George W. Bush the winner of campaign 2000 guarantees it will be the news event of the year.

I didn't predict a top Missouri news event, but the No. 1 state story of 2000, without doubt, will be one that could not have been predicted: the Oct. 16, 2000, death of Gov. Mel Carnahan, who was killed in a plane crash while campaigning for the U.S. Senate. The fallout from this tragedy led to the election of a dead man to the Senate and Jean Carnahan being appointed to replace her husband.

A year ago I predicted the ongoing chronicle of the Jordan Valley Park in downtown Springfield and the Wonders of Wildlife Museum adjacent to Bass Pro Shops as the most important local news events of 2000. I'm so confident that my choices were the right ones that I fearlessly predict that the same stories will be the most important of the new year. I believe the revived downtown, along with the wildlife museum, will go a long way toward determining what Springfield will be like in the 21st century.

I'll leave it to media experts to come up with the official top national, state and local news stories of the year. It has become a sort of ritual (meaning I sort of do it when the mood strikes) for the Rusty Saber to encourage readers to ponder the question: Has it been a good year?

So, how about it: Has 2000 been a good year? Only you can answer the question. To help you decide, here are the top 10 ways to tell if you have had a good year. You have had a good year if ...

10. The Y2K doomsday prediction turned out to be a dud because nothing happened to you or to anybody you know.

9. Y2K was, in fact, so meaningless to you that you have forgotten what harms Y2K was supposed to bring.

8. Because of a gigantic computer error, your name was accidentally erased from all telemarketer calling lists.

7. You drove in Springfield for a whole year and you weren't once hit broadside by a driver running a red light.

6. You regularly use pedestrian crosswalks in Springfield and you are alive to tell about it.

5. Your favorite restaurant is not a trendy franchise, but one owned locally with a menu not to be found at any other place.

4. You can still find stores where the staff knows your name and offers personalized service.

3. You made at least one new friend in 2000.

2. The world is a little bit better because of things you have done.

Sound the trumpets! Bang the drums! The No. 1 way to know if you have had a good year: If the people you care about, care about you and think you are an OK sort of person.

How about it, have you had a good year? I hope so.

Happy New Year!

(Joe McAdoo is former chairman of the communication department at Drury University and a Springfield public relations consultant.)