from washington the mclaughlin group. the american original for over three decades. the sharpest minds, best sources, hardest talk. it's the 33rd annual mclaughlin group year-end award 2014 part i. here's the master of ceremonies john mclaughlin. biggest winner of 2014, pat? >> republican party john adams, seeing glory days like this since the golden era of harding and coolidge in numbers. >> mitch mcconnell and the gop, but also sadly isis. very brutal extremist group,

very rich extremist group. terrible tactics. >> tom? >> the government of iran because of their expansion of theological power in iraq and beyond. and mark? >> it has to be the republicans who came out of nowhere and won both houses of parliament. i mean of the government. it is a huge victory for them. >> the envelope, please. write my file, will ya? >> prepare the jacket. >> yes, there you are. >> that's really it over this. let's see if i could get this out now. you know this routine, pat? >> it is the current act of the magnificent. >> the current acts. >> you give the answer and they give you the question. >> who did this? >> they need to get it out. >> ed mcmann. >> taking it out. what do we do? >> they would blow in it. right. >> and then what? give it to mcmann as they would give you questions. here we go the biggest winner

of 2014 is the united kingdom. last september a referendum on independence for scotland nearly severed scotland from the 307-year-old united kingdom. but it was averted. a big victory to david cameron and both of whom personally carried out the last-minute campaign abuse to keep the union intact. the biggest winner of 2014, the u.k. okay. biggest loser, pat. >> barack, hussain, wiped out in the congress. poll ratings below where they have been in a long time and he beats out sony. >> bill cosby and then on the political side former virginia governor bob mcdonnell who is heading to the slammer instead of having a spot on the republican ticket. >> you saw cosby's wife and heard the defense of him. >> yeah, he didn't have a good year. >> mark? tom i mean. >> rolling stone magazine after

a complete fall apart at the end of the year. >> mark? >> well, it seems to me that it was barack obama. i mean he was absolutely obliterated in the election. his poll numbers are down to 41%, which is as low as it could get. he has lost a lot of traction both within the government and in the country. and there is no sense of what he stands for in terms of the public program. >> that is a good note on your part. the biggest loser, however is harry reid the democratic senator from novado. he was seen as obama's puppet in the senate. faithfully obedient to the white house. but at the expense of their own majority leader, biggest loser harry reid. best politician, pat? >> i'm going to give it to vladimir putin, john. he's playing a very weak hand. he lost the ukraine, but recovered by grabbing crimea. so i think he did the best job. >> eleanor? >> elizabeth warren who has her pulse on the energy and the democratic party and is really

connecting. >> i'm going with john boehner. unpredictable choice there, but the fact he kept his caucus in shape and won a major victory in the midterms. >> well stated. mark? >> i'm going to go with the indian prime minister who was the defeat of the congress party for the first time really since indy was formed. took over the government in a how long way, became a major international -- in a huge way and became a major international player. >> the secretary of defense. and the senator jack reid, democrat of rhode island. they both turned down president obama's overtures to replace chuck hagel the secretary of defense at this stage. the senior appointment that would be toxic to a political resume. okay, the worse politician, pat. >> eric canter. the first majority leader thrown out of office by some unknown. he was sitting up having breakfast at starbucks with his fundraisers in d.c. as he was being voted out of office. >> eleanor?

>> okay canter is my pick too, bogued runner up is ted cruz who really managed to alienate his republican colleagues by opening the door for democrats to confirm 20-odd connective points to the president. cruz is disliked by just about everybody. >> tom? >> the president of france who's approval ratings are floating around 10% now. >> mark? >> yes, along with my suggestion as well, he just lost all political traction in france. >> worse politician, mark udall dale the ex-democratic senator from colorado who focused obsessively on the alleged republican war on women quote on quote. udall dale was a defender, defeated by the challenger corey gardner. worse politician. okay most defining political moment, pat? >> executive amnesty by barack obama. it is going to affect the politics of the next two years entirely in both parties, poisoned the wealth for the politics of 2015. >> eleanor?

>> ferguson, staten island. i can't breathe, hands up. >> tom? >> i think the downing in that makes 17 in ukraine, which shows that they did mottle ever end. >> mark? >> i would agree with eleanor. i think that what happened in ferguson was such a traumatic event for this country. and that to me was the most important event. >> the defining political moment was vladimir putin's seizure of crimea. the single act ended the 20- year post-call war period of growing cooperation between east and west. it began a new era of rising confrontation. this is the essence of the defining moment. okay. the quote of the year, pat? >> saudi arabia throws all of their opec partners under the bus by refusing to cut back production. russia is not opec, but venezuela and nigeria, iran all the others are having a very tough time.

>> eleanor? >> leon, the former cia director with his tell-all book about the inside fights in the obama administration. >> yeah. >> douglas causewell to the british conservatives who transitioned to the u.k. independence party, which is going to cause big problems in 2015 for david cameron. >> mark? >> for my mind it was bill cosby because he was an icon for america for so long in such a hugely popular figure to find out that everything he stood for was just absolutely destroyed by his life pattern. it was just too much. >> mark listen to this it comes from your district. trench coat of the year democratic senator chuck schumer who in a press club speech blamed obamacare. but until november he has been a star for the affordable care act, which he helped ram through the senate in 2010. turncoat of the year. okay most boring, pat.

>> this is what we call a greenspan trophy, john. it goes to harry reid. >> i give it to the two senate leaders harry reid and mitch mcconnell. boring can be beautiful. they are having a very productive, well they had a very productive laying duck session this year. congratulates to both of them. >> tom? >> i think that it is going to be al sharpton just trying to be repetitive and tedious. >> mark? >> well again i'll go with harry reid as the leader of the democrats and the senate to just about putting everybody to sleep. it's almost a miracle that he is now going to come out as the majority leader. >> the most boring the so-call gop war on women. democratic campaign ads, hammered the theme relentlessly in the battleground states this year to the point where even most women voters toned them out. okay most charismatic, pat? >> i think pope francis, john. i think he beats out matthew

mcconaughey. [ laughter ] >> is that a private joke? [ laughter ] >> you don't know matthew mcconaughey? you better go and look. >> put me on your list. eleanor go ahead. >> i second on pope francis, but i also give it to elizabeth warren who really made an impression this year. that's right. >> really? >> yeah. >> george w. bush who was taking a line and said very positive things about the clinton, which i think is good for the health of the nation. >> who else has he said? >> republicans. >> his brother. >> his brother. >> right. he wants the brother to run. >> yeah. >> well i'm still going to go with bill clinton whom i find in every aspect that he participates in public life still exudes a certain kind of magnetic appeal that's unique in american politics. >> more like yourself, mark. >> thank you very much. i do it more on an alphabetical

basis. >> the most charismatic prince william and kate middleton a.k.a. katherine duchess of cambridge. they are the most charismatic royals on the planet. breathing new life in to the british monarchy. take notes. okay bummest rap, pat. >> the big lie that the police force in ferguson, missouri in the town of ferguson are somehow some racist hell hole because of a single episode that happened in the streets. >> the biggest rap, obama abusing his executive order acting like an emperor, that is except when he's a bystander, passive and not acting like a leader, both silly. >> michelle obama who has tried to do a few things on the school nutrition, which i don't see as a part of an issue. it's good for the health of the nation and she gets unfairly criticized for that. >> well that's the bummest rap against her. >> she's being treated unfairly. >> the bummest rap is hillary clinton was responsible for the big guys who lead the consolata

tack. >> bummest rap award goes to dianne feinstein's charge that the central intelligence agency mislead congress about the harsh interrogation of the detainees. whereas the leaderships were kept fully informed. okay. fairest rap, pat. >> good for you. fairest rap is that isis is genuinely an evil organization with the public beheadings of people with the innocent aide workers. >> that it could lead to the extinction of the planet. >> that president obama's national security advisors are not fit for duty. >> a former head of the kgb in their viewings and dealings to be as tough as they ever were in americans and world politics.

>> the biggest rap is against president obama from david crone to harry reid for failing to help the democrats keep the senate majority. refusing to put money in to the senate campaigns from the couch control by the president. a fair rap. the best combat, pat. >> chris christie and mitt romney. both are back up and being considered for possible potential presidential runs against george bush to become the established candidates. both campaign. >> eleanor? >> the city of detroit out of bankruptcy and now a destination for millennial homesteaders. >> interesting. mark, i mean tom. >> general john allen former marine general treated unfairly during an investigation now cleared and now serving as the manager of the campaign against isis. >> mark? >> i'll go with governor christie after this sort of whole issue with bridge gate and everything like that. he has come back very well. >> i'll give you the best comeback that goes to mitch

mcconnell. he's gone from fighting for his political life in a republican primary last spring to being the second most powerful politician in washington. barack obama being the first. a sweet victory for mcconnell. okay most original thinker, pat? >> nigel of the u.k. who is taking up the kudos for the independence of the year during the tremendous job quite frankly bringing over a real threat to the parties of germany and great britain. >> it's a little obscured, but well stated, pat. >> pope francis who we are going to see our pits in heaven, which is basically set. which we all knew already. >> there are not mortal souls, i'm sorry. >> they opened up the door to that. >> what about fish? >> i think that fish, i would be happy with fish.

>> ran paul. >> interesting. >> the man who developed tesla will change the whole world of automobiles and the automobile transaction production. >> well stated, mark. but the most original thinker was alex epstein author of the new book "the moral case for fossil fuels." fossil fuels. he puts forward a moral and ethical arguments for the good that fossil fuels, oil and gas. due for humanity. the book presents an entirely new take, which is why epstein gets the most original thinker award. okay most stagnant thinker. >> the elevated hamas alienating the united states, needs new elections, the palestinian talks are dead. he's at a dead end as i'm afraid israel is right now politically. >> what do you think of that? >> my turn. >> are you going to comment on

that? >> okay. >> and i was showing you with proper respect. >> all right, very good. just double checking. okay. most stagnant thinking is vladimir putin who is stuck in the earliest 20s centrism destroying the economy of his country. >> nancy pelosi who doesn't seem to realize that the political turns have changed. >> mark? >> ashton burton. the woman who said she married charles manson because love conquers all. >> most stagnant thinker the collective awards to the democratic party for believing the political tactics successfully in recent elections would work again. now says that more americans identify as republicans than as democrats. you know that, pat. the best photo op. >> barack obama was on television in our end of the first week in ferguson, missouri calling for peace in a split screen with molotov cocktails and rocks being traded back between police and

demonstrators. unbelievable tv. >> the st. louis rams players came out on the field with their hands up. >> wow. >> the best photo op was in the president, the white house feed on their landmark immigration address. the angle made it look like the president had a crown on, which i thought was amusing. >> mark? >> president obama in the floor- lengthed maroon chinese attire on his visit to china. >> the best photo op of the year the selfie orchestrated by the oscar host ellen degenerous to use the samsung smart phone because they paid $20 million to sponsor the academy awards. you didn't know that did you, pat? >> i didn't know they did that, but i saw the whole scene there. >> enough already. >> the award goes to the reverend al sharpton. >> and enough already benghazi. >> russell brand a british comedian who now thinks he's a

political revolutionary, but doesn't have the knowledge to do it. >> i'm with pat on al sharpton. we've had enough of him over a long enough period of time and i think he's doing a lot of damage to whatever coherence this country could develop in terms of race relations. >> yes. >> enough already with the misframed proportional of the digits. may the selfie go the way of the o twinkie and the hoodie and march quietly in to oblivion. enough already with the selfie. okay worse lie, pat. >> that officer darren wilson in ferguson shot down an innocent unarmed teenage nor cold blood in the streets of ferguson. the whole grand jury testimony indicated this was nothing, but a large lie. >> eleanor? >> worse lie republican campaign pledges repeated over and over, votes taken to repeal obamacare. not happening. >> president putin's obsession

that russian intelligence is not operating in eastern ukraine and the lengths of those intelligence downings to make 17. >> worse lie is irs commissioner assertion. >> try morton. he might have thoughts. >> i beg your pardon. >> can i finish or you go? >> no, no, you finish. >> with a name like zuckerman i'm used to coming at the end. >> all right,ly. the worse lie is irs commissioner's assertion in the congressional testimony that tens of thousands of lowest learners of the e-mails were lost in that permanently unrecoverable. >> and the irs suspected general recovered 30,000 of the supposedly lost e-mails. the worse lie. okay now we will not go to that. martin? >> the combining and merging of cable companies will lower rates both for customers and subscribers. >> that's a lie? >> that's a lie. >> whoa. >> okay the capitalist of the year. >> of china.

not only getting rid of corruption, but china has become the largest economy in the world according to one standard conducted by the world bank. amazing for china. >> eleanor? >> the chinese e-commerce company. >> tell us about it. >> well, they are taking on o it. it is huge. that's the most defining character. and it is taking over a lot of the space on the internet. >> and it is over here. >> that's right. and in our economy. and this is how united against it. >> can you approve on that? >> i'll go with uber and lift car sharing services that are changing the way that we use cars in allowing individuals to earn a bit of extra money on the side. >> and with you incidentally you use uber? >> i use an array. >> an array as a competitive uber? >> mark what do you think of that? >> let me tell you what my particular is. [ laughter ] the developers

of fracking of oil that has changed the entire energy situation for this country to such a dramatic way and such a short period of time and it is going to make us completely independent of the oil and energy of the rest of the world. >> well stated. 2013 capitalist of the year is jonathan gruber the mit professor and economist of the former obama administration consultant. he collected some $5 million in fees from government advertising for obamacare. gruber designed the law in an incomprehensible manner and charged unbelievably hefty fees to explain it. honorable mention, pat? >> the marine of the front national, the national front in france, john. the reason that i say that is because he did extremely well in the european parliamentary. she is running first for president of france, but she's a part of a movement, which they are in and all the other

popular movements. one of the most dramatic, growing all across europe. a lot of people think it's unhealthy that there will be groups associated with it. but it seems to me ultimately that it will lead to the break up of the year zone and maybe even the break up of the european union. >> eleanor? >> i nominate the people who are on the front lines fighting ebola. the doctors without borders, the doctors and the nurses who went over there to put their own lives at risk in order to help the u.s. troops who went over to build the facility. that there are a lot of self- interest in the national securities involved on the u.s. part. if you don't stop it in west africa that you'll need to deal with it this year. but i comment those people that go in to that environment and they know their lives are at risk and they feel like their duty is to help themselves. >> well stated, eleanor. >> tom? >> i'll go with the leaders of afghanistan who has decided to come together and try to pursue some form of political

reconciliation in the country. they are promising still low level with the changes in the development and the afghan national army is holding ground. there is a credibility there that will be important to build a relationship with the united states. if we compare it with how much it s it's an improvement and important that we have lost a lot of republicans. it gives us the hope that we might be able to salvage something there. >> mark? >> i'll go with the canadian government lead by a couple of very mature serious leaders who have done a marvelous jobs both in terms of integrating the city between the french speaking and the english speaking country and to develop and continue to develop the modern economy in the context of being right next door to the united states. >> and listening council. >> only on sundays. >> are you looking for more? >> after they see that mclaughlin group they call me. >> are you looking for some kind of medal from these folks up there in canada where you were born? >> i am. >> they are really good. >> i agree with you as i know the foreign ministers. >> going back to what you were

saying, pat. there is a concern with some unpleasant sentiments in a part of their movement as she is trying to make it a little bit out of the way, but they still show that. and you're right in the sense that they do portend the collapse of the european mention. >> goes to the ukraine january president that will be their fifth -- ukrainian president that will be their fifth economy. a true patriot and ukraine's freedom is in his hands. i think that you would concur with me that wouldn't you? >> yes. what is a former chocolate magnet? does he head up the hersheys clan? >> he's hersheys. >> he's hersheys. >> but eleanor the question is how does he raise $3 billion selling chocolate? >> i think selling chocolate is a pretty good deal. >> there is an issue in

ukraine. the politics and sort of organized crime that people have a lot of money floating around, still a big issue. >> in the united states they ought to get in there i think to try to end this war that people are talking about putting in weapons to ukraine. they can't defeat russia. you'll have a larger war, moreukrainians did as i think we've ought to get in there and try to end the killing. >> the chocolates for peace. >> well i mean he was a strong man. >> you think that he is able to control putin? >> no. he's not. but i mean i think that putin wants a deal. and i think that i believe that we ought to stop that war. >> a deal on his terms. >> i don't think that he wants to own the two provinces. >> putin wants the stance. >> he will be burning. >> and he has got enough problems on his plate that he wants them to go in and invade that. >> there is another one.

>> there -- does he want them all? >> that's the way it looks. >> i do not believe that. >> he wants the rusher of the pass to become the rushers of today. >> and also that he has supported the stance. >> now listen. i think that putin is a man that we could do business with, i believe. >> but if we do business with him, that he does not want to make the confession. >> he doesn't have all the cards. >> but with the political strategy that he becomes more dangerous because of the weakening position. >> that's what i'm afraid of. >> i came close to naming him the biggest loser of the year. >> okay, here it is the person of the year, pat. >> pope francis, john. not only a worldwide sensation, but that there could be a real split coming in the roman catholic church, which was before they took over the largest religion on earth. >> eleanor? >> california's governor brown who was governor in the 1970s

for two terms. just won the election to his fourth term. and he is now in his 70s. he has handled the budget issues in california with great depthness and managed to preserve investments in education and social policies. so he is beloved on the left and the right. >> the unnamed service officer of the year treated disgustingly by the united states, congress, but serving very honorable and courageously under the surface of public awareness. >> he has emerged as an enormously effective and powerful tough minded player on the world scene. and at this point he has made us look very, very weak. the person of the year pope francis. and especially now that he has told us that they could go to heaven. >> and oliver will be up there waiting for me. next week, join us for the mclaughlin 2014 year-end award part ii. merry christmas. bye bye.

this week on moyers and company. >> we had these dualing images of indigenous people. we talk about indians being the first environmentalist. if we want to talk about the superiority we start talking about the tribal peoples in the hills of pakistan. we have a very odd relation with the savage. >> funding is provided by ann gumowitz encouraging the renewal of democracy. supporting education democratic engagement and the advancement of international peace