linda gasparello, in your christmas hat -- lovely. i have been trying to convince her to come on with a hat for 14 years, and at last, i have triumphed. joe mathieu from sirius xm radio, which features the audio of this program every saturday. welcome to the broadcast. >> it is good to be here as always. >> we are glad to have julie .eff giesea remember us when you make your billions, please. we are so happy to have julie mason of "of the washington examiner," the life and soul of every program that she is on. >> thank you. [applause] >> you would not like the wages. julie, what have been the big things of this year that has just passed? >> obviously, al gore's problems. health-care reform. the midterms -- guest -- disastrous for obama. those were the standout issues. >> nothing with foreign policy? >> afghanistan seems to be going badly. iraq -- i know some combat troops that are heading over there. >> joe, what stands out to you? >> the war in afghanistan has not been in my mind. we have spent his entire year talking about ourselves