2002: Surveying the year
By By Terry R. Cassreino / assistant managing editor
Dec. 29, 2002
The final days of every year always bring a steady stream of seemingly unending lists and awards honoring the best and worst of the previous 12 months.
From ranking the top 10 events to choosing the man of the year, nearly everyone jumps into the act trying to document what they believe were the most important and influential happenings.
Being an obsessive movie buff, I'm always drawn to the year-end film awards from such organizations as the National Board of Review to the New York Film Critics Association.
Unfortunately, most of the films on those lists many of which are decidedly non-commercial fare rarely make it to Meridian or Mississippi. Instead we settle for run-of-the-mill commercial fare.
But we do have our local and statewide politics. Any more often than not, politics offers better theater and drama than anything on the big screen or on the stage in Mississippi.
With that in mind, I offer my take on year-end awards with a decidedly Mississippi political slant. After hours of careful thought and consideration, here are my year-end awards for 2002.
Special Jury Award: Mississippi Legislature. You have to hand it to the Legislature. It took the state House and Senate almost three months to work on tort reform during an 83-day special session this fall. Interestingly, the annual regular legislative session lasts three months during which lawmakers consider hundreds of legislative proposals and issues. Think about it: 83 days and one main issue. Go figure.
Performance of the Year (male): Trent Lott. In just two short weeks, America saw the Senate majority leader fall from grace in one of the fastest and most amazing political nose-dives in years and all because he made what some considered were racist remarks. Lott apologized non-stop for two weeks, but no one listened and he couldn't stop the growing momentum to oust him from office. It was a performance no one could beat this year.
Performance of the Year (female): Amy Tuck. The first-term lieutenant governor, eying what likely would be a tough party primary next year in her re-election bid, did what anyone would do in her position she bolted the Democratic Party and joined the GOP. And she did so after repeatedly, and convincingly, saying she would seek another term as a Democrat. What a performance. Tuck will face a GOP primary, but has a better chance at making it to the November general election as a Republican.
Director of the Year: Jim Herring. The state Republican Party chairman spent the year watching key leaders join the GOP first state Sen. Videt Carmichael and then Tuck only to watch Lott go down flames. No other political party director had a more lively year; hmmm, do the Democrats even have a leader? Oh well, Herring and the GOP have a tough act to follow next year keeping their top Republicans in office and then possibly gaining control of the state Senate. Both are tall orders.
Production of the Year: "Gone with the Wind." No, not the 1939 film classic. My top award goes to the 2002 version headlining Cooper Land Development Inc., the Arkansas company that committed to build a $35 million retirement community in Meridian only to quickly and suddenly bail out last fall. Cooper left the door open for a return trip, but don't count on it not with the way the city was embarrassed by a company many thought would revitalize a sagging economy.
