0Monsters & WeeniesWhere are the real statesmen when you need them? Somehow the 2009 stage got hijacked by grandstanding brutes like Glenn Beck and simpering compromisers like Harry Reid. Lee Siegel reviews the year in political theater.Updated Jul. 14, 2017 8:42PM EDT / Published Dec. 20, 2009 3:21PM EST AP Photo Tim Geithner: Simpering WeenieAP Photo Sarah Palin: Larger-Than-Life MonsterPhil Sandlin/AP Photo Arnold Schwarzenegger: Terminated WeenieAP Photo Jim DeMint: Partisan Slander MonsterScott J. Ferrell, Congressional Quarterly / Getty Images Olympia Snowe: Small-Fry WeenieAP Photo Lou Dobbs: Xenophobia MonsterKaren Bleier, AFP / Getty Images The Salahis: Sneaky WeeniesGerald Herbert / AP Photo Rahm Emanuel: Blustering MonsterHaraz N. Ghanbari / AP Photo Max Baucus: Ambivalent WeenieAP Photo Dick Cheney: Undying Hydra MonsterToby Jorrin / AP Photo Mark Sanford: Super-Secretive WeenieMary Ann Chastin / AP Photo Rick Perry: Secession MonsterPat Sullivan / AP Photo Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln: Weenie TrioAP Photos Alan Grayson: Outspoken MonsterMark Wilson / Getty Images David Paterson: Defensive WeenieAP Photo Glenn Beck: “Everyman” MonsterPhiladelphia Inquirer, MCT / Landov Joe Lieberman: Monstrous WeenieMark Wilson / Getty Images Joe Wilson: Hollering MonsterChip Somodevilla / Getty Images Bernie Madoff: Swindling WeenieShannon Stapleton/Reuters/Landov Bart Stupak: Weenie Who Wouldn’t Take “No” for an AnswerAlex Wong / Getty Images Obama: President of Monsters and Weenies Google: Boastful WeenieJens Meyer / AP Photo
Tim Geithner: Simpering WeenieAP Photo Sarah Palin: Larger-Than-Life MonsterPhil Sandlin/AP Photo Arnold Schwarzenegger: Terminated WeenieAP Photo Jim DeMint: Partisan Slander MonsterScott J. Ferrell, Congressional Quarterly / Getty Images Olympia Snowe: Small-Fry WeenieAP Photo Lou Dobbs: Xenophobia MonsterKaren Bleier, AFP / Getty Images The Salahis: Sneaky WeeniesGerald Herbert / AP Photo Rahm Emanuel: Blustering MonsterHaraz N. Ghanbari / AP Photo Max Baucus: Ambivalent WeenieAP Photo Dick Cheney: Undying Hydra MonsterToby Jorrin / AP Photo Mark Sanford: Super-Secretive WeenieMary Ann Chastin / AP Photo Rick Perry: Secession MonsterPat Sullivan / AP Photo Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln: Weenie TrioAP Photos Alan Grayson: Outspoken MonsterMark Wilson / Getty Images David Paterson: Defensive WeenieAP Photo Glenn Beck: “Everyman” MonsterPhiladelphia Inquirer, MCT / Landov Joe Lieberman: Monstrous WeenieMark Wilson / Getty Images Joe Wilson: Hollering MonsterChip Somodevilla / Getty Images Bernie Madoff: Swindling WeenieShannon Stapleton/Reuters/Landov Bart Stupak: Weenie Who Wouldn’t Take “No” for an AnswerAlex Wong / Getty Images Obama: President of Monsters and Weenies Google: Boastful WeenieJens Meyer / AP Photo