BEST OF 2008: MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD: ANGELA MERKEL, GERMANY'S CHANCELLOR

I am a great fanof all things German and I am most happy to report that Angela Merkel is the most powerful woman in the world. As leader of the third biggest economy in the world, she has held the country together very well, keeping it on its moral trajectory (yes, yes, Siemens has paid for its corruption charges), and has poise and confidence in addressing world issues.

Angela Merkel has taken Germany to places that Germany has never gone to in the modern era: to the very top of global public esteem. I salute this wonderful woman!

(Caption: Powerful in the eyes of the beholders.
Photo credit: picture from: http://nazret.com/blog/media/blogs/new/angela_merkel.jpg)

ANGELA MERKEL -- THE MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD (AND THE MOST POPULAR TOO!)

I am an ardent fan of Angela Merkel. She is the only female politician, next to Hillary Clinton, whom I would give any respect to as a leader. (Yes, I am an uber sexist and think women should not be allowed to move up to the top of the political or corporate ladders, because they will inadvertently ruin the country or the business they are entrusted to lead.)

Anyway, Angela Merkel was re-elected as the leader of Germany's Christian Democrats with a resounding vote of more than 95 per cent.

She is a capable leader of Germany and Angela Merkel also inspires confidence amongst the global elites and observers on her potential to contribute greatly to the greater global good.

Photo of Angela Merkel by Michael Kappeler for New York Times.

LIZ LEMON.... IS THAT YOU? A VP??????

John McCain's choice of candidate as vice-president would make or break his presidency bid, I'd thought. And when I saw his choice -- LIZ LEMON!!!!!! -- I thought Obama was doomed. Who on Earth could counter the brilliant choice of Liz Lemon as a vice-president candidate. It was an inspired choice, I thought.

Then I realized that it was NOT ACTUALLY the lovable Liz Lemon (the brilliant alter-ego created by Tina Fey for her superb television comedy series, 30 Rock), but someone called Sarah Palin.

I don't know who Palin is, and frankly, because don't care. I don't think a country like the United States can afford to risk having a woman as President. McCain is 72, and the chance is there that if anything happens to him, the most powerful country in the world would fall onto the lap of a 44-year old woman. It is a risk no American should be willing to take, I think.

(Don't take me wrong, I think Germany's Angela Merkel is a brilliant leader. But that is because Germany is a country with a superb due-process system in place and so Merkel only had to oversee Deutschland. But running a country like the US would, to a large part, be dependent on the personality of its leader. And the emotions of its leader. And a woman at the top spells trouble.)

Pictures of:
1. Sarah Palin and John McCain
2. The incomparable Tina Fey