Sarah Palin named '2008's Top Political Newcomer'

Washington, Jan 4 (ANI): Despite her failed U.S. vice-presidential bid, Sarah Palin has emerged as the top political newcomer of 2008.

The Alaska governor was a significant political figure in her own right before 2008, but in the span of just a few months the former Wasilla mayor exploded onto the national scene to become the first woman nominated for national office by the Republican Party and one of the most controversial political figures in the country.

Caroline Kennedy landed the second spot. The last living child of President John F. Kennedy, the 51-year-old Manhattanite emerged from her famously private lifestyle in late January, writing a New York Times op-ed endorsing Barack Obama for president, reports Politico.com.

A joint endorsement rally with her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), followed a day later, vaulting Caroline into the front lines of the presidential campaign.

The Obama campaign manager David Plouffe usually attracts distinctly un-glitzy adjectives like "soft-spoken" and "camera-shy." But as the operations guy behind the Obama phenomenon, Plouffe cultivated a reputation as a no-nonsense political chess master and came third in the top ten list.

Sen.-elect Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) stood fourth while Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) rounded off the top five.

Top Ten Political Newcomers of 2008:

1. Gov. Sarah Palin

2. Caroline Kennedy

3. David Plouffe

4. Sen.-elect Kay Hagan (D-N.C.)

5. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)

6. Meg Whitman

7. Beau Biden

8. Gov. David Paterson

9. Elisabeth Hasselbeck

10. Rachel Maddow (ANI)