John McCain made sure that his then-presidential rival Hillary Clinton paid for proposing this failed earmark as part of the FY 2008 health and education spending bill. Clinton and fellow New York Sen. Charles Schumer requested a million bucks to put towards a project in their state, backed by a major Democratic Party contributor, commemorating the 1969 music festival. McCain made the earmark one of his talking points during the primary season, using it against Clinton in a Republican debate, then later in a campaign TV ad. On the stump, he called it "a shining example of what's wrong with Washington on pork-barrel, out-of-control spending." Conservatives went further, calling it a hippie museum and taxpayer-funded LSD flashback, while others just didn't want their constituents to foot the bill. The measure was ultimately defeated in the Senate 52-42 in a vote that many said reeked of presidential politics. Clinton mostly changed the subject when asked about the spending, while Schumer defended it, saying it would help create jobs in upstate New York.
The Top 10 Everything of 2008
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Worst Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Campaign Gaffes
- Top 10 Campaign Video Moments
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Election Photos
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Financial Collapses
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Food Trends
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Stories
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late Night Gags
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Museum Exhibits
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Non-fiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Olympic Moments
- Top 10 Open Mike Moments
- Top 10 Outrageous Earmarks
- Top 10 Photos
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Lines
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-shirt Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Underreported News Stories
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
A yearbook of all the top events you've been talking about