Voting continues in our Best & Worst in Money 2008 feature, and it looks like early favorites include falling gasoline prices, Wal-Mart, Joe the Plumber, and former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer. Did they get your vote?
Close races include the Breakout Person of the Year, in which vice presidential contender Sarah Palin and Olympic gold medal winner Michael Phelps duke it out for first place, while poor Neel Kashkari, who is in charge of the U.S. Treasury's financial relief funds, is in last place with only about 6% of the vote.
The Most Disturbing Consumer Trend is another close race, with plunging retirement accounts and falling home values virtually a tie. It's also a very close race between Wall Street and Kmart for Most in Need of a Makeover. Not much interest in making over Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX), however, as it has only about 4% of the vote in that category.
Lower fuel prices are clearly the most popular Silver Lining to the Recession with about 62% of the vote so far. Joe the Plumber, with 57% of the vote, has a clear lead over distant second place Rev. Jeremiah Wright as the Most Notable 15 Minutes of Fame. And disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer leads the Biggest Fall from Grace category with about 56% of the vote.
Other popular categories include Company of the Year, in which Wal-mart (NYSE: WMT) holds a commanding lead over second place McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), while poor Amgen (NASDAQ: AMGN) is hardly a blip on the radar with only about 2% of the vote. For Retailer We'll Miss Most, Linens 'n Things leads Sharper Image, while GM (NYSE: GM) and Ford (NYSE: F) lead the Struggling Company We're Rooting For over second place Sears (NASDAQ: SHLD). Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) is the underdog in that race, with only about 7% of the vote.
Check out all these categories, as well as others, such as Most Shocking Financial Collapse, Best CEO for Troubled Times, Hottest in Entertainment, and Money Story of the Year, and cast your vote or share your thoughts on the nominees for the Best & Worst in Money 2008. Results will be announced on December 30.
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