Important to the New York Times Political Scene: 49 Terms

Those terms below (49 of them) will be familiar to many of you. Readers of the New York Times will know them as today's "Popular Tags." What becomes a curious question is why are these the ones, and, of deeper interest to me at the moment, why the missing ones missing?

Apparently, these are newsworthy terms, and those who are left off, aren't. Logical? Of course.

Granted, the list must be finite. Still, where's Newt Gingrich, scandal-monger of the moment? Why are Mark Foley and John Kerry still being talked about? And Dennis Hastert? Isn't he old news, now that Nancy Pelosi is now strong-arming the House as Speaker? Why is Illinois missing. Hastert and Obama, both on the list, are Illinoisans, and Hillary Clinton was born there.

Click them to go to stories with the corresponding tag (you're it!).

1. 2008
2. barack obama
3. bill clinton
4. California
5. campaign cash
6. Congress
7. CONSERVATIVES
8. debates
9. Democrats
10. Dennis Hastert
11. ethics
12. Florida
13. fund raising
14. george allen
15. George W. Bush
16. Harry Reid
17. health care
18. Hillary Rodham Clinton
19. House
20. immigration
21. iowa
22. Iraq
23. john edwards
24. john kerry
25. john mccain
26. lobbying
27. mark foley
28. midterm elections
29. mitt romney
30. Nancy Pelosi
31. Nevada
32. new hampshire
33. New Jersey
34. Ohio
35. page scandal
36. political advertising
37. polls
38. primaries
39. Republicans
40. rudy giuliani
41. sam brownback
42. Senate
43. South Carolina
44. Tennessee
45. terrorism
46. texas
47. tom vilsack
48. Virginia
49. White house