Oooweee!

What a year.

2008 was the year politicians became the new rock stars. And rock stars became the new country music stars. And just about everyone appeared on "Dancing With the Stars."

There's been enough celebrity tragedy, scandal and bad outfits to keep us gossipistas working 24/7.

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Britney Spears started out 2008 as a pop princess pinata, battling with her K. Fed-ex over custody of their two baby boys and seemingly still on the long and winding road to self-destruction she started on in 2007.

But what a difference 12 months make.

Girlfriend is riding high with a new CD, the aptly named "Circus," a new body and newfound public respect.

Kevin still has custody of the kids, but she's getting more time with them, so things are looking up in that area, too.

Let's hope Brit Brit will stay the course in 20-0-9.

Brit's fellow Mickey Mouse Clubber and Pittsburgh homegirl, Christina Aguilera, and hubby Jordan Bratman had a baby boy named Max; Halle Berry and boyfriend/model Gabriel Aubry became the parents of Nahla Aurelia; Aussie natives Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban welcomed little Sunday Rose; Jessica Alba and Cash Warren have Honor Marie; Nicole Richie and Joel Madden brought forth Harlow Winter Kate; and Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt got two for the price of one, as did Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, who had little Max and Emme. Ricky Martin became the papa of twins via surrogate.

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Paris Hilton was Harvard Lampoon's Woman of the Year.

We got violently ill when we typed that, but we soldiered on as we always do.

Tina Fey had a banner year portraying the equally attractive woman with glasses, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, on "Saturday Night Live."

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In that hard-fought presidential contest that made Barack Obama our next commander-in-chief, Hollywood and high-level supporters went full throttle, with Mr. Obama winning support from Oprah to Bruce Springsteen, Matt Damon to Colin Powell. Director Ron Howard launched a viral video sensation at FunnyorDie.com, returning to his Opie and Richie TV roots to push for the president-elect. Even our buddy Paris Hilton got into the act, with an online answer to GOP candidate John McCain mentioning her in a campaign ad.

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And Sen. McCain learned never, ever to diss David Letterman. The then-candidate bowed out of an appearance on Letterman's late-night show, saying he was rushing back to D.C. to take care of business but instead made a stop to chat with Katie Couric.

Letterman cried foul -- loudly and often -- and McCain eventually made it to the CBS show for a monumental mea culpa.

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Wesley Snipes was tried and convicted on federal tax evasion charges. Boyfriend should be heading off to start his three-year bid in the pen any day now. Maybe he can bunk with O.J. Simpson, who got nine years in the slammer for armed robbery, kidnapping and being stupid enough not to go sit down somewhere after being acquitted of murder more than a decade ago.

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Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin was named the Sexiest NFL Coach by Victoria's Secret.

We know it's the haircut that did it.

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Eddie Murphy and Tracie Edmonds, who got married in a faux ceremony in Bora Bora, decided they didn't want to get married for real in America America.

The couple went their separate ways.

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Amy Winehouse said no to rehab, then she said yes, then she said no. Then she went into the hospital and is still there as far as we know. Just keep praying for this child.

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R. Kelly's longtime publicist Regina Daniels and her hubby, George, dropped the R like a bad habit after they learned the Pied Piper had become involved with their 21-year-old daughter, Maxine.

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Actor Heath Ledger, who could end up with a posthumous Oscar for his chilling portrayal of The Joker in "The Dark Knight," died of an accidental overdose and was laid to rest in February in his native Australia.

We also mourned the loss of screen legend and philanthropist Paul Newman, and as the year drew to a close, singer Eartha Kitt and "Star Trek's" first lady, Majel Barrett Roddenberry. Can't forget Bo Diddley or Bernie Mac; Harold Pinter or Issac Hayes; Stan Winston or Charlton Heston; Sydney Pollack or ... so many, so sad.

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The "Yes We Can" video by Will.i.am inspired by then-presidential candidate Barack Obama conquered YouTube.

It's been often imitated, but it's still the best one of the inspirational bunch.

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Justin Timberlake helped induct Madonna into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Later she introduced N.Y. Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez to feminine wiles. A-Rod's wife, Cynthia, divorced the baseballer, and the Material One split with her hubby, Guy Ritchie. These days, she and A-Rod are just "good friends" who fly on private planes together.

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Heather Mills ended her long-drawn-out nasty divorce from Paul McCartney with a settlement of $48.6 million.

The couple have a daughter, Beatrice, and probably a lot of lingering animosity.

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The Los Angeles Times ran a story connecting Diddy and his buddy, the late Notorious B.I.G., to the murder of slain rapper Tupac Shakur but then had to take it all back.

Don't you hate when that happens?

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A UCLA Medical Center employee was fired for sneaking a peek at the medical records of such notables as Maria Shriver and Farrah Fawcett.

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Jay-Z liked it and put a ring on it. Did he marry Beyonce or her alter ego, Sasha Fierce? They don't talk about that too much. Also putting it on paper were Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson and the biggest surprise of all, man/child Nick Cannon and the ever youngish Mariah Carey, who may be expecting, according to some reports.

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You know if somebody's getting married somebody else is breaking up. This year, in addition to Lady M and her Guy: Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook's horribilus divorcus played out in court before it got settled; Star Jones and one-time-love-of-her-life Al Reynolds went to divorce court, as did Shania Twain after her hubby, "Mutt" Lange, was apparently caught making time with another; Kate Hudson broke it off with Owen Wilson, then spent a little time with Lance Armstrong, but that didn't last, either. Anne Hathaway kicked her BF to the curb two weeks before he went to jail for fraud; Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams were kaput; the very single Sienna Miller and the very married Balthazar Getty brought about a photopalooza when they got together, but the relationship didn't last. Guess we'll throw Paris Hilton and Benji Madden in the breakup category, too, even though she doesn't stay with anybody more than five minutes. Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas didn't last any longer than it took to take a picture.

Tatum O'Neal was arrested for buying crack. Later in the year, her poppa, Ryan, and brother Redmond got popped by the cops for drug possession.

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Singer and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson suffered the triple tragedy of the murders of her mother, brother and nephew, and the year ended with other stars experiencing loss: Mark Ruffalo's brother, Scott, first was thought to have killed himself accidentally, but the death was later ruled a homicide. And Macaulay Culkin's sister, Dakota, died after being struck by a car in Los Angeles.

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Everybody got all outraged and indignant after 15-year-old Miley Cyrus took some photos that didn't quite turn out as "artistic" as she thought.

We don't know what's so artistic about a 15-year-old looking as if she just finished doing something 15-year-olds shouldn't be doing, and apparently everybody else thought that, too.

Still, the child -- and she is still a child, albeit a rich one -- made a mistake, and let's hope her parents will keep a better watch on her photo shoots next time.

Contrary to how some folks reacted, it wasn't the end of the world as we know it.

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And that was the 2008 that was.