THE WINNING magazine cover, in a year that saw 45-year-old New York magazine announce they were downsizing to publishing biweekly, translating into the message that digital has finally taken over, goes to W, with their Art Issue. It is the Best Magazine Cover of 2013 and the Best Issue of 2013. If you’re into fashion, art and the visual beauty that drapes our human lives, W remains a worthy magazine to buy, which has no equal; one of the two magazines worthy, including Vanity Fair. There are many Best Of lists and here are some of the notables as we say goodbye to 2013.

The Best Foreign Policy Story of 2013 could be several things, Syria, women in the military, gays in the military, but it simply has to go to the fall of David Petraeus and the Paula Broadwell affair.

Best Technical Surprise, which is also our Best Deal of 2013, goes to Samsung’s Tab 2, 10.1, thanks to AT&T’s one-day $100 offer for this tablet. We even got bumped to the larger version, because they were out of the smaller ones. Now an expert at the Samsung Tab 2, which I got for my husband, at the price we paid, there is no rival. Reading books is a joy, as it’s got a light, even if it’s heavier than most tablets. The only thing it doesn’t do well is allow you to print email. Skype is great, the colors are fantastic. The battery is boffo!

There is Billboard’s 2013 Best Of, with Bruno Mars their artist of the year. Fox News picks movies, giving away their audience demographic, with Nebraska as #2.

Best of Twitter moment in 2013? @HillaryClinton, who is now “deadlocked” with Chris Christie in the hypothetical match-up of 2013.

The Best Social Media Shift of 2013 happened because of the Anthony Weiner scandal, which hasn’t stopped Anthony Weiner. It also gave SNAPCHAT and other apps more attention, with polls showing millennials and teens now moving away from Facebook and the penchant for public confessions and personal data dumping.

Selecting from the best GIFs of 2013, compliments of Senator Marco Rubio, his response to President Obama’s State of the Union Address included an amateur political move that keeps on giving.

The Best Bipartisan Moment of 2013 goes to Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster over drones, which had 79% of the public behind him, as well as partisans from all sides. It also leaves Senator Rand Paul as the best positioned politician on the right, as 2013 ends, because Scott Walker just doesn’t have his juice.

The Best Tone Deaf Moment of the Year goes to Senator Ted Cruz and the Tea Party House Caucus for the government shutdown. Not only did it further collapse Congress’s approval, but it continued the crumbling of the GOP brand.

The Best use of Power in 2013 goes to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, not only for her work for other Democrats, as well as mounting a campaign to get more women in office, but especially for her tour de force efforts standing up against the Pentagon, as well as senators in her own party, the military industrial complex, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the U.S. Armed Forces boys club, working to get sexual assaults taken out of the chain of command. She lost the 2013 battle, but she was promised a vote in 2014, and the fight isn’t over.

Best Underdog Move of 2013 goes to Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis. Standing up for women in Texas, her filibuster caught the attention of the political world and launched her campaign for governor, which is all up hill. It’s the template that screams to girls, don’t worry about winning, just run!

Best Surprise of 2013 goes to Beyoncé!

Best Political Show goes to Anderson Cooper “360 Later.” …and his New Year’s Eve special with Kathy Griffin will, no doubt, be a spectacle best viewed with a cocktail in hand. I’d suggest a perfect Lemon Drop Martini.

Best Selfie of 2013?

 

Best Political Book Surprise of 2013 Because It Didn’t Suck goes to Mark Halperin and John Heilemann for their Double Down. I’m not kidding, it really doesn’t suck, unlike Richard Wolfe’s book, which is only worth reading for the Stephanie Cutler dish.

Best Suck Up Political Book of 2013 goes to Mark Leibovich, whose ode to all things NBC and Tim Russert should come with a drool bib!

Best Television Drama of 2013 goes to Scandal, but not just for it’s over the top, outrageously fun, stupendously delicious political soap drama, but because the performances are so stellar, starting with Kerry Washington, all the way to Tony Goldwyn, the grandson of the great and mighty Samuel Goldwyn.

The Best Television Show You’re Not Watching, But You Should Be goes to “The Americans.”

…and the Best Television Show of 2013 is “House of Cards.” Period.

Best Political Question of 2013, as the year ends, surrounds Senator Bernie Sanders, will he or won’t he run in 2016? He can’t win, but he’d be the best flying the establishment ointment since Ross Perot.

Best Dumb Political Question of 2013 is whether Senator Elizabeth Warren might jump in to 2016, challenging Hillary Clinton. Um. No. Way.

The Best YouTube Puppy Video of 2013, first posted by Buzzfeed (of course).

Best Cat Photo of 2013, even if I do say so myself!

Best Political Move of 2013 goes to Ready for Hillary, which took all the air out of the political conversation, made anti-Hillary forces start thinking of who might challenge her, while getting a sobering message that no Democrat in his or her right mind would step up so early to take her on.

Best Progressive Moment of 2013 is beating Larry Summers!

Worst Political Moment of the Year, unfortunately, is President Obama blowing the launch of Obamacare.

Best Political Moment of the Year came through the incompetence of Tea Party Republicans, scuttling the GOP brand, giving Democrats hope in 2014 that not even a bad Healthcare.gov website can diminish.

Best Story of 2013 is a tie.

Most Important Story of 2013 goes to Edward Snowden, not just because of his bravery and what happened as a result, but also because it catapulted Glenn “Rise Up” Greenwald into a new media venture that holds out hope for the New Year that new media journalism has arrived in a very big way.

“I think that’s ludicrous… very journalist has an agenda. We’re on MSNBC now, where close to 24 hours a day, the agenda of President Obama and the Democratic Party is promoted, defended, glorified . . . that doesn’t mean that the people who appear on MSNBC aren’t journalists. They are… I do defend [Snowden] just like people on MSNBC defend President Obama and his officials and Democratic party leaders 24 hours a day.” – Glenn Greenwald [h/t Salon for video]

The Best Political Win of 2013 goes to the Best Dynamic Duo of 2013, David Boies, my hero, and his legal partner Ted Olson, for serving notice that equal rights means EQAUL RIGHTS. They led the way and never gave up. This unlikely pairing made America a little better place for all of us this year, providing the best backdrop for why Duck Family Dynasty is part of a dying element in our culture that includes only the smallest minds in America.

…that W magazine cover? George Clooney not only deserves it, but as 2013 ends also continues to be front and center on South Sudan, a foreign policy story that has been a cause of his activist life for years.

So long, 2013, it’s been a good one and 2014 looks even better, especially if you’re a woman.