Worst Prognostications of the Year

A roundup of the year's worst predictions from Joshua Keating at Foreign Policy.

• Recovery summer: Joe Biden's statement in June that "more people are going to be put to work this summer" puts him atop Keating's list of of know-it-all pundits and pols who ended up with egg on their faces in 2010. The VP's claim proved false, though it seemed likely looking at the March-to-May figures.
• Recession in China: Though China's property bubble may be starting to deflate, bearish investment analyst Marc Faber's prediction in May of an imminent economic crash seems addled in light of an actual 9.5% growth rate in 2010, one of the world's highest.

• Meghan McCain's primary calls: Only her forecast of a win by incumbent Murkowski over Palin fave Joe Miller in Alaska was correct. She thought Harry Reid would lose to Sharron Angle, Crist and Fiorina would pull off victories in Florida and California, and gave Christine O'Donnell a chance to upset the Delaware race for Biden's Senate seat.
• Afghan success: Gen. Stanley McChrystal, in the Feb. 12 New York Times, predicted quick, smooth success for Afghanistan offensives in the Taliban stronghold of Marjah and elsewhere. A year later, NATO is still mired down, and McChrystal is gone.

For the rest, click here. (More year in review stories.)