Miss USA, David Gregory, Danny Bonaduce, Jack Cafferty, Keith Olbermann, and the two asses. All these and more play a role in the year's best audio clips.

2006 was a particularly rewarding year for audio clips, with the rise of Fox News talk radio contributing a generous portion of the year's most memorable soundbites. Here is our list of our top ten audios for 2006.


10. When Mark Malloch Brown gave an incendiary speech, Fox's Eric Shawn explains to John Gibson Brown's hidden agenda (The UN Declared War on the US Today). And he sounds off to Brian and the Judge about Brown's "apology" (I'm Insulted, I'm Incensed, I'm Offended!).


9. Michael Scheuer talks with David Asman about how we lost UBL (America Has to Do Its Own Dirty Work ), and with Brian and the Judge he explains why we are not winning the war on terror (We're Not Killing Enough of the Enemy).


8. What was the story behind the story of Tara Connor's second chance? There was more to it than you know. It was Brian Kilmeade who saved Miss USA. If that sounds unlikely, play Tell Brian I Listened to Him.


7. Fox News chief Roger Ailes has had a long and varied career. He has many stories to tell, but few are as fascinating as the one about the belly dancer, the snake, and Richard Nixon: You Don't Want to Scare the Snake.


6. Why do her fellow Democrats attack Susan Estrich? Just because she works for Fox? She tells John Gibson about an encounter with Madeline Albright that was all about The Two Asses.


5. Alan Parrot of Save the Falcons ranks as one of John Gibson's most compelling guests. But he wasn't there to talk about birds. He tells Gibby just how Richard Clarke Saved Bin Laden's Life.


4. When Rudi Bakhtiar left CNN and came to Fox, her expertise on Iran (where she was raised) was put to good use. It led to some engrossing reportage with Brian and the Judge:

• The assassination of her uncle, Iran's Prime Minister (It Was an Inside Job)
• Her experiences growing up (People Are Afraid)
• Reactions to her trip there (People Have Had Their Throats Slashed)

3. John Gibson has been in journalism for decades (America's Talking, NBC, MSNBC, etc). When he gives his listeners an inside look at the news business, it's absorbing radio for news junkies:

• Gibby talks about working with David Gregory (You Have to Learn How to Throw a First-Class Network Hissy-Fit)
• Gibson reminisces about hate mail and threats (Do I Have to Call Out the Fox Security Force?)
• Gibby offers some perspective about news judgment (We Always Go One Day Too Long).

2. When a 9/11 conspiracy theorist stuck a microphone in Danny Bonaduce's case, he got more than he bargained for. John Gibson talks to Danny about the encounter, then Gibby gets the conspiracist on the other line: They Addressed Death Threats to My Child.


And the #1 audio of 2006:


1. In the War against Fox, John Gibson takes point. He has gone after the competition, exposed their biases, rebutted their insults, and left them in tatters. It is not possible to pick just one of his broadsides, so here are several of his very best salvos:

• Jack Cafferty's cracks about Fox? John Gibson says it's just Terminal Jealousy Velocity.
• Gibson explains how he came to Fox, and why the media elite are always on the attack: The Liberal Blogosphere Went Crazy
• Gibby responds to Media Matters, the Huffington Post, and more, and tells them Don't Twist My Words!
• When an MSNBC anchor smears Fox's Chris Wallace, Gibby takes no prisoners: Did You Know That Was On the Peacock Air Last Night?
• When Gibson called out Joe Scarborough and Keith Olbermann, his words triggered a chain of events that led to the one of the year's Top Ten Lies (#3 to be precise). Listen and find out why Gibby thought This Just Can't Get Any Dumber.

See also: 2006's Top Ten Videos. Best wishes for the new year from johnny dollar's place.