There's no end to the comparisons being made between President Barack Obama and various historical and political figures, from the statesmanship of Lincoln and Washington and the charisma of Kennedy to the youth and charm of Clinton.

But leave it to neophyte political columnist Pete Wentz to really nail the essence of Obama: his similarity to Fugees singer-gone-rogue Lauryn Hill.

Writing in his first column for the Huffington Post on Friday, Wentz offered the offbeat assessment as he tried to digest his feelings about attending the inauguration and performing at the Youth Ball, finding his angle by comparing the presidency to the rocket ride of going from being an unknown artist to a world-famous one. Sound familiar?

"I've been a fan of Barack Obama's for a while and, like everyone else, was elated when he won, and even more so when I had the privilege to meet him at the event," Wentz wrote. "He's an underdog, which is something I can relate to (and he uses a BlackBerry as much as I do — although I don't think we'll be getting any Twitter updates from our new president)."

Wentz opines that as his fellow Chicagoan makes the transition from campaign promises to leadership, he faces an interesting set of challenges not unlike those confronted by indie filmmakers or underground rock bands. "He was an underdog and he had the people's support because of it," he wrote. "Everyone was rooting for him as they would David in his battle against Goliath. America loves an underdog. The Cubs are living proof of that."

And here's where things get interesting. See, according to Wentz, when the underdog wins, expectations get high and the audience is suddenly paying attention. "There is a microphone hissing and feedback," he said. "When that happened before, it was quaint and authentic. Now it's annoying and unprofessional." Recession, war, mounting unemployment, history to be made, people are expecting results now, blah, blah, blah.

"At the risk of extending the metaphor," Wentz continued, making us sigh in relief that he does actually understand how far up in the trees he is on this one, "President Obama faces a challenge like Lauryn Hill after her album [The] Miseducation of Lauryn Hill won five Grammys or the Coen Brothers after 'Blood Simple' won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. Will it take awhile for his own 'Fargo' or 'No Country for Old Men'? Or will success come early and often?"

Or, Wentz forgot to add, will Obama lose the thread, act in an erratic, bizarre fashion at concerts, wander around Jersey in way, way too much makeup, squander his talent and end up an interesting, if sad, footnote to history with one brilliant album — er, policy — to his credit? OK, maybe Hill wasn't the best example. Let's try Amy Winehouse instead. Hmm, forget it. How about Norah Jones? Maybe we'll just stick to the movie metaphors.

"Either way I, for one, am glad the underdog got a shot," Wentz concluded. "Underdogs are the ones who are hungry, who will transcend convention and will break barriers. Just when it's at its worst ... it gets better. As long as he just keeps up the pace he has so far, I have a feeling we will keep rooting for him."

Quentin Tarantino? Guy Ritchie? Whatever, Pete, we'll get back to you on this one.

It was a very exciting 2008 here in the MTV Newsroom. It was a year of triumph and tragedy, a year of secret weddings and pregnancies, a year of overcoming adversity and a year of inspiration and change.

2008 brought us everything from the shocking death of Heath Ledger and the tragedy that befell Jennifer Hudson and her family, to the reinvention of Britney Spears and the successes of "The Dark Knight" and Tha Carter III. Your favorite artists and celebrities eloped (is it legal yet, Speidi?), married overseas (nice tats, Mariah and Nick) and got hitched in secret (thanks for finally admitting to that, Jay and B). They had babies and — in true Hollywood style — named them strange things (I am available to babysit when Bronx befriends Brooklyn and they have a play-date in Manhattan. Just saying.). And, Chinese Democracy actually materialized, to the delight of Dr. Pepper fans.

As 2008 reaches the finish line, we have compiled a collection of the best photos of 2008 that represent the stories that filled the pixels of our Web site all year long. We look forward to all the excitement and insanity 2009 will bring!

So imagine my surprise last week when, in the midst of the Christmas madness, I checked my MTV inbox and discovered a note from Mr. Wentz himself, asking if I'd be interested in submitting a list of my favorite "people, albums, movies, books, arts or events" of 2008 that he could include on his blog. It seems he was growing bored with the endless stream of year-end "Best Of" lists (like, ahem, this one or this one), and wanted to create something a little bit different. It seemed like a pretty cool idea, and even though I had no idea who else he had sent the e-mail to, I decided to send a list anyway. (Also, there was a brief time over the summer when Pete and I were co-workers on "FNMTV," so I figured I owed it to him).

I ended up writing a jokey list of "My Top 5 Reactions To Kid Rock's 'All Summer Long' " (you can read it over at Pete's blog). I'm sandwiched between lists by Fall Out Boy's Patrick Stump and a dude named Christopher Gutierrez. The whole thing is a pretty decent read (the blog entry, not necessarily my contribution), with really good lists from people like Pharrell, John Mayer, Perez Hilton and Travis McCoy, plus a bunch of authors, music critics and graphic designers, too. Seemingly everyone put "Barack Obama Being Elected" as their #1 favorite thing of the year, which means that I totally should've also, except I am kind of a dumbass and am obsessed with Kid Rock. At least I got to make a joke about George W. Bush's mental capacity in mine, though.

Anyway, the whole thing was a lot of fun, and proof that whenever Pete Wentz e-mails you, it's probably a good idea to respond to him. And thank you, Peter, for thinking of me. Not only did I reveal myself to be painfully unaware of politics, but I got to squeeze a few more critical drippings out of the lemon that is "All Summer Long." And if that isn't a good way to wrap up 2008, well, then I don't know what is.

The black-and-white image of proud mama and papa Wentz finds Ashlee looking adoringly at the tyke while a skully-clad Pete plants a kiss right on his boy's forehead.

So, who do you think BMW resembles the most, mom or dad?

And that's a shame, because celebs pick the greatest baby names. Like, way better than anything you or I could come up with. For ever Matthew or Hannah, there's a Seven Sirius or an Audio Science (courtesy of Erykah Badu and actress Shannyn Sossamon, respectively). There are Kingstons and Brooklyns, Zumas and Harlows, and now — thanks to Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson — we have our first Bronx.

Last night, the couple welcomed their first child, a son dubbed Bronx Mowgli Wentz, to the world, and in the process, may have shattered the record for "Most 'celebrity' celebrity baby name of all time." And here's what we mean by that:

· A truly great celebrity baby name must not make an ounce of sense, despite the parents' insistence on the contrary. When Nicolas Cage dubbed his son Kal-El, he reasoned that it was Superman's name on his home planet of Krypton, and thus, was "unique and original." Coldplay's Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Paltrow decided to call their daughter Apple because the fruit is "sweet" and "wholesome." Korn's Jonathan Davis chose to name his second son Pirate (and his third son Zeppelin) for reasons clear to only him.

There doesn't seem to be any plausible explanation for Bronx Mowgli, which means that it wins.

· The greatest celebrity baby names are derived from some random work of art/ piece of literature/celestial body, or at least sound like one of the three, so as to appear "deep." There is, of course, Erykah Badu and Andre 3000's son Seven Sirius, Sylvester Stallone's daughter Sage Moonblood and the late Frank Zappa's amazing spawn (Moon Unit, Dweezil, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan and Diva Thin Muffin). Late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence dubbed his daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily. U2 guitarist the Edge has a daughter named Blue Angel, after a 1930 Marlene Dietrich film, while Joel Madden and Nicole Richie's daughter Harlow is named after '30s film star Jean Harlow. Bruce Willis and Demi Moore named their daughter Scout, after the protagonist in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

Pete and Ashlee's son's middle name is Mowgli, after the wild-haired feral child in "The Jungle Book." 'Nuff said.

· A truly great celebrity baby name must have unintentionally hilarious consequences. Sossamon's daughter Audio Science's initials are A.S.S. T.I. named his son Major Harris without realizing that it was also the name of a QB for the University of West Virginia in the late '80s. David Duchovny and Téa Leoni have a kid named, well, Kyd. Singer Toni Braxton has a pair of sons named Denim and Diezel.

The new Wentz baby's initials are B.M.W., which is both high class and highly amusing.

· Bonus points are awarded for naming the baby after a geographic location/township/borough, usually one the baby's parents would never set foot in. The precedent here, of course, was set by soccer star David Beckham and his wife, Victoria, who, in 1999, named their first son Brooklyn (despite, you know, them being English and all). Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale took that as a challenge, naming both of their sons after locations — Kingston (the capital of Jamaica) and Zuma (the, uh, beach in Malibu).

Pete and Ashlee's little Bronx takes the cake here, too, because there is roughly a 100 percent chance that neither of them have ever been north of 110th Street in Manhattan.

Any amazing celebrity baby names we missed? Let us know in the comments.