The recent election taught us many important lessons. Change is possible. The hot chick doesn't always get her way. And America's anchorwomen are some seriously entertaining, smart individuals -- we have no idea who used to amuse us before we met Rachel Maddow and Campbell Brown.

Now that we're finally almost over post-election withdrawal, it's time to reflect on our biggest discoveries -- women we'll be following long after Obama's inauguration. Check out our list of the top ten anchors we love on cable and network news, then leave a comment to let us know who we left out.

Amazing Anchorwomen

    Rachel Maddow. This funny, out Rhodes Scholar is being credited with bringing young people back to TV news, possibly due to her super-close friendship with former Air America co-worker Chuck D.

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    Elizabeth Vargas. Vargas won accolades for criticizing an imbalance in media coverage between missing white women and women of color. And she can learn from her mistakes: after taking heat for soft-balling president Bush, she's developed a majorly intimidating cold-eyed glare that we practice daily.

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    Candy Crowley. This multitasker makes her own documentaries and served up killer coverage of the 2008 elections. Plus she's Anderson Cooper's best friend, and we kinda want to sit around and eat nachos and be bitchy with them.

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    Naamua Delaney. Delaney's break-neck fast, super comprehensive online coverage of the elections kept us informed, and her outfits kept us envious.

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    Campbell Brown. Her hilarious "Free Sarah" campaign (to protest the GOP's denying journalists access to Sarah Palin) smashed any lingering doubt that she deserved her own show.

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    Katie Couric. Sure, she's struggled a little in her new lead anchor role, but Katie redeemed herself with her strong, unblinking (heh) election interviews.

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    Gwen Ifill. Although her moderation of the 2004 VP debates were met with near-universal acclaim, controversy arose in 2008 when some worried that her forthcoming book on Obama could taint her impartiality. Gwen's response? "The proof is in the pudding." We love Gwen. And pudding.

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    María Elena Salinas. Univision's lead anchor, Salinas' under-publicized but incredibly thorough interviews and opinion pieces actually inspired people to get out and vote. Oh, and she loooooves to party.

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    Team Jessica Yellin/Dana Bash. Despite Yellin's weird hologrammery on election night, we're always impressed by her co-coverage of the Capitol Hill with Bash, and not just because "Bash and Yellin" sound like an awesome drunken wrestling duo.

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    Christiane Amanpour. With too many awards, honors, and distinctions to count, Amanpour has no problem keeping cool while literally dodging bullets or interviewing despots... all while looking unbelievably gorgeous and wearing cool jewelry.

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