Calling someone the best politician can be the same as equating that person with a slimy reptile. Indeed, look around OC, and you'll find plenty of snakes in elected office. But this year, we're happy to give the nod to Fred Karger. Okay, sure, he was once lower than a snake when he worked as a cutthroat, secretly gay Republican political operative for the likes of Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford. But nowadays, Karger, who has never held elective office, has found not just the courage to come out of the closet, but the personable Laguna Beach resident is also an unapologetic fiscal conservative who is vocally pressing his political party to stop employing shameless anti-gay tactics. He's also pro-choice and, unlike George W. Bush, anti-stupid wars. Oh, and Karger's running to win the Republican nomination to take on President Barack Obama in November 2012. Does he have a chance? No, but sometimes there have to be folks willing to sacrifice themselves to make a good point, and Fred's that kind of noble man.