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Since the pick will be announced tomorrow.......this'll be a short thread in all likelihood.

Who would you pick as Time's Person of the Year? And why?

and

What are some of the recent selctions that have made your blood boil, or you thought were long overdue?

Edited to add: The complete Time list of awardees is Link.

As Mark Shields just observed Capital Gang, the Time award hardly carries the weight of a Heisman Trophy, or for that matter, a Nobel or Pulitzer prize.

Still, I would prefer to see almost anyone besides Karl Rove, Bush included, be selected Time's "Man of the Year." In my mind a jail cell would be more appropriate for Rove than a magazine cover.

If one is looking for someone who has done something both unique and constructive, how about Lance Armstrong. Six straight victories in the Tour DeFrance is his accomplishment alone.

I should point out here that being chosen as Whatever-of-the-Year by Time does not mean approval. It merely means that the person or group selected was (in the opinion of the editors) the most newsworthy. A look at the list includes names such as Hitler and Stalin.

Based on this criterion only, some names that would be "long overdue" might include Osama Bin Laden -- surely the most newsworthy person of 2001. Because I recognize the fact that the selection by Time is not an honor in any way, there are no selections that "make my blood boil." There are some -- usually groups rather than individuals -- that seem a little lame.

My nomination, based on sheer volume of news generated, has to be George W. Bush.

I'd hate to be a Time editor trying to make this call.

Let's see, Ossama bin Ladin dropped off the scope last year. Hussein and family got a lot of press, and of course so did GWB. Still, the Demos showed a turn in political thinking that might become significant over the coming years, and did push an election into the close-one category again. The threat of a win pushed a lot of Repubs and their sympathizers to the polls.

The question might be who did the most newsworthy things in 2004? Here's the problem: Most of what went on was the media working very hard to not report newsworthy events. The media lost its grit and edge in the face of politics, and I'll throw Time Magazine on that pile.

Lance Armstrong would be an inspirational pick. That'd be safe. Howard Dean wouldn't, so forget that screaming crazy populist. Picking GWB would keep the powers happy, and they sign the paychecks. Shoot, that might even lead to a bonus!

So GWB it is, you know, if I was a Time editor looking to keep my job and maybe even get a nice bonus.

Personally, I'd like Armstrong or Dean, with a political leaning toward Dean. I'd rather see Lance's face at the grocery checkout line.

Bush wins, again.

I think Bush is definitely a great choice for person of the year. His policies, programs, election, and everything else have been the driving factor of much of the world for this past year.

He has stayed on target on his programs and won a critical election. It is Bush not Rove that has his name of the plaque on the desk. He is a great choice and I don't think anyone else is on his level as an individual that moves the world right now.

President Bush named Time's Person of 2004