It's Bush again
Time's "Person of the Year," that is. I don't know why I should care enough even to post this, but whatever. Given their criteria, the choice seems like a no-brainer. Then again, OBL was clearly the POTY in 2001, but political sensibilities kept him off the cover in favor of Rudy. In subsequent years, the honor has gone to "collective" recipients -- whistleblowers, or the American soldier. That's kind of a cop-out too, in my opinion.
The distinction is value-neutral, as it reflects the person who most impacted the news in the preceding year, either for good or ill. After reading the accompanying article, however, it's obvious that Bush has few fans among Time's editorial staff.
As we prepare to move into Bush's second term, however, I'm cautiously optimistic. I may be in a distinct minority here, but I feel better about Bush as president now than I did in 2000. I'm collecting my thoughts on the matter, and will expound on them in a post as we get closer to the inauguration.