When I opened the thread, he was the first guy that sprung into my mind, quite frankly. It would be appropriately ironic, and I’m sure Steward would agree with the decision, in a perverse kind of way…
“When the anchor of a fake news show wins Man of the Year, you know how sad things have gotten in the American media circus we call politics.”
I just really, really hope they don’t go with a class of people or, even worse, some sort of technology or social trend (the Computer as person of the year? WTF?).
I also think that they ought to rename it the “Newsmaker of the Year”. “Person of the Year” seems to conote some sort of endorsement or validation of the subject (like it’s being handed out by the local rotary club). For all his villainy, there’s little doubt that bin Laden had an overwhelming impact on 2001, both in his deeds and in the global response they generated. I think *Time * really missed an opportunity to showcase the man and help average Americans understand that his abhorent, nihilistic message does have some resonance in the Arab world and must be met with our own grand strategy utilizing military, diplomatic, humanitarian assistance and communications tools.
For those of you who picked Burt Rutan, they are naming Spaceship One the invention of the year. I doubt they will then repeat the choice for their “person” of the year issue.