Time magazine has named President Bush its Man of the Year.
The selection seems like a no-brainer in light of last month’s national Republican electoral sweep headed by the President, who won his own race over Mr. Kerry. The November victories affirm a unique style of leadership that will persevere for at least four more years.
And while I agree with the selection, here are a few other people who might have made interesting selections:
Janet Jackson: That little incident at the Super Bowl back in January has led Howard Stern to abandon radio airwaves, network affiliates to opt out of airing Steven Spielberg films and Michael Powell to become a household name.
Jesus: Mel Gibson’s film about his final hours made a historic dent on the film industry, while President Bush, led by his philosophies, showed that a majority of Americans still care about his words 2000 years later.
Kofi Annan: You don’t have to be a positive person to be Man of the Year (Hitler was), and Annan may have proven to have shaken the world more than anyone else this year. He has brought corruption to the UN with the Oil for Food scandal, internal rancor with the sexual harassment corruption he turned a blind eye to, and is now under pressure to resign the highest international post there is.
William Rehnquist: His court has defined how foreign prisoners and enemy combatants may be treated, laid down the law on affirmative action, and now prepares to tackle the Pledge of Allegiance and numerous other issues. But with his illness comes question of where the court is headed, how safe those gay marriages in Massachusetts truly are, whether abortion can survive four more years, and panoply of other matters.
Michael Moore: His film, the highest grossing documentary of all time, sought to influence the election one way and may well have led it in the other direction. He made it into the Presidential Suite at the Democratic National Convention, and is now one of the most recognizable political figures in America despite having been nothing more than a weird breaking into auto plants with a video camera two decades back.
Sponge Bob Squarepants: Hey, it would have made for a really cute cover photo!
