Putin of the Year! Time Picks Someone Who Isn't Al Gore

Mad for Vlad! Time magazine officially unveiled its annual "Person of the Year" this morning, and it's....Vladimir Putin! I know! Remember that huge thing he did this year that was awesome? Time does, but more importantly, he's not Al Gore — the presumptive nominee based on Nobel/Oscar/identifying and spurring action on an issue which is surely the most globally pressing of our time, with the possible exception of what we may be hiding in our shoes at airports. But! Al Gore was boring, expected; Putin is fresh! And exciting! And surprising — so surprising that he was barely even mentioned at this years' POY panel, except offhandedly by Brian Williams as part of the triumvirate of crazy dictators with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Pervez Musharraf, who was looking like he could have been a pretty scary Person of the Year himself around that time. Anyhow, the important thing is, it's not Al Gore, though he got to be runner up. There's a 2000 election joke in there somewhere! (Don't worry, Al, it's not like Putin was ever going to get the Nobel Peace Prize).

So: What does this mean? Well, for one thing, probably more David Remnick on the news! Maybe statements from the candidates, after they're done commenting on America's Top Teen Pregnancy (Jamie Lynn Spears = Political Lightning Rod, mark our words). Otherwise, the good news is it will shower attention on Putin and Russia, which, as Remnick pointed out on "NBC Nightly News" last month, we ignore at our peril. He's worth re-quoting here:

We should pay attention to what's going on in Russia for any number of reasons. First of all it's a gigantic country, with a gigantic land mass, with nuclear weapons, with enormous economic resources, its importance in geopolitical terms is fantastic -- it borders on Iran and Central Asia, it borders Europe -- it couldn't be more important. But our eye has been off the ball essentially for quite a long time (a) because the Cold War ended and (b) because we've been so obsessed, for obvious reasons, on South Asia and the Middle East .

Time's Adi Ignatius sheds some light in the cover piece, creating a pretty awesome picture of Putin as one hell of a villain at the beginning (cold stare; compact, coiled-strength body; tightly-controlled face, save for veins on his forehead that look "ready to pop." Yikes). Thank goodness, somewhere in there lies a softie: His favorite Beatles song is "Yesterday."

Speaking of yesterday, that's when I noted that Time seemed underwhelmed by its own list, including Putin, whom they all but called a lame duck. Gore they red-herringed as doing his heavy POY lifting in 2006, and second runner-up J.K. Rowling they damned with this faint praise: "Hard to argue she was the most important person of 2007." But apparently not hard to argue that she was the third-most important person! Well, the important thing is, God's Green Earth got at least some recognition. Hopefully this edition will help save the environment. Now, get on out there, Time, and sell some magazines! As I always say, if a tree is standing it means circ must be down.

A Tsar Is Born [Time]

Earlier:
POY Vey! Time's Snoozy 2007 Noms [ETP]

Even Earlier, and Totally Wrong:
God's Green Earth Pretty Much A Lock For Time's Person Of The Year [ETP]

Comments

[ParacleteofKavorka]

I guess this is Time's 'Swimsuit Edition'. Who reads that crappy magazine anyway? It's like half a step above 'People'.

[AmirBukfifti]

He has a look on his face like "I could kill you without a moment's remorse, but then I would kiss your belly like a little boy." I see no soul in those eyes at all.

Yeah, Time has some odd criteria for Persons of the Year.

[mellene]

Putin certainly has done more for his people than Bush has for Americans.

[SpindrainDotCom]

Hmm... I thought Person of the Year meant a person who was a positive force?

While Putin has done many good things to lift Russia, he is far from a positive world personality. (and Time is not a Russian mag)

Even at home in Russia, Putin is hardly a true democratic (fair) leader.

He's a good POLITICIAN.... really good.... but exemplary person...? I think Time could have done better.

[FrankInTitZ]

Hmmm, lets see....

Putin has numerous critical journalists and political opponents assassinated, often using radioactive and chemical poisons (nice touch) CHECK

He has rounded up and jailed many Russian business leaders, stealing their companies for personal profit. Check

He is installing, puppet president whom he can control from behind closed doors. Check

He has rolled back most democratic reforms domestically and is using oil to extort and threaten neighboring countries. Check

Finally, he is exporting nuclear technology to terrorist regimes in the middle east. Check and double check.

Yes, its clear,Pooty is fully qualified to be the liberal man of the year.

Come on tards, you think Gorgo's simple creation of a fraudulent psuedo religion like the Church of Climatology for personal profit and aggrandisement is gonna be enough to cut it anymore.

Please.

[Pennsylvanianne]

Putin of the Year! Time Picks Someone Who Isn't Even Newsworthy!

[ChristopherLib]

I don't think it's a bad choice. I thought last year Time just went cheesy saying we were all the people of the year. Putin, despite being a near dictator, has great approval in Russia. The economy there is doing well, and Putin stands up to Bush a lot, like on sanctions against Iran, and it's hard to argue he didn't have tremendous impact this year.

However I have to think that right wing Time editors had to rally for anyone but Gore. They saw Putin as the best shot to beat him, and voted him up. I was one who thought Osama Bin Ladin really should have been person of the year 2001 because he had the most worldwide impact by far of any other human being. It's not a morality contest. But this year Gore, a great human being, really had an impact, one that will likely be farther lasting than Putin's on the world.

[Mort]

In the picture, he looks like one of the guys in Blue Man Group!

[Maxbyte]

Good pick!?

The man who ensured another generation of disorder in Russia, and who has a chance of becoming the first Czar since 1917. If so, the downside for Putin is that Czars seldom retire of their own free will.

But, absolute power is so inebriating that its victims give little thought to the closing scene until they hear the "Owl call their name" [American Indian Folklore].

Polonium-210, anyone?

[snruB]

I think it should've been Ahmadinejad or Musharraf

[revko]

I thought Ann Coulter would be "Man of the Year"

[ObamaEdwards]

I was astounded by the preliminary list this year. I went to the site and cast a vote for Gore, because he was already running neck and neck against Rowling! Putin is an awful choice. But it's even more shocking to me that a popular (not great, but certainly popular) children's book author could be an even match for Gore's achievements. Especially since this was the year Rowling allowed her publishers to start bashing her online fans to preserve their exclusive claim to the dollars stuck to Rowling's ass.

This nation has no values, I guess. Any old celebrity will do.

[VictorLudorum]

he tried telling mahmood[ king of wealth] ahmedi[detractors to musalmANS] neserani[victorian] mick jagger and 999 ave are a empty pot ..get down from yelling against isrealis........he ried telling ...time is taken away..europe/white is not really future ..london paris and newyork have been taken by sher ..hehas highest class..class like hindus have classes ..so one class is better than another .french cannot have the classy feet chinese have ..only one humndred years the olympics was granted alone to europeans......the time has CHANGED

[bradio1]

Remember last year when "we" were person of the year?
I liked it. It felt real warm and tingly. I wonder if Vlad is feeling the glow?

[LeftLeaner]

They didn't want to pick the MOST DESERVING CANDIDATE - AL GORE, of course, only because he IS the OBVIOUS Choice.

They forgot that the choice is BASED on WHO MADE THE MOST IMPACT - CLEARLY, it is AL GORE - NOT by a long shot, PUTIN.

What are they trying to prove by picking the most unlikely person the year? Well, that IS what they achieved.