Roger L. Simon: Person of the Year

That dentist's office rag has named its Person of the Year again. Does anybody care? Of course McCain is correct when he says he sees the "KGB" in Putin's eyes. I mean- duh... what else would he see? But in a way I'm glad that Petraeus didn't win. There is another, better prize for him - assuming he would want it.

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Ahem. Regardless of who I am I'd prefer to think of General Petraeus as Petraeus Maximus.

Petraeus for president? Perish the thought -- though the field certainly looks *far* more open than it did even a month ago. Hillary? Rudy? Apparently not ...

As for Putin, why would Time pick a two-bit despot of a failed country? Heck, by that standard why not Chavez? Kim Jung-il? Castro (either one)? Ahmadinejad (indeed, Godzilla)? Throw a dart at Africa?

I'm sure they have their reasons but reads like another MSM death throe to me. And to think: that Man of the Year thing used to be interesting ...

Well, TIME picked Stalin twice and had the poor taste to put him in the company of Churchill and FDR. So, I guess Tsar Vlad I can get his due, too.

Petraeus for President? Roger, you're not joining the "Man on the white horse" club are you? (Besides, Boulanger is dead.) I'd much rather have the general sort out southern Iraq, then Afghanistan, and then spend the rest of his career teaching the officers who'll be fighting this war for the next generation or two.

Re: Petraeus, I think Roger is thinking "someday". And, yeah, some generals make wonderful presidents.

But some great generals would make horrible presidents and there are plenty of great presidents who wouldn't have been competent battle commanders. The jobs have some overlap, but they're also very, very different. So while I think General Petraeus is doing a fantastic job in Iraq, I'd have to learn a lot more about him before I decide whether or not to vote for him for an elected office.

Person of the Year is not a "Who's Coolest?" prize. It's a vote on who was influential during the year, whose actions would shape the near future etc. It's not a endorsement of Putin, just a statement that his actions will be seen in hindsight as having a large impact on our times.

I think there were probably better options... but this year was sort of lame so I might be wrong.

Petraeus for POTUS? Let us not get too hasty. Remember when "we" were pondering Colon Powell then Condi Rice for president. What a rude awakening they have given us in the interval. Let the soldiers' soldier continue his campaign on the battlefield and keep him out of Iowa, at least for now.

December 19, 2007: Person of the Year

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