Time Magazine began its Man of the Year (now Person of the Year) in 1927. Since that time all U.S. Presidents except for three, have been named Man/Person of the Year at least once.
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| Not Men of the Year – Coolidge, Hoover, Ford |
Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Gerald Ford are the only three not to have received the honor. Franklin Roosevelt was named Man of the Year three times, a record for Time Magazine.
2012 Person of the Year: On December 19, 2012, Time Magazine announced that, for a second time, President Barack Obama has been named Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. He previously was named in 2008.
Mike Purdy’s Presidential History Blog
© 2012 by Michael E. Purdy
www.PresidentialHistory.com
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Time’s Person of the Year has lost its relevance over the years (see http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/everyone-should-ignore-times-person-of-the-year/266462/), and this year is no exception. True, President Obama was in the news in the US more than nearly everyone, but did he satisfy Time’s definition for POY, “…for better or for worse, …has done the most to influence the events of the year”? In my view, no. In fact, had Mitt Romney won the election, he would have won the contest. Barack Obama’s selection was predictable.
Time should have gone out on a limb and chosen Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor. It was through her leadership that Europe averted a financial crisis (so far) that would have had devastating effects on the world’s economy. But she doesn’t get coverage here in the US, so she was ignored. Time was merely pandering to its US readers. And that’s too bad – Time could have made a bold statement by choosing someone other than what was predictable.
More on the Chancellor here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/16/business/germany-merkel-profile/