Culture

Who would you pick as your 2009 Person of the Year?

Eric Ringham Dec 17, 2009
21

Time magazine announced Wednesday that it had named Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as its Person of the Year for 2009. Last year, Time’s choice was President-elect Barack Obama. Who would you pick as your 2009 Person of the Year?

Comments texted to MPR:

I would nominate Sen. Franken for passing anti-rape legislation recently. -Abdi Takhal, Woodbury, MN

I would choose Joe Lieberman because he has single-handedly killed all hopes of real health reform. What a man. -Mike, Savage, MN

  • Peter

    Aaron Rodgers.

  • James

    Sarah Palin

  • James

    Glenn Beck

  • Thomas

    The American Soldier

  • Jessica Sundheim

    I’m with Thomas. Our incredible (forgotten) soldiers and their amazing families who have dealt with deployment after deployment in an unpopular war. They deserve to be recognized. Where was Bernanke when Bernie Made-off-with-all-their-money was not being investigated? Where was Bernanke when tax cuts for the top earners made off with 49.7% (Saez U of CA-Berkley) of national income (highest since 1920’s) and benefitted from tax cuts, while they charged the war to my kids?

    I have to say that the Baby Boomers learned nothing from their parents generation – nothing. Their parents, during the 1940’s and 1950’s (right after the Great Depression) financed WWII and the rebuilding of Europe and Japan. The top earners at that time earned 10% of national income, and workers enjoyed things like weekends, family dinners, paid vacation, affordable health care, pensions. That is why it was the Golden Age. Bernanke man of the year??? Where are our values? I suppose he made sure Wall St made their money and bonuses to boot. Good for them!!!

    James? Seriously??? More of the same, only in God’s name this time?

  • Grant

    The suicide bomber.

  • Cindy Gandrud

    Greg Mortenson, the man who builds schools for children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

  • Matthew

    I would have to say Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He seems to be one of the only members of Congress who understands what this country needs in terms of health care, financial institutions, and so on.

  • lenny

    i’d pick minh (pronounced “min”) because she’s THE perfect mother to our daughter and because without her, our family wouldn’t be where we are now.

  • Carla

    Glenn Beck. If 2008 was about hope and change symbolized by Barack Obama and his election, 2009 has been about fear of change and dreading the future. No one has been more fearful and full of dread than Beck.

  • Jamie

    Hillary Clinton is one person that comes to mind. She was robbed of the election by lots of people who liked a certain kind of speech-making, and lots of people who knew nothing about Barack Obama and what he was really all about, and lots of people who don’t mind that Obama is so sexist that he negates his mother’s contribution to who he is. And she rose above that robbery to take a job that would have been next to impossible for a lot of people to take, and she’s doing very well so far.

    Note to Jessica: Baby boomers are not to blame for the general condition of the country. There are SOME boomers who are to blame, and some older people, and some younger people. I’m sick of hearing that baby boomers are to blame for everything. You can’t generalize like that. I heard some younger person decrying boomers once, saying that Barack Obama was needed to undo the damage done by boomers. Well, Obama IS a baby boomer!

  • Saba N.

    Neda Agha-Soltan.

  • Zachary Peterson

    Glenn Beck!

  • Jessica Sundheim

    Jamie,

    I like your candidate. Hillary Clinton is awesome.

    You’re right, not every single Boomer is to blame. I don’t like my husband’s generation being referred to as selfish Gen Xer’s, just as much as you don’t appreciate my generalizations. However we know he great and we’ve experienced the kernel of truth to the generaliztion.

    I’m from Gen Y, we apparently question things. Do you know that there are workshops geared toward figuring out what non-profits are going to do when many of the Greatest Generation volunteers quit (some are in 90’s and still helping out)? There are full on conferences just to figure out how to get the next generation (the boomers) volunteering. The conferences address the “attitude”. Sure some volunteer, but as whole they don’t, and no where near the way their parents did. Yes, many have not yet retired, but many also have a certain attitude about volunteering. It’s like I’ve asked them to become “the help” or something, unless it’s a protest, then they’re ready. So, my point is, I’m not the first to generalize and I wouldn’t have anything to complain about if it weren’t such a mess. I can’t change the record. I haven’t had a great personal experience. I respect that the country is very divided, so not everyone is responsible. But so far only 800,000 calls have made it to Washington for healthcare reform since August. A two minute phone call! I just hope my generation does better, and I’ll be just as frustrated if they don’t.

    Calling them Baby Boomers was me being nice.

  • T. Jefferson

    G. Beck – For his fortitude to ask politicians and other “leaders” to step up to the plate.

  • Urban

    I would nominate Sen. Al Franken for fighting the fight after winning the seat. He’s proving himself with things like the anti-rape ammendment on the defense spending bill.

    Despite all the dire warnings and predictions, he’s not the laughing stock people predicted, but dead on serious.

  • Tim Nelson

    The entire profession of health care specialist, from brain surgeon to ear, nose, and throat specialist.

    For their single-minded dedication to jacking up their fees, year after year, until they make two to five times as much as their counterpoints throughout the world.

    Salute!

  • Greg Copeland

    The Unemployed American

  • Charles

    I nominate the guy who threw his shoes at George W. Bush. I just wish he had a paper weight instead.

  • Matt

    I nominate Tom Crann – the voice of the afternoon. Tied with Cathy Wurzer.

  • Sarah

    Al Gore! Climate change will dominate global politics for the next decade, at the least. He’s been working on it for the two previous decades and has helped bring it to the world stage (unfortunately, a bit too slowly).