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President Barack Obama is TIME magazine’s iconic Person of the Year, managing editor Rick Stengel revealed Wednesday as he unveiled the 2012 cover on TODAY.
“He’s basically the beneficiary and the author of a kind of a New America, a new demographic, a new cultural America that he is now the symbol of,” Stengel said.
Obama became the first Democratic president since Franklin Delano Roosevelt to win two consecutive re-elections with at least 50 percent of the vote, despite the highest unemployment rate in seven decades.
Stengel said Obama won support from a core group of voters who “actually don’t care about politics” and felt the president ignored partisanship to do his job.
“Using the coalition of the ascendant young voters, millennials, Hispanics minorities, he’s creating a new alignment, a kind of realignment like Ronald Reagan did 40 years ago,” he said.
This is Obama's second time on the cover with the iconic title. He also secured the title the last time he won election — in 2008, just after he became the first African American elected president.
The magazine's short list for this year's Person of the Year cover was revealed on TODAY, and tens of thousands of TODAY.com readers voted among the eight candidates. In addition to President Obama, they included Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!; Mohammed Morsi, president of Egypt; Undocumented Americans; Bill and Hillary Clinton; ; Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani student activist who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban; Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple; and the Higgs Boson and Italian physicist Fabiola Giannati.
Yousafzai, the 15-year-old targeted by the Taliban because she championed the cause of education for girls, narrowly defeated Obama in a TODAY poll.
As it has for the past 85 years, the weekly newsmagazine selected the person (or sometimes group, or thing) that its editors deemed had the single greatest impact during the past year, for better or for worse.
Time’s Person of the Year has been a perennial topic of year-end debate ever since aviator Charles Lindbergh was chosen the first Man of the Year back in 1927 (the title was amended to Person of the Year in 1999). But the title is not necessarily an accolade; while many presidents, political leaders, innovators and captains of industry have been cited, some of the more notorious Persons of the Year include Adolf Hitler in 1938, Joseph Stalin in 1943 and Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979. There have also been more conceptual choices, such as “the American Fighting-Man” (1950), “Middle Americans” (1969), and last year’s choice, The Protester.
More from TIME magazine:
- TIME Person of the Year 2012
- President Obama: 'These Tragedies Must End'
- Malala Yousafzai and why education should in the foreign policy debate
- Apple CEO Tim Cook announces U.S. Mac production, warns: 'Don't bet against us'
- Mohammed Morsi's moment
- The Higgs boson, Fabiola Giannati and the Cathedral of Science
- Marissa Mayer's Wall Street debut sends Yahoo! stock surging
- Bill & Hillary Clinton: What will diplomacy look like in the 21st century?
- Undocumented Americans: Not legal, not leaving
- Slideshow: TIME Persons of the Year 1999-2011
Leave a Comment:
What a joke
the jokes on you he got 4 more years inspite of no nothings like you.
Yea and he got 4 more years of from nothings like you!
The joke is on the country, trillions in debt and record unemployment, completeley deserving of Times loser of the year.
where was your concern for trillions spent on wars not paid for or medicaid expansion brad your a dumb ass and a hypocrite,how about i tell you a little secret that money was spent on the american people .the joke is on idiots like yourself who hate facts that conflict with their hatred.
Eat $h!t and die panther, you don't have any F_cken idea what you are talking about dick breath!
brad empty drums make the most noise fill it up with a little education will you.once againg where was your concern when billions were being spent on unnecessary wars unpaid for medicare part d,tax cuts for the wealthy in a time of war?come on answer the question you ignoramous.
its well deserved the people who call him derogatory things and endleessly spew their vomit of hatred will eventually choke on it,most of us can only dream of accomplishing half what he did ,given that he did not come from money.
ANYBODY ELSE would have been a better choice. Obama has not performed the way a president should have. The best choice was Malala, who championed something worthwhile. I do not hate Obama---I do my best to ignore him, as a fly on the wall. He somehow got elected to a second term, and I'll continue to ignore him for another four years. Thank God he can not run for president again.
performed the way a president should? like ending a war and not starting another for profit at the expense and lives of poor ,white, black and hispanic youth, you know cause thats the expendable crowd.how about being faithful to his wife by keeping the oval ofiice a mistress free zone, how about getting our most stubborn frenimies,china and russia to sign on to embargos on iran ,going against their interest.how about not allowing small kids to live and not be denied care from insurance companies because they've reached their lifetime caps.what about giving banks the boot on student loans and lending it directly to students at a better rate and allowing we the tax payers the full benefit of that money.you should thank hime for making it possible to get equal pay for equal work if any woman in your life or yourself should ever be paid less than a male for doing the same work.you can ignore him but iam happy he does not ignore you all these things benefit you directlyand indirectly and you know it.
"Person" of the year ... he is a politician and should not be confused with everyone else out there who is deserving of such an honor.
TIME - forget about it. I'll never read your obviously biased rag again.
Bye!
Yeah but you'll probably continue to watch Fox that "fair and balanced" news channel.
It's the only new's that can be trusted.
Dave.... Fox Trusted???? You have got to be kidding.... it's not the no spin zone ... It spins so fast it might make Hannity's head explode.
Karl Rove's head just exploded...again! Time to move on folks; he was re-elected with more than 50% of the vote...again. If Mitt Romney had won the election, he would probably be on there instead. Read it and weep.
Agree 100%. And thanks for the image: Carl Rove's head exploding. However, I think you should add Grover Norquist, Rush Limbaugh and the Tea Party to the mix.
The divine messiah and wannabe Emperor is most definitely the Person of the Year.
He has done more to divide America and destroy its culture and economy than any American President in history.
divide it how by exposing that the bigots have not left the american soil yet,hip hip hurray that he can flip the rock off the bigots they have come out in droves since his presidency.
And they wonder why no one want to buy this piece of crap magazine anymore!
Selecting the President was the best choice. He won the election and is fixing the economy. The economy would have been in better shape if those idiot Republicans in Congress would have helped, but their only response was "NO".
Just Canceled my Subscription to Time, talk about BIAS, the man whom is Destroying a Nation, Give me a Break
Cancelled your subscription to Time? The act of a spoiled child.
Obama is saving ths country. One day at a time.
More like...Ruining it, a trillion dollars at a time!
No, that would be CONGRESS. Article 1 Section 8. WHO Is responsible for spending?
I cannot say I am happy with the choice. Yes, Mr. Obama is on his way to changing America - can we really agree with all the divisivness and hatred and racial c..p going on that this is a good thing? I believe that Malala and others were more deserving of the honour, but it is what it is and cannot be changed, particularly with the media being so biased (and that is a truism). I remember a kinder, more trusting America not so long ago. God will sort it all out, just not in our lifetime. Now go ahead and "hate" me for espousing my personal view, I will manage to find the will to continue living. Merry Christmas all and peace on earth.
You are an American Citizen... and you have every right to exercise your freedom of speech and your freedom of religion. I don't agree with everything in your comment, but if someone hates you for expressing your opinion (which I don't), then they have a problem and not you.
Personally, I think the Time's person(s) of the year should have gone to those 28 souls (especially the children) in CT. Those are the ones who are going to shape this nation into the new year.. and be close to all our hearts for sometime.
You seem to be a kind person and I thank you for that. Thank you for your perspective and kind words. It's nice to see someone who is not vitriolic in their posting. Merry Christmas.
I try to be... I admit, sometimes my comments on the newsvine are not always so nice... but I truly get tired of people blaming the entire worlds problems on the president...
I appreciate your comments more than most, because they are not confrontational and you are polite with how you express them. Wishing you and your entire famly a wonderful Christmas and always hold true to your beliefs.
The teacher who hid her students in cabinets and closets - who died making sure they lived - would have been a more appropriate choice. How many children's lives has Obama saved? Who has he sacrificed his life for?
I am with you.... but President Obama is responsible for 300+ Million Americans every single day of his life. I am in quite certain he has sacrificed time with his own children on a daily basis to take care of the things we don't know about...
Its just like our brave men and women in the military.. everyday, they are out there sacrificing their lives for us... and we don't always know about it.
Obama sacrificed something, the lives of the embassy staff in Libya!
and Bush sacrificed the lives of 54 americans in 12 embassy attacks..
The person of the year should be Victoria Soto who put her own life before those of her students.
What a shame... People SERIOUSLY?? Of course with the line up of choices there wasn't much to choose from......
"Of course with the line up of choices there wasn't much to choose from......"
malala yousafzai A heroic symbol for women and girls around the world
I think I am going to puke !!
Person of the year for what? His role in the murders in Bengazi?
Maybe putting more people on food stamps day by day!
Thanks for the lovely image of you puking. You lost. Get over it. Move on and get a job.
so the murder of more than 100000 iraqis and 3000+ killed does not count being it was an unnecessary war and what not.tell your repugnant ones to pass the jobs bill, so that your fellow citizen can work and show real patriotism, not only when a republican is in the white house.and as for benghazi dont forget the white house asked for money for extra security, i'll give you one guess, if anything their blood is on the hands of reublicans.
What a joke. Why do news media insist on recognizing politicians for anything more than what they are? Self-serving, attention grabbing, bullies. When was the last time your elected official accomplished ANYTHING they promised in their campaign?
Well maybe if Bonehead and the old fossil McConnell actually did their job instead of blocking the President every way they could, he might have made good on some campaign promises. "Just say no" was supposed to be Nancy's Reagen's slogan for her anti drug campaign, not to stall Congress and the whole country.
Wow, this brought all the haters out! Get over it, President Obama and the majority of the American people won, you lost!
Your still NOT getting my money, leach!
Oreo, you have allowed your hate to fill you to the point that it seems that is all you have. You must be a bitter person for your hate to consume your soul as it has. I actually feel sorry for you.
I'm kind of getting tired of hearing that the "Majority" of the people elected this clown. Do the math. You remember math don't you? it was that subject you slept through in school. Only 80% of the registered voters actually voted. Obama won by 52%. 52% of 80% = 41.6% of 100%. So where is your "Majority"? 20% of the people didn't want to vote for either of those morons.
Well, that's certainly closer to a "majority" than George W. got when he didn't even WIN the popular vote, and only won the electoral vote because of political manipulation. As I recall, the Republicans were only too happy to call that a "decisive win" and a "mandate".
Pat-2643768-2643768
- don't ever feel sorry for me. Use that same hate you have towards people who have made something of themselves to try to make something of yourself. Try to feel proud of yourself even when you have your hand out blaming others for your meager life.
WOW, a racist won?? Well Hitler won a while back so anything is possible.
Where have all the real heros gone?
Soldiers, rangers, and seals are much more deserving.
Once again, F you GOP. :)
Really.. The girl from Pakistan truly deserved this honor!
i bet the 12 people who actually read time magazine are humping their copies right now.
I think it's a good choice. He has endeavored to pull us back from the recession, hopefully he will work a plan to save us from the fiscal cliff, and he continues to help with the recovery. And, most importantly, he saved us from the curse of four years with Mitt the Twit Romney!
SURPRISE SURPRISE. Why dont we just give them all to him at once so we can give the real people something. Time just lost me.
Original.
Gee, what a surprise. A leftist, statist, socialist, power hungry politician who never worked a real job in his life managed to inject racism without media criticism, managed to direct class divisions, give certain citizen-paid monetary relief (vote buying), and do it all under the guise of moving America forward.
I can only hope that the citizens wake up before we go off a cliff that is a whole lot worse that fiscal. Our American culture is crumbling, more people are being forced to be more dependent on the government and the Democrats are using that to stay in power.
The 2nd American revolution is coming. It may not get here for a few year, but it is definitely coming. With the GOP not offering a meaningful alternative, and the right wing getting just as crazy as the left is, we are left with little pragmatic and moderate options.
Makes you want to have DC just slide into the Atlantic and never be heard from again.
So true!
Well, it could be worse.. we could have the rightist, GOP SOCIALIST (redistribution of wealth from the lower/middle class to the rich and corporations), right winged christian zealots telling us who we can marry, what our religion should be, FORCING us to accept that legitimate rape is what god wanted, and what our family values should be in the WH. Oh wait, we clearly REJECTED IT.
We also rejected the GOP telling us that AMERICA was for sale to the highest corporate bidder like the KOCHS BROTHERS. the GOP Corporate welfare train (yes, 54 BILLION to the fossil fuel industry while they make record profits) is okay, but Social Security and Medicare for elderly AMERICANS is an entitlement?
Our American cultures is growing closer to what our founding fathers intended it to be. GOD is not in our Constitution and never will be. The second amendment doesn't mean YOU GET TO OWN an assault weapon. The GOP passed along an 11 TRILLION debt from BUSH, started two wars they could not finish, and then try to say "ITS NOT OUR FAULT".
A second revolution may come, and I will be on the right side of it, by standing up against those who want to destroy the United States Constitution and take away my civil rights.
so stupid and byassed and hypocritical, he was the last person to inject race, dont pretend you dont watch fox,do you even know what the definition of a socialist is?
Total CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!