Assuming everyone cannot agree that it was Anthony Weiner, who do you think was the Person of the Year?
About The Author
BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
In all seriousness, I nominate Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. She was thrust into the spotlight in the worst possible circumstance, announced in the media as dead, and then proceeded to crawl her way back with quiet dignity and amazing strength.
It happened in January, 2011. I think she has been a phenomenal example of coming back after terrible adversity. And kudos to her husband for standing beside her the whole time. Newt could learn a lot from him.
Her husband could share the honor. He went into space this year, on top of everything else.
Mohammed Bouazizi.
You beat me to it. He wasn’t actually alive in 2011, but had more influence on events than any living human being on the planet.
Yes he was. He died on January 4th.
Beat me to it too. Occurred to me pretty much the instant I read the question. I didn’t know his name, though.
Beat me to it, too.
Elizabeth Warren, for going where no pol had dared go before, and still going strong. If America somehow manages to climb out of the toilet, she and Occupy will be significant enablers.
You need to bone up on some political history if you Warren went were no other has gone before.
Holy shit.
Barack.
I think Barack Obama has done an excellent job managing events and doing his job, but he hasn’t exactly been the driving force in world events over the past year.
Dennis Kucinich. Especially for his work in the Middle East and North Africa.
Oh, wait, this isn’t DemocraticUnderground.com.
Mohammed Abbous, the citizen journalist who posted YouTubes of the events in Benghazi until his death covering the assault by Gadhafi’s troops on the very day that NATO began operations. But not just for himself and his work. Citizen journalists have been the source of a good bit of the news from this year because the costs, risks, and political consequences of large media covering conflict up close are too great. They are in the spirit of the great war correspondents like Ernie Pyle and Dan Rather. In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria, and in the attacks on the Occupy encampments in the US and elsewhere, citizen journalists with cell phones and upload capabilities to sites like YouTube, LiveStream, and UStream have been the ones recording the history of this year.
If this is like Time magazine selects a ‘person of the year’, I vote for:
The 99%.
Agreed.
It took things getting this shitty for the people to finally wake up.
Here’s to more consciousness raising in 2012.
As usual, I am the person of the year.
I win it so often -I have never lost in 41 years- that’s it’s getting kind of tiresome. It’s my good humor and positive attitude, the judges can’t resist my charm.
Not to mention your humility 🙂
indeed. There is no one in the entire known universe more humble or more effacing than me.
no need to shield your eyes from this halo above my head. the light may be blinding, but I assure you, it is benevolent.
And on that note, off to raise the dead and heal the sick. Happy New Year!
You’re not the center of the universe. I know this because I just looked around me, and your not there.
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PRESIDENT BARACK H. OBAMA
I think you are right. He has done a stellar job and has had the Rs and MSM against him. And the far left.