Person of the Year: "For sharpening the debate until the choices bled, for reframing reality to match his design, for gambling his fortunes -- and ours -- on his faith in the power of leadership, George W. Bush is TIME's 2004 Person of the Year."
From the article: An ordinary politician tells swing voters what they want to hear; Bush invited them to vote for him because he refused to. Ordinary politicians need to be liked; Bush finds the hostility of his critics reassuring. Challengers run as outsiders, promising change; it's an extraordinary politician who tries this while holding the title Leader of the Free World. Ordinary Presidents have made mistakes and then sought to redeem themselves by admitting them; when Bush was told by some fellow Republicans that his fate depended on confessing his errors, he blew them off.
For candidates, getting elected is the test that counts. Ronald Reagan did it by keeping things vague: It's Morning in America. Bill Clinton did it by keeping things small, running in peaceful times on school uniforms and V chips. Bush ran big and bold and specific all at the same time, rivaling Reagan in breadth of vision and Clinton in tactical ingenuity. He surpassed both men in winning bigger majorities in Congress and the statehouses. And he did it all while conducting an increasingly unpopular war, with an economy on tiptoes and a public conflicted about many issues but most of all about him.
Via: EPIC News
Posted by Vanderleun at December 19, 2004 7:30 AM | TrackBackThat's pretty fair and even complimentary for Time Magazine.
Just when the kerry voters were starting to get over the election, this will stir them back up again.
Posted by: Yehudit at December 19, 2004 8:10 AMHow did you manage to tap into the future? (grin) I was loving the excerpt when I noticed the December 27th dateline.
Still, the reasoning is spot-on. I'm just not sure Time Magazine has any writer with the vision to set it down in black-and-white.
Posted by: DrPat at December 19, 2004 1:30 PM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.