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Why Time passed Obama by
Globe and Mail ^ | January 2, 2010 | Rex Murphy

Posted on 01/02/2010 12:00:16 PM PST by Presbyterian Reporter

Time magazine picked Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, as its Person of the Year. He gets the accolade for presiding over a "weak economy" that could have been "much, much weaker." Pretty feeble. I can't imagine someone being named Athlete of the Year because while he "lost a few games" he could have lost "many, many more."

It's a puzzling choice, even for a magazine that has previously hailed "you" as its Person of the Year. (No offence - I think "you" are pretty good, just not prince of the planet.) Some of the runners-up were pretty odd too: The Chinese Worker and Nancy Pelosi.

I suspect Time knew just as well as everybody else that the real person of the year, whether you worshipped him or were a critic, was - how could it be anyone else? - Barack Obama. Was not Barack Obama sworn in as President in 2009? Was he not - the descriptors are now bonded to his name - "the first black man to occupy the White House?" Was this not a "historic milestone?" Did he not, almost immediately, also win the Nobel Peace Prize? Was he not the predominant politico-celebrity figure of the entire world this year?

What was Time waiting for before it would name him as person of the year? Did he have to win Wimbledon with one hand tied behind his back while simultaneously directing repairs to the Large Hadron Collider?

I think Time went to the relatively faceless functionary Bernanke mainly not to name Barack Obama. Time, like a lot of its fellows in the wild world of the contemporary U.S. media, is in an awkward place with regards to Mr. Obama. Having devoted so much incense to

(Excerpt) Read more at theglobeandmail.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 2009review; bernanke; bho44; manoftheyear; obama; timemag
"""It's an uncomfortable pivot from the audacity of hope to buyer's remorse. Very uncomfortable for those in the media who played the cheerleader for Mr. Obama, who skated by controversies that would have sunk other candidates or abandoned the ruthless investigations they would have pressed on less congenial candidates."""

and

"""Almost a full year into his presidency, Mr. Obama is at a dangerous point. His ability to inspire has all but departed. """"

1 posted on 01/02/2010 12:00:19 PM PST by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

Liberals whose eyelids are not tightly sewn shut are beginning to have “buyer’s remorse” over the empty suit they put into the WH.


2 posted on 01/02/2010 12:05:39 PM PST by Enchante (Do we really send captured TERRORISTS off to Saudi-land and Yemen so they can be "REHABILITATED"?)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

Democrats = Party of Islam


3 posted on 01/02/2010 12:05:39 PM PST by Frantzie (TV - sending Americans towards islamic serfdom - Cancel TV service NOW)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

“His eloquence is fading, more people now find it more a trick of rhythm and cadence - a mannerism - rather than felt thought in memorable language.”

Nailed it!!


4 posted on 01/02/2010 12:15:01 PM PST by USFRIENDINVICTORIA
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

he’s going down. People just aren’t interested to hear what he has to say anymore. He’s like yesterday’s pop star.


5 posted on 01/02/2010 12:19:11 PM PST by mamelukesabre (Veni, Vidi, Vicki: "I came, I saw, and I'm like, Omigod!")
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
Rex Murphy is one of Canada's acerbic, yet fair commentators. In this he is a rare species. They do exist however. Often wondered why he is allowed free reign. A telling sentence that I picked out was to the effect that as said, "controversies that would have sunk other candidates....."

He hits hard on the absolutely disgusting and unethical so-called journalism that reviewed Sarah Palin. In his opinion, the very guilt that the press felt about their failure to investigate Barack Obama, caused them to compensate by dumping on Sarah Palin. In short, they HAD to prove their journalistic reputations (Journalism 101) by taking someone apart.

I await the first full press conference with the press and the President. Will the hard questions, the sarcastic tinge on the voice, the quick interuptions before the question is answered, take place? For this is how they treated President Bush, pushing the envelope and showing almost an icy distain, well held back. Obviously trying to make their own points.

We will see.

6 posted on 01/02/2010 12:31:26 PM PST by Peter Libra
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To: mamelukesabre
He’s like yesterday’s pop star.

Third Milli Vanilli - with the lipsincing to the someone else's recoding getting all too obvious.
7 posted on 01/02/2010 12:37:21 PM PST by alecqss
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To: alecqss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZarmRLa2p9Q


8 posted on 01/02/2010 12:41:18 PM PST by mamelukesabre (Veni, Vidi, Vicki: "I came, I saw, and I'm like, Omigod!")
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

Reminding me of Couric’s response when told Time’s person of the year was ‘you’. She thought it meant her!

Talk about arrogance born of ignorance.


9 posted on 01/02/2010 12:55:35 PM PST by Carley (OBAMA IS A MALEVOLENT FORCE IN THE WORLD)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

Penn Jilette had it right when he said that with Zero winning the Peace Prize and Bernanke getting the person of the year, it’s Paris Hilton’s year to get the Oscar.


10 posted on 01/02/2010 1:42:48 PM PST by Moonmad27
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To: mamelukesabre
Change that ridiculous tagline before I choke to death laughing!

Great one. Thanks, I needed that.

;-/

11 posted on 01/02/2010 1:43:33 PM PST by Gargantua (Appropriate that the re-birth of our great nation be delivered by a woman.)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter
The great "cool" of Mr. Obama - essentially all those qualities that marked him as the non-George Bush, the anti-George Bush - is wearing a little thin now that Mr. Bush is really no longer a figure in play.

The complete absence of W from the public consciousness, while unmercifully damaging to him and his party while he was President, now serve as a vacuum in which O Bama obviously sucks.

12 posted on 01/02/2010 3:04:34 PM PST by Jeff Chandler (:: The government will do for health care what it did for real estate. ::)
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To: Presbyterian Reporter

I’m proud to have seen Obama as a vapid poser, when seeing him as a vapid poser wasn’t cool. How is David Brooks smarter than me again?


13 posted on 01/02/2010 7:38:37 PM PST by Minn (Here is a realistic picture of the prophet: ----> ([: {()
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