I have nothing special against Bernanke. I think he probably deserves credit for averting financial catastrophe.
But this is a pretty strong signal that elite media still worships the architects of our awesome financial system. Some things never change.
Given the possible choices they mention, I would have gone with Usain Bolt or Nancy Pelosi.
NobodySpecial
I go with Balloon Boy’s dad.
Comrade Jake
I’m just rather astonished it wasn’t Glenn Beck. It seems Time’s editors haven’t been following BOB’s posts at BJ.
DougJ
I’m just rather astonished it wasn’t Glen Beck.
I almost titled this “at least it wasn’t Glenn Beck”.
TEL
Slightly off-topic, but I couldn’t resist.
Lieberman, Star Wars, AND a reference to clown shoes:
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/12/watching-the-sausage-get-made-1.html
(I know a lot of you don’t like Sully, but I promise its worth it).
Hunter Gathers
Now if only he would do something about that pesky unemployment problem…….
bayville
I would have picked Tunch before this cretin.
Please, Bernancke did the BARE minimum of his job requirement last year… and he along with Paulson/Geithner/Greenspan, etc. have succeeded in fucking up the American economy forever… or until at least are grandkids are adults.
Notorious P.A.T.
We are screwed.
It generally isn’t taught in history classes, but the reason we called it The Great Depression instead of The Depression is because depressions used to be very common in America. Not “a rough economic patch” or “a slight downturn” but full-on, bread-line, tent city depressions, roughly one a decade. That is, until we put in institutional reforms and threw the bums out, and then went generations without one. Today our government doesn’t seem willing to do either.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recessions_in_the_United_States
Dork
Can we get a “clown shoes” tag for this post? Seems appropriate.
paradox
Jesus save us.
dmsilev
@TEL: Casting Lieberman as Darth Vader does him far too much credit. Jar Jar Binks, maybe. Whiny voice, capable of engendering vast amounts of annoyance and hatred, and a complete disaster as a legislator. Pretty close match, actually.
-dms
Col. Klink
Why so bashful? The American media is the obvious winner here.
When the tombstone of our republic is written in Cantonese for all to see, the media will have played a defining role of our downfall. Scientist ‘x’ what do you think of Sarah Palin’s critique of pure reason?
Yet, I for one welcome our Han overloads! I’d like to remind you that as a wee blogger, I can be helpful in rounding up others…
Michael D.
OT: Billboard on the way in to work…
“I miss hearing you say Merry Christmas”
—Jesus
Selfish bastard.
Scott
I’m just glad it wasn’t Super-Sarah, the Power Palin.
Comrade Jake
Even though I’m a big fan of Obama, I don’t think he deserved it this time, and this is just another slap in the face to Hillary Clinton. /Armando
max
I have nothing special against Bernanke. I think he probably deserves credit for averting financial catastrophe.
In the same sense that a drunk driver avoided a lane-crossing headon with a family of four in a SUV and instead piled into a tree.
Yay.
Have Time ever done anything but lie and engage in idiotic hagiography? When I was kid, they were always dripping big wet soppy tears over ‘liberals’ and nowadays they drip big soggy tears over ‘conservatives’ but in neither case do they ever seem to have a clue about anything except what all the media people are saying. Feh.
max
[‘Balanced, objective, honest reporting: not this lifetime.’]
robertdsc
If there were any justice in the world, Bernanke would be swinging from a noose instead of being feted like this.
Hunter Gathers
@Michael D.:
That’s not something you often hear from a Jewish guy…..
Cameron
Being named “Person of the Year” isn’t necessarily an honor. Keep in mind that both Hitler and Stalin were Person of the Year as well. It’s whoever had an impact good or bad.
SGEW
Krugman’s response is essential, of course.
Bernanke and the Cover Curse
[And I think that “The Chinese Worker” could have been a very interesting choice, simply as a way to raise peoples’ awareness of the importance of China’s neo-industrial revolution, and its vast implications for the global economy, international relations, and climate change (not to mention the fascinating stories of the emerging “factory class” in China). But only if the accompanying article was written by, say, James Fallows, and didn’t turn into a shapeless mass of xenophobia/philia and American-filtered platitudes (which, knowing Time, it would have, so never mind).]
Trinity
I just threw up a little in my mouth.
Comrade Jake
Love Krugman’s take.
Notorious P.A.T.
Why? He wasn’t born until April.
IndieTarheel
Clueless media is clueless. And toothless.
__
Also, their collective balls are in a nice Waterford vase on some oligarch’s desk.
August J. Pollak
I was sure it was going to be Palin. So I guess the soft bigotry of low expectations pays off.
The article is still a journalistic blowjob with glossy-style paper thus rendering it unusable to wipe one’s ass with, though.
SGEW
Good lord, I f’ed up th’ link, above.
Krugman’s take here.
Noonan
In Bernanke We Trust:
This is complete nonsense.
Comrade Jake
Does anyone actually read Time anymore? Isn’t it basically People, except the articles go for two pages instead of one?
rachel
@SGEW: OMG, Krugman’s right; being on the cover of Time is a definitive sign that you have peaked.
Brick Oven Bill
Let us again review the nature of the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is a private corporation, led by a group of ‘Governors’, consisting of seven members, each with a fourteen-year term. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913, in response to a banking ‘panic’ in 1907. You will note that there was no Great Depression following the panic of 1907.
Federal Reserve-1913 was a powerful thing, designed to smooth out the bumps. But its power was limited at the time as the currency was tied to gold, and it could not create vast amounts of wealth. The Federal Reserve was created by bankers, for bankers.
In 1974, as the bills for the ‘Great Society’ vision of the 1960s came due when these segments of society continued to not perform, President Nixon dropped the gold standard. This enabled the bankers to create wealth for themselves and the government out of thin air. The Power Structure was careful about it at the beginning, as immigration reform had only been achieved nine years earlier.
But now that the electorate has been sufficiently weakened through immigration and the public education system, the Federal Reserve has become more bold. They effectively and openly form a partnership with the government that creates wealth based on the good name of our predecessors. Part of this wealth goes to the private bankers, and part to the welfare state.
So we have witnessed the technology bubble, and then the housing bubble, and now this, the currency bubble. This is the Final Bubble of the First American Republic.
Federal Reserve Bank assets, 1996-2009. Check out New York! Glenn Beck will have to wait for his day on the cover until all of this plays out. Time Magazine is in on the whole game at this point.
bayville
Rick Stengel says meet The New Maestro:
You have to read the entire profile in order to believe it.
tomvox1
I would have gone with President McCain for all that he’s achieved this year, of course.
Bob In Pacifica
From where I stand in the mall, I’d say the Grinch should have won.
SGEW
[OT: Scott Horton finally got around to writing about Obama’s Nobel speech (and baits DougJ by name-dropping Max Weber and John Stuart Fucking Mill, so take that!). The best, specific, substantive criticism I’ve read about the speech; one that closely mirrors one of my initial, highly critical reactions (tho’ I first thought of the C.A.T.’s duty to investigate, but Geneva is a better, on-going example). Doubts about Obama’s commitment, indeed.]
tomvox1
So one gets to be Person of the Year by captaining the financial ship into an iceberg and then limping back to port for overhaul, methinks…
rachel
@bayville: I read one page and couldn’t believe the virtual knob-polishing I was seeing. Does it get believable after that?
gnomedad
@Michael D.:
If “Merry Christmas” was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.
SFAW
dms @10
Thanks for another post full of win, I really appreciate your consistency and stamina.
He was originally offered the spot, but then someone said to him “You know WHO ELSE was named Person (sic) of the Year? Hitl- um, uh, I mean, Obama!”, and he freaked.
Some people say it was late August.
amorphous
DISAGREE. The PotY is the person who was the most newsworthy (whatever the fuck that means) that year. Has nothing to do with long-term importance or even favorability. Godwin’s own fella won it back in ’38, and I’ve got an inkling it wasn’t for building nice roads.
SGEW
Fixed, and surprisingly poignant.
joe from Lowell
Oh fer chrissakes, do we have to have this conversation every year?
Time’s “Person of the Year” award goes to the BIGGEST NEWSMAKER, not to the best person, who’s done the most good.
That’s why Hitler and Stalin won it.
Every freaking year, somebody needs to have this explained. It gets old.
bayville
@rachel:
Short answer: NO
Tattoosydney
@Brick Oven Bill:
That was unusually coherent. Pills working?
rachel
@bayville: Screw that, then.
amorphous
@amorphous: @joe from Lowell: Mivehind.
chopper
@Notorious P.A.T.:
hell, just looking at the recessions this country has had, you can see that between 1800 and the big one we had a bit over 2 years between downturns on average. a little more than 2 years after a recession was over, a new one would start.
after world war two until today that average is closer to 5. doesn’t sound too great but its a big improvement, and remember that not all recessions are really harsh. the old ones tended to be far worse on average than the ones we’ve seen since the war.
Tattoosydney
Don’t make me go all OT over this thread as well.
We want Tunch photos. I’m beginning to suspect Tunch was injured in a naked shower cleaning incident sometime last week, and Cole has been covering with recycled pictures, and distracting us with this View from a Couch malarkey, because he knows what kind of thread would ensure when the first pictures of Tunch in a paw sling and cone of shame were posted.
DougJ
Time’s “Person of the Year” award goes to the BIGGEST NEWSMAKER
Then it probably should have gone to the Salahis, Glenn Beck, or Tiger Woods.
Legalize
I would have picked Mariano Rivera because he’s awesome.
Brick Oven Bill
I am just happy, as I sold my first vibrator during the performance of my duties at The Facility TattooSydney. A positive outlook makes everything more coherent. You don’t even need drugs, other than booze, and an occasional tobacco product.
Through this coherence, it is my opinion that the Federal Reserve should be audited. Doug Hoffman and the United States Marine Corps should be included in any such audit.
DougJ
Or how about “The American Philanderer” with Tiger Woods, Mark Sanford, John Ensign, and the mythical Don Draper sharing the cover?
Scott
“The Loud and the Dumb” featuring the Teabaggers.
John S.
Crap, I also happen to think the Fed should be audited, but that puts me in league with the crazies like BOB and Beck…
What’s a pragmatist to do?
Brian J
This sort of thing is frustrating because it contributes to the idea that the Fed Chairman is somehow better than human, a source that can be trusted no matter what outside voices say, and other things of that nature. I understand that being in such a powerful position comes with the expectation that people listen to you and give you, a lot of the time, the benefit of the doubt. But Bernanke, like Greenspan and others before him, is human. I’m obviously far from an economic expert, but others who are qualified to go toe to toe with him say he’s almost ignoring the dire employment situation. That’s indefensible, particularly when we still have lots of options that don’t require congress.
He’s done a pretty good job in averting catastrophe, but that doesn’t mean he’s beyond reproach. We already have a hard enough time fighting that idea back. This isn’t going to help.
dr. bloor
@Brick Oven Bill:
Congratulations! I’m sure Senator Lieberman will be very happy with his purchase. I assume he got the model with the elephant head and not the donkey head?
BruceFromOhio
@Brick Oven Bill:
Still can’t get the shower going, eh?
comrade scott's agenda of rage
We need more rescue stories. And not the financial kind.
That is all.
Paris
This is the Final Bubble of the First American Republic.
Woo Hoo! No more bubbles.
Tattoosydney
@Brick Oven Bill:
I have been off the air. Is this a new job, BoB? Did you sell it to a man or a woman? And if it was a woman, did she have shaved armpits?
I’m going to Amsterdam. I disagree.
I didn’t read this bit. I assume it is nonsensical. That’s part of your charm, BoB – mostly I don’t have to read what you type. I can just respond to what you probably said.
amorphous
@comrade scott’s agenda of rage:
Balloon Boy for PotY?
NobodySpecial
@amorphous:
I will accept your seconding of my nomination.
All opposed?
None opposed, get that clown off the cover and get me a shot of the balloon!
FlipYrWhig
@dmsilev:
He also looks kind of like the guy who co-pilots with Lando Calrissian. Who apparently is named Nien Nunb.
Tattoosydney
@Brick Oven Bill:
@Tattoosydney:
Dammit. I actually read what you wrote and I agree – with the first bit at least. Audit everyone, start with the Federal Reserve and move on to, say, the Republican National Committee.
I also propose (inspired by Iain Banks), the abolition of limited liability companies. Then if a partnership business goes boom owing lots of money, the partners owe that money to the partnership’s creditors. How about that?
Brick Oven Bill
The beauty of The Facility is that the person who bought the vibrator does not know me, and I do not know them. I would like to think that the person who bought the vibrator is a 24-year old hot female with shaved armpits.
But the reality is probably quite gamey.
There are close parallels between The Facility and the Federal Reserve.
Tattoosydney
@Brick Oven Bill:
You work in a vending machine?
Steeplejack
I get that the Time Person of the Year is supposed to be (in the editors’ opinion) the one who had the greatest impact for good or bad, but, damn, that illustration is weapons-grade socia1ist realism hagiography. I mean, c’mon–“dollar rays” emanating from Bernanke’s head?! The only thing missing is a subtitle saying something like “Der Alte” or “Dear Leader.”
amorphous
:|
Steeplejack
Damn it! I forgot and said “socia1ism” and got dropped down the chute to the moderation room.
I see they’ve repainted the walls. Looks nice.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
P.S. Using edit to go back and take out “socia1ism” does not get you out of moderation. Just so you know.
[drumming fingertips on arm of newly slipcovered chair in moderation room]
Tattoosydney
@Brick Oven Bill:
@amorphous:
Somewhere in BoB’s town, someone just had an overwhelming urge to throw his or her new vibrator into the trash.
Tattoosydney
@Steeplejack:
Yes. I had to resort to double posting in the wee hours the other night. If you have “too many” links, the system can sometimes also show your message horribly disfigured in bold with lots of % thrown in, but if you just refresh the page it usually comes right.
geg6
@robertdsc:
This.
Steeplejack
@Tattoosydney:
Gotta blow for work, so I’ll check back later. Basically, all I said was that the Time cover looks like some weird socia1ist-realism hagiographic poster. I mean, “dollar rays” shooting out of Bernanke’s head?! C’mon. Only thing missing is caption “Der Alte” or “Dear Leader.”
joe from Lowell
@ Doug J:
Runaway Bride!
lol
joe from Lowell
Awesome.
Even more awesome.
Did BOB just win a thread?
parksideq
I know you were (possibly) being snarky DougJ, but as a Jamaican I would have picked Usain Bolt over Bernanke too.
/culturalbias
stinkwrinkle
@Tattoosydney: I just really, really like the phrase “cone of shame”.
That is all, carry on, as you were.
Sentient Puddle
Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the Federal Reserve chairman a first among equals position?
Ella in NM
@Brick Oven Bill:
Ok, up to this, it was coherent:
But now that the electorate has been sufficiently weakened through immigration and the public education system, the Federal Reserve has become more bold.
Then that Tourette’s outburst took it down the road to meaninglessness.
Also, too, it’s pretty obvious that the other BOB posts about vibrators and indicting Marines are clearly written by an imposter. Naughty, naughty!
Tattoosydney
@stinkwrinkle:
Stolen shamelessly from “Up“.
(Warning – that link goes to the blog which goes by the name of “The Lawman Chronicles – Heralding the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” The things you find when googling. )
The Republic of Stupidity
amorphous
I can’t believe no one’s put ‘Double Wetsuit Guy w/ Black Dildo Anus’ for Person of the Year…
And how about Tiger Woods… for being such a high profile celebrity and STILL managing to keep so many mistresses undercover for as long as he did? According to Doonesbury, they’re even organizing at this point… I foresee, at the very least, a lucrative talk show deal coming out of this for those women…
Pangloss
I would have gone with Carrie Prejean.
Sloegin
They love him because he saved their precious little stock market. He saved their ponzi schemes, tranches, credit swaps, lack of real regulations, and is trying to re-inflate the real estate bubble. They love a high unemployment rate (it means they can get a cheap, great workforce living in their rental properties that won’t go all uppity on them.)
They loved them some Greenspan before that. Hail to the high priest of money.
Butch
I keep thinking it should be Charles Dance, but you have to have been a fan of Ab Fab to get the joke….
Comrade Dread
Lovely. F*** it all, I’m going back to bed.
Butch
And by the way, Tigger Woods has been named AP’s “athlete of the decade.” OK, so I’ve never been much on golf but – yiiii.
Brett
I suppose that’s true, but there’s no question that Bernanke was a juggernaut of economic and political force in both the United States and world in general over the past 2 years. That makes him as good a candidate as any, and certainly better than many of Time‘s fluff choices in recent years.
Mike G
Time flushed their credibility when they picked 9udy Gui11ani as POTY in 2001. They went for the feel-good choice instead of the actual newsmaker.
And God forbid they take an international perspective fr once in a supposedly international news magazine. This just confirms that they have their heads firmly up the ass of the incestuous, self-regarding NY-DC power axis.
CalD
Pelosi is a woman. Girls can’t be
ManPerson of the Year. Looks like the only women ever to sneak into that club were Queen Elizabeth II and Corazon Aquino. They did give it to “American Women” collectively in 1975 though. Maybe they figured that was enough.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Person_of_the_Year
sparky
@SGEW: thanks for the linky. i am less inclined to Horton’s charitable interpretation of what Obama is up to, as i find that Obama’s ability to draw pretty word pictures (yes, some of which i fell for last year) is obscuring more and more evildoing. strong language? no. if it was evil under Bush–and it was–it is no less evil under Obama. period.
Sly
The “elite media” worships anyone they think knows more about a particular issue than they do, so as to provide a source of information for news stories and saving them the arduous task of actually learning anything new. They’re journalism majors, for fucks sake. You might as well get a degree in Playstation.
As for Bernanke, I tend to cut him a whole lot of slack based purely on what he inherited from Greenspan (a near-zero interest rate economy) and the stupid insistence within the Bush Administration that monetary policy can fix everything. Bernanke was basically given a wooden sword and a plastic shield and told to go out and fight the armies of Mordor, so I at least give him credit for not failing miserably.
Paulson, however, could be sucking cocks in Hell for all I care.
DougJ
I know you were (possibly) being snarky DougJ, but as a Jamaican I would have picked Usain Bolt over Bernanke too.
I wasn’t being snarky.
geemoney
I read the first 30 comments, but didn’t see this, so here goes: Usain Bolt is black, and Nancy Pelosi has lady parts. They never really had a chance.