TIME response to POY email

[luaneryder]

Dear Reader:

We regret your disappointment over the selection of President Bush as TIME's Person of the Year. But perhaps we should remind you of the traditional standard by which the editors make their annual choice. The Person of the Year is not an award or a tribute. The question at the center of the selection process is, Who or what, for better or worse, has affected the way we live today? The answer to that question could be a positive force (for example, Winston Churchill, Man of the Year, 1940; Dwight Eisenhower, 1944) or a negative force (Adolf Hitler, Man of the Year, 1939; Ayatullah Khomeini, 1979). As for our selection of President George W. Bush for 2004 -- there is no one else whose agenda and actions in the past year had such universal impact. As managing editor Jim Kelly noted in his Letter From the Editor, Bush has had his highs and lows over the past four years, but in the end he prevailed in the 2004 election by "persuading a majority of voters this time around that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years."

Thank you for writing. We appreciated having the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

Best wishes.

TIME Letters

[ccarter84]

1. Wow, that 'mandate' just keeps biting us in the ass

[xultar]

2. This one is different than the one they first sent out calling * Evil

I think it was. They were wright the first time. I wonder why they changed? :shrug:

[tjdee]

3. Osama Bin Laden, 2001? Bunch of punk asses over there.

It's not an award or tribute, right on.

But in the end he "prevailed"...that's funny too.

I hate Time mag.

[neebob]

4. If only they hadn't said, "for persuading a majority of voters ...."

I don't think he did that, even if he didn't cheat like a mofo.

[zann725]

5. You'll feel better when you check out "People That Matter-2004" section

of same issue. (pic of John Kerry there you'll love) So he didn't make the cover, big deal. He's our "people that matter"...and THAT'S what really matters! Check it out.