Time Person of the Year prediction thread

Discussion in 'Politics & Current Events' started by That Phat Hat, Nov 7, 2012.

  1. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Here are my not-that-thought-out predictions. Post your own or shred mine to pieces.

    1. The Working Mother

    I'm thinking this has to be the favorite. For one thing, Obama couldn't have won Tuesday without the support from college educated women. The "binders full of women" went viral in a way that no man could have predicted (and less meme-y, but no less viral, was Romney's promise to help women work a full workday AND cook for their husbands). The "having it all" debate was all the rage, and there's an entire corner of the internet that's invisible to most men that discusses work-life balance issues for women. The only thing that would keep me from putting money on this is their "Mom enough" cover with the breastfeeding 3-year-old, which may seem redundant.

    2. Marissa Meyer

    Not the second favorite, but I'm putting her here because she's an offshoot of #1, a mom/CEO. Then again, it's only Yahoo!

    3. Tim Cook

    Staying in the tech sector, how he guided Apple through Year 1 After Steve got a lot of attention. The product releases weren't as sexy, but he's still heading the biggest company in the universe, posting record profits. But then, Zuckerberg got the cover in 2010, so they may shy away from another geek.

    4. The Gay Couple

    Clean sweep in November with a blemish in May in North Carolina. Plus, 'Modern Family'.

    5. Chris Christie, Mike Bloomberg and Andrew Cuomo and/or Hurricane Sandy first responders

    The darkhorse and sentimental choice, which Time likes.

    6. Barack Obama

    I don't know, he was probably the most newsworthy person this year. And the last. And the year before that. And so on.

    7. The American Voter

    Pretty good turnout, right?
     
  2. JohnR

    JohnR Member+

    Jun 23, 2000
    Chicago, IL
    Nate Silver? Silicon Valley hits the media, data wonk in, gossip pundit out.

    The Gay Couple is a pretty good bet, I think.
     
    tomwilhelm repped this.
  3. Umar

    Umar Member+

    Sep 13, 2005
    One step ahead
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Nat'l Team:
    Palestine
    Soon they will award it to "The People Of The Year", all those people who won it in past years and helped to make Time Person Of The Year what it is. Man, that award has fallen to the point where it is now worthless. I won it once and didn't even care.
     
  4. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    That would've been my #8. Something about the mainstreaming of geeks and democratization of advanced stats. And what you said.
     
  5. Dr. Wankler

    Dr. Wankler Member+

    May 2, 2001
    The Electric City
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Well, if it's singular, the person of the year would be "The Time Magazine Subscriber."
     
    yossarian and bigredfutbol repped this.
  6. NMMatt

    NMMatt Member+

    Apr 5, 2006
    You mean last year?
     
  7. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    I think he means this:
    [​IMG]
     
    Umar repped this.
  8. NMMatt

    NMMatt Member+

    Apr 5, 2006
    Means he won it twice.
     
    Umar repped this.
  9. Macsen

    Macsen Moderator
    Staff Member

    Nov 5, 2007
    Orlando
    Club:
    Orlando City SC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What's not being said much is that about 11 million fewer people voted in 2012 than 2008. Obama won with 9 million fewer votes than 2008, and Romney got 1.5 million fewer votes than McCain. That relative apathy I think makes this possibility kinda silly.

    I say Chris Christie. He has been a strong undernote to the story of America this year, especially now with Sandy, but even before then, constantly being connected to the election.
     
  10. yossarian

    yossarian Moderator
    Staff Member

    Jun 16, 1999
    Big City Blinking
    Club:
    Arsenal FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  11. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    Mario Monti

    There is nobody else that can make the whole Western World stop and listen when he opens his mouth
     
  12. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    I stand corrected. Though I don't think its insignificant that (attempts at) voter ID laws and the Citizens United decision seemed to have the opposite of the intended effect.
     
  13. schrutebuck

    schrutebuck Member+

    Jul 26, 2007
    Overall turnout will be less than 2008 but not that much less. Washington and Oregon are still counting ballots since voters vote by mail. Arizona still has 500,000 provisional and early votes to count. California is way below their 2008 voting numbers, so I think they also have more to count.

    A quick search of Google for pages dated 2 days after the election 4 years ago tells me the count was only 64.6 million to 56.9 million on that day. As you saw, the final was 69.5-59.9.
     
  14. JohnR

    JohnR Member+

    Jun 23, 2000
    Chicago, IL
    If you believe CNN, there are a ton of votes left to come. 31% more in California, 45% in Washington, 10% in Ohio, 10% in Colorado, 7% in Illinois, etc.
     
  15. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Also, youth voter and battleground state voter turnouts were as high, if not higher than 2008. So yeah, I'm happy to make a case for The New Voting Bloc or some sort of voter-themed PotY.
     
  16. NMMatt

    NMMatt Member+

    Apr 5, 2006
    Good point. I remember in 2008 there was a lot of talk about how voter turnout was surprisingly less then expected in the days after the election. The final numbers, which didn't come in fully for weeks, showed that it was as high as expected.
     
  17. Kobranzilla

    Kobranzilla Member

    Sep 6, 2001
    NY F'in City
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My Bets are:

    - Mother Nature (what with the storm and everything)
    - Messi (as if I need to explain this)
    - Michelle Obama & Moms (awesome your mama jokes)
     
  18. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Anthropomorphized Inanimate Concept of the Year?
    Messi wouldn't surprise me, as a future PotY, but picking him in a year without a team title might be a hard sell to the US audience.

    Last one is a good choice.
     
  19. puttputtfc

    puttputtfc Member+

    Sep 7, 1999
    I go with Hispanic Voter.

    But I still Hail Grimes!
     
  20. soccernutter

    soccernutter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    Aug 22, 2001
    Near the mountains.
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed.

    Or the other side, the Evangelical and how they lost the election.
     
  21. soccernutter

    soccernutter Moderator
    Staff Member

    Tottenham Hotspur
    Aug 22, 2001
    Near the mountains.
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And in a year with an election. Not gonna happen this year.
     
  22. HerthaBerwyn

    HerthaBerwyn Member+

    May 24, 2003
    Chicago
    Malala Yousufzai
     
  23. That Phat Hat

    That Phat Hat Member+

    Nov 14, 2002
    Just Barely Outside the Beltway
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Japan
    Another one:
    The Geek or The Nerd.

    I know Zuck got the cover a couple of years ago, but sort of the brainy people taking over might be a story. Obvious one is Nate Silver but Sam Wang got attention for his poll analysis too, and then there's Louis C.K. and Questlove, who both had decent sized years in entertainment, and anti-bullying is a thing. It's broad, but they like to cast a wide net sometimes.

    Also, Olympic-themed:
    Usain Bolt
    LeBron James
    Mo Farrah/Jessica Ennis
    Danny Boyle
     
  24. Kobranzilla

    Kobranzilla Member

    Sep 6, 2001
    NY F'in City
    Club:
    FC Barcelona
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I like the Geek/nerd angle ... Math > Gut, Science > Myth
     
  25. Q*bert Jones III

    Q*bert Jones III The People's Poet

    Feb 12, 2005
    Woodstock, NY
    Club:
    DC United
    They still make Time?
     

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