Time Desperately Tries to Make You Give a Shit About Unaccomplished Copyeditors Picking Their Favorite Person of the Year

Embarrassing, as usual. Link to Althouse.

Here are the names picked by a dozen editors you couldn't pick out of a lineup:

Bashar Assad, President of Syria
Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder
Ted Cruz, Texas Senator
Miley Cyrus, Singer
Pope Francis, Leader of the Catholic Church
Barack Obama, President of the United States
Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran
Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Edward Snowden, N.S.A. Leaker
Edith Windsor, Gay rights activist

Ted Cruz is obviously there for Time's readers to hate at. Several names, such as Obama and Sebelius, and for that matter Miley Cyrus, I assume are either jokes, or Time's desperate efforts to attract differing cultish demographics -- tweener pop music fans, the declining ranks of the Obamanaut Zealots.

They will pick Pope Francis. This is for several reasons. First, and most importantly, it will sell magazines. The Pope is the head of a large church; I can't think of anyone else on earth who is popular and who heads such a large organization, so intimately important in the everyday lives of people.

Picking Pope Francis also allows Time to claim Serious You Guys We're Not Anti-Religion n Stuff.

Of course the reason they would entertain picking Pope Francis (and not Pope Benedict) is that they are anti-religious. I don't mean Pope Francis isn't religious. I mean Time's interest in Pope Francis is entirely political -- they seem him as an ally in their unending political fight with the Right.

Not saying he is that -- I'm saying how that's how the left perceives him. A Polite Company Pontiff, so to speak.

You want proof of that? Time today had to correct a caption it ran with picture of Pope Francis. The caption specified that he was popular because he rejected the teachings of the Church.

No, seriously. Here was Time's first attempt to summarize the importance of Pope Francis:

First Jesuit Pontiff won hearts and headlines with his common touch and rejection of church dogma and luxury.

Yes, the head of the Catholic Church is known for rejecting the teachings of the Catholic Church.

Serious You Guys, the Pope said we need free birth control n stuff.

The Left is repulsively political. On the podcast, I criticized Frank Rich and Jonathan Chait for praising 12 Years a Slave not primarily on artistic merit, but for what they believed to be the film's true importance, its usefulness in swaying the political debate.

Similarly, Pope Francis is not admired for his efforts to bring the Catholic faith to the world.

Time views him only in terms of his potential impact on American politics -- you know, the "social issues" that bewitch them so, and socialistic wealth redistribution.

So that's why they'll pick Francis.

And I'll be over here, not giving a shit, as I don't give a shit every year a collection of mediocrities buy themselves some brief prominence by filling up some TV time during a slow news month.

posted by Ace at 08:36 PM

| Access Comments