Time Person of the Year 2009: Ben Bernanke

The final year of this decade has been turbulent and event-filled to say the least. In pondering who may receive the accolade for Person of the Year, Time magazine had numerous people to choose from. Barbra Walters believed the most fascinating person of the year was the President's wife. Clearly a noble choice. She is clearly a supportive, hard working woman focused on the needs of her family and the nation.

Despite recent events, Time saw fit to name Tiger Woods Man of the Year. Woods would clearly have made another interesting choice. He is perhaps one of the most fascinating sports figures of our time. Possibly the best in the world ever at what he does and on the verge of becoming the first sports billionaire in history, the bulk of that income coming from endorsement deals, he most certainly was under consideration.

Instead, the choice for Time's Person of The year honors went to Ben Bernanke. With the year being what it has been, the choice is definitely an interesting one. With several failed financial programs sketched early into the books of this fledgling administration, it is curious that the choice for Person of the Year would come from the neighborhood of economics or finance.

That being said, the man who sits in the chair for the Fed can not be easily ignored during these times. Bernanke graduated summa cum laude from Harvard and earned his Ph.D. from M.I.T. He has been published several times regarding countless economic issues and has been awarded both a Guggenheim and Sloan Fellowship. In 2002, he was appointed to the Board of Governors for the Fed. In 2005 he was named Chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.

On February 1st, 2006, Ben Bernanke took office as Chairman of the Fed. succeeding long standing chairman Allan Greenspan. Bernanke, seems to have taken a somewhat different course with his appointment. Having more of an academic background as opposed to one coming from Wall Street as did his predecessors, Bernanke has chosen to first target the complications of inflation. He has always believed a key aspect of fundamental economic stabilization would lie in the careful control of inflation. In conjunction with the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, he drafted the Emergency Economic stabilization act with its primary focus of rescuing the nation from the downturn caused by the sub prime mortgage crisis.

The true measure of Bernanke's contribution to the current administration is yet to be seen. A successful tenure with the Fed. could prove the difference between continued economic woes or an upswing that benefits the pocket books of the American people. It is perhaps still, too early to tell. The choice of Time to label Bernanke with Person of Year clearly exemplifies a forward looking desire for better times to come. It is an endorsement in the future of the business of the United States. It is quite simply... hope. Quite a label indeed.