Man of the Decade: 2000-2009

Here are the candidates for Person of the Decade:

The American Soldier: Without a draft, the volunteer force had to sacrifice more than anyone during the last decade. It's been a long time since so few have had to sacrifice for so many.

Bono: Not only did U2 return to prominence, but Bono began a crusade for third world debt relief. His efforts culminated in the Live Eight Concerts in 2005.

George W Bush: Bush led the country threw a very decisive and troubled epoch. His accomplishments include liberating Iraq, Afghanistan, and leading the country through 911. His failings include forgetting Afghanistan, not corrected the excesses of the prior decade which led to the economic collapse, and the appearance of federal incompetence in the aftermath of Katrina.

Simon Cowell: No one exemplifies the collapse of the music industry than Cowell. American Idol helped change music by creating stars out of karaoke singers.

Creators of Facebook, Google, etc: Technology took off this last decade. Lord only knows what is coming next.

The Curse Breakers: The Red Sox, the White Sox, the Angels, and others broke long droughts to win championships.

Rudy Giuliani: Rudy was the hero of 911. He ran for president, but his heart did not seem to be in it.

The Iraqi Information Minister during the early days of the Gulf War: Before Robert Gibbs, there was the Iraqi Information Minister. As American tanks entered Baghdad, he claimed Iraq was winning the war. After the war, he apparently retired and became the inspiration for current White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

Derek Jeter: In a decade of athletes behaving badly, Jeter was a beacon of light. He is the modern Joe Dimaggio. Oh yeah, he is also Captain of the New York Yankees and won two of his five world titles in the aughts.

Steve Jobs: I-Phones, I-Pods, etc etc.

Barack Obama: Obama became the first black American President and gave a nice speech at the 2004 DNC.

Vladimir Putin: Putin returned stability to Russia and is in the process of making them into a world power once more. The international geopolitical situation is now in a state of flux. Putin is largely to blame.

The Winner: The American Soldier