Putin as 'Time' POY: The Reactions

Some reactions from around the web to Time's selection of Russian president Vladimir Putin as the Person of the Year:

-Gary Kasparov, the chess champion who has emerged as Putin's leading domestic critic, is unhappy with Time's sympathetic (in his view) treatment of Putin:

In 1938 there was no doubt that Hitler was a force for evil and TIME made that very clear. But with Putin they perpetuate elements of Kremlin propaganda into the story and often present Putin's mythology uncritically....
I understand that this award is not intended to be a beauty contest. But for all of Putin's attacks on the West, this will be promoted widely within Russia and around the world as a victory and an endorsement by the West of Putin's policies and practices of dictatorship. It's an early Christmas present to the Kremlin when what they really deserved was a lump of coal.

-CNBC thinks "the American homeowner" should have been POY. But only 14 percent of its viewers agree.

-The Huffington Post's Rachel Sklar thinks Time only picked Putin to avoid the too-obvious choice of Al Gore and the environment.

-Also at Huffpo my favorite reaction, which is actually a pre-action. Russell Shaw headlined his post "Gore Will Be TIME's POY: No Doubt In My Mind."

"Given former U.S. Vice-President Al Gore's massive passion and visibility advocating environmental causes, it is virtually impossible to see anyone else getting the nod," Shaw declared, before hedging, "The only other possible choice might be Barack Obama."

Oh-for-two, pal!

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