Time magazine's "Person of the Year"

Time names a "Person of the Year" award each year, and this year it is German Chancellor Angela Merkel.  She was cited for her leadership and management of Europe's response to the Greek economic crisis.   

The choice is made by Time's editors, based on the person they judge to have had the most impact that year on the news and on our lives;  that effect can be either for good or for ill.   Since the award's inception in 1927, the majority of the picks have been "for good" (Einstein, Ghandi, FDR, Churchill);  but there have been notable examples of "for ill" (Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin).

Here's the interesting part this year.   Merkel is a good choice and is generally thought to have been a positive force in the world, even though some disagreed about her pushing austerity on Greece.    But the runners-up?

The #2 spot went to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State;  and #3 spot went to Donald Trump, who has dominated the news like no other individual in recent memory.   Others on the short list were:   Black Lives Matter activists, Caitlyn Jenner, Vladimir Putin, and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who helped bring the Iranians to accept the nuclear agreement.

Ralph