Rummy declined honor as ‘Person of the Year’ - The Time cover that didn’t appear

The Hill (Open Secrets) ^ | 01-07-04

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The Time cover that didn’t appear

It isn’t often that someone turns down an offer to be Time magazine’s “Person of the Year,” especially when that someone is as important as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

But that’s what Rumsfeld did when he learned that Time was planning to honor him in its year-end issue last month.

Rumsfeld told guests at a holiday party that in this year of conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. military deserved the honor more than he did, which is why Army Sgts. Marquette Whiteside and Ronald Buxton and Spc. Billie Grimes turned up on Time’s Dec. 29 cover.

Time Managing Editor James Kelly appears to confirm Rumseld’s self-effacing act, if only obliquely, in an editor’s note recounting that when he and several other editors “met with Rumsfeld at the Pentagon in November to talk about the war, [the Defense Secretary] made the pitch, unsolicited by us, that the Person of the Year should be the American soldier. (Or as he put it, the American volunteer.)”

Kelly also noted that Washington bureau chief Michael Duffy and senior correspondent Mark Thompson were working on a profile of Rumsfeld in preparation for the issue, but set it aside to help two fellow Time journalists who were injured in Iraq. (The profile appeared in the Person of the Year issue.)

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Time Managing Editor James Kelly appears to confirm Rumseld’s self-effacing act, if only obliquely, in an editor’s note recounting that when he and several other editors “met with Rumsfeld at the Pentagon in November to talk about the war, [the Defense Secretary] made the pitch, unsolicited by us, that the Person of the Year should be the American soldier.

This is why Rummy is my favorite of all in the Bush cabinet.

[OXENinFLA]

WTG RUMMY!!

[Semper Paratus]

A person who is not in it for the money or glory, hate to lose him.

[veronica]

FYI.

[NotQuiteCricket]

One of these days, I'd like to be able to just sit down and chat with him. There are a lot of people like that, but I think that he tops the list.

[11th Earl of Mar]

How Clintonesque! [choke, choke]

Great job Rummy!

[Quilla]

Did I miss something, are we losing him?

[Constitution Day]

Truly a class act. Way to go, Mr. Rumsfeld.

[agrace]

Classy.

[Sam's Army]

Sarcasm on:

Yeah, but he's just an evil Neo-con and only did this to cover the fact that he's a Mossad puppet.

Sarcasm off.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Rummy ping

[dben]

Classy move.

[bob_esb]

Can you imagine any Democrat doing this? There must be a few - but i can't think of any.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Rummy's wife must be one of the luckiest women in the world... she married such an honorable man.

[veronica]

Yeah, but he's just an evil Neo-con and only did this to cover the fact that he's a Mossad puppet.

Oops, I forgot about that. ;)

[Coop]

Gotta love Rummy!

[BenLurkin]

Oops!. I've been vituperating against Time for its cowardice in not placing 'W' on the cover. Rummy would have been appropriate, too but he turned them down.

[chilepepper]

Imagine the inverse:

Scene: the Oval office after Mogadishi. President Clinton is walking out from the Cloakroom, zipping up his pants. A fat, ugly intern is wiping something from her face. An aide comes in trying not to look at the intern.

Mr. President, the Time Magazine editors are here

Send them in...

President Clinton, Time has decided to honor the American soldier on the cover of Time magazine this year as "Person of the Year" and we wanted your comments...

Well, as Commander in Chief of the American soldier I accept the honor and will wear my best uniform when I appear on the cover...

[Semper Paratus]

Did I miss something, are we losing him?

There's been rumors of him departing after the election.