Person of the Year (Person Of The Year)
For sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his ten-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years, George W. Bush is TIME's 2004 Person of the Year

Don't Call It A Dynasty (Person Of The Year)
But that's what the Bush family is. So just how has America's most enduring political family endured, and who's next in line?

Paths of Power
The President comes from a long line ofachievers, from financiers to judges topoliticians. Today the bonds of familyform a nationwide network of influence

They're Talking About ... Our Kid
George and Barbara Bush on the highs and lows of having a son in the White House

The Rove Warrior (Person Of The Year / The Strategist)
No adviser has ever dominated the White House like Karl Rove. So what does the President see in him, and what's he planning to do next?

Paying Homage (Photo Essay)
After his recent annual physical at Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center, the President visited injured troops. TIME photographer CHRISTOPHER MORRIS was there

Grading the President (Person Of The Year)
A 21st century visionary? A failed adventurer abroad? Six scholars suggest how history will judge George W. Bush's first term in office--and compare him with his predecessors

The Benetton-Ad Presidency (In The Arena)


Worst Ideas Of 2004
Sure, they seemed like the right thing to do in the moment--like that fourth drink on New Year's Eve. But now it's clear: these are some of the year's most dubious judgment calls

One Last Goodbye (Milestones)


Homeland Security 101
Universities offer courses on the changing nature of global security

A Season Cursed
From baseball's 'roid rage to hockey's non-season, a year of sports disappointments

The Year In Buzzwords
Backdoor drafts, security moms and up-armoring

Bin Laden's New Message
The al-Qaeda organizer takes a new line of attack in his latest video

Why He Popped The Question
TIME interviews the National Guard specialist who asked Donald Rumsfeld the now-infamous question about armor

Numbers

Milestones (Milestones)

Marketing 2004 Hot Spots
Looking back on a year of advertising innovation

Verbatim 2004

47 Years Ago In Time (Milestones)

People Who Mattered 2004
Two truth seekers, a First Lady and her son, Presidents (and wannabes), a marrying mayor and five housewives--all are part of our gallery of those who made a difference. Oh, and just for fun, a horse

Blogs Have Their Day (The Bloggers)
How three amateur journalists dethroned an icon and turned the mainstream media upside down, all without quitting their day jobs

10 Things We Learned About Blogs
Radio had its golden age in the 1930s. In the 1950s, it was television's turn. Historians may well date the golden age of the blog from 2004—when Merriam-Webster.com's most searched-for definition was blog. How long can it last? Who knows? Here's what we discovered about the new medium this year

Face Of Terror
How Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi transformed the Iraq insurgency into a holy war and became America's newest nightmare

Box Office Shepherds
Mel Gibson and Michael Moore made very different movies with the same message: The truth shall make you free

An American Revolutionary (From The Editor)
A note about TIME's selection of the 2004 Person of the Year


Kissing The Sky (Architecture)
It used to be that the only way to build a skyscraper was up. But now the tall building is being totally reimagined and taken in some very unusual directions. Look out below

Going Up ... and Up: When Height Is All That Matters (Architecture)
The quest for the tallest building

O Come, All Ye Fight-ful (Movies)
While audiences go on heist adventurs with Nicolas Cage (in National Treasure) and George Clooney (in Ocean's Twelve), the critics' groups, as usual, are celebrating the holidays with awards for a lot


The Year of Obesity (Health)
Our perennial interest in losing weight became a national obsession in 2004

Happy New Gear! (Lifestyle)
A forecast of the hot trends, gizmos and DVDs of early 2005


Read the story


Year of the Insurgents
The year 2004 was defined by rebellion all around