Letters: Jan. 24, 2005

At first I was appalled by your choice for Person of the Year [Dec. 27--Jan. 3]. But then I remembered your criterion: the person who most affected the news and our lives, for good or for ill. I can't think of anyone in my lifetime who has affected more people's lives for ill than George W. Bush.

GLENN BOYLAN Alpharetta, Ga.

BUSH'S DETERMINATION AND STEADFAST personality are what makes this President special. There is no pretense or sophistication about him. He is authentic.

JUANA MOREAU Marrero, La.

PRESIDENT BUSH IS UNDOUBTEDLY THE newsmaker of the year. Is he, however, a "revolutionary"? In your article, the Bush who no longer needs to win an election came across as a pugnacious thug, his swaggering, loves-to-be-hated style more brash than visionary. TIME said he was a "punk at heart" and recalled his college days of wearing cowboy boots and a bomber jacket on campus during Vietnam War protests. Was he an outsider then, as you suggest, or was he then--and is he now--the ultimate insider, a protected son of wealth and power who has little fear of what frightens ordinary people? You quoted him as saying, "I've got all the power I need." Yes, God help us all, he does.

JAN HAMILTON POWELL Chattanooga, Tenn.

I WHOLEHEARTEDLY AGREE WITH TIME'S choice of Bush. Dubya's footprints have been large; it is a pity they have mostly been going backward. The President is no revolutionary but a reactionary pushing against the progressive tide. Americans feel poorer, less safe and less free than four years ago. Despite a narrow election victory in threatening times, he tells himself he has a mandate to shake things up. Look out, America. Look out, world!

JEFF BENNETZEN Bogart, Ga.

YOU CHOSE PRESIDENT BUSH FOR "STICKING to his guns." The problem is, he isn't the one manning those guns. It's the unfortunate troops in Iraq, many of them reservists and National Guard members, who are fighting and dying in Bush's ill-conceived war.

DAVID SHEFFIELD Los Angeles

BUSH IS A PROVEN LEADER AND A GOD-fearing man. He goes against the norm, and that ticks off everyone. I'm proud to have him as our President.

MIKE DAMPIER Hot Springs, Ark.

THE PRESIDENT HAS GIVEN BACK TO Americans something we have longed for and needed for a long time: hope for a moral and strong U.S.

NANCY JACKSON Blossom, Texas

BUSH HAS MADE SOME HARD CHOICES during his four years, some of the toughest a President has had to make. He sticks to his guns and does not retreat. Twenty or 30 years from now, he will be described as a man of vision and courage. He stands up for what he believes is right and does not ask the world for its opinion.

MARK KING Lyons, Neb.

I FIND YOUR SUBSTANTIATION FOR CHOOSING Bush as Person of the Year quite appalling. Although "sticking to his guns" and "reshaping the rules of politics" are both attributes of our President, they are precisely the traits that are taking our great democracy down a scary path. Your choice of Bush reinforces the notion that being a strong leader is more important than being a wise one.

HELEN WIANT Cupertino, Calif.

MANY OF THE GRAVEST ERRORS IN HUMAN history were made by leaders who stuck to their guns. We don't need guns. We need compassion and moral strength.