Person of the Year

Elie Wiesel Nobel Peace Prize--winning author and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston University

Barack Obama represents a profound moral breakthrough in history as well as in human attitudes in America. He is proof that what seemed almost unthinkable yesterday is now possible. Visiting the South in the mid-'50s, I confronted racism not only in the streets but also in the courts. The law itself was racist, ugly, inhuman. I felt shame. Now, 50 years later, America is proud.

Mia Farrow Actress, humanitarian and UNICEF goodwill ambassador

I am a white single mother of a 16-year-old African-American son. I have always told him he could be anything he could dream of, and I hoped with all my heart that it was so. I nominate the American people for electing the best presidential candidate, for choosing hope over fear, and for proving to my son that a world of opportunity and possibilities is fully open to him.

Bob Costas Emmy Award--winning sportscaster who anchored NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics

In the year of Barack Obama, who is the indisputable Person of the Year, this is one competition where Michael Phelps can do no better than silver. But if the question were confined to sports, it would be Phelps by acclamation. His eight-for-eight performance in Beijing made him a household name, even as it placed him in the top tier of all-time Olympians.

Jim Zogby President of the Arab-American Institute

The real Barack Obama deserves note, but it was the virtual i-Obama who so dramatically transformed the future of politics. With millions of online donors and millions of virtual phone bankers downloading call lists of voters in targeted states, and with the YouTube videos, watched by millions, that defined critical campaign moments, i-Obama is my choice.

WHOM WOULD YOU CHOOSE? Vote for who you think should be the 2008 Person of the Year at time.com/poywalkup