TIME, HUNTING WHERE THE DUCKS ARE

Ben Bernanke is Time's Person of the Year. I haven't read the cover story, but I don't think we should be surprised or angry at the choice -- in hindsight it seems inevitable.

It's a crummy economy. Media giants are hurting. Who has money? Who would have the wherewithal to buy stuff advertised alongside the end-of-the-year Time content? The financial crowd, obviously. So Time chose a financial guy. It's simple economic common sense.

If any of the rest of us ever get jobs or raises again, Time will pick someone we admire for this honor in the future. But for 2009, this was a perfectly understandable business decision.