Who should be Time's 'Person of the Year'?

As the end of 2010 draws near, it's time for an annual debate: Who deserves to be named Time magazine's "Person of the Year"? The process of picking the individual or entity who "most affected the news and our lives" kicked off at the Time & Life building in New York this week when the magazine gathered a celebrity panel to discuss the early favorites, from basketball star Lebron James to singer Lady Gaga to Sarah Palin and President Obama, who won in 2008. Who should take the prize this year?

The entire Tea Party movement deserves the nod: Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) says the award should go to all those citizens who changed the landscape of American politics, notes Alex Pappas at Daily Caller. Not only did Tea Partiers help deliver a landslide to the Republican Party in the midterm elections, but they forced everybody in Congress to think harder about fiscal responsibility. As Bachmann put it, they re-created "the spirit of 1776."

"Bachmann: The Tea Party should be on Time magazine's 'Person of the Year' cover"

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Outside Washington, Steve Jobs is the obvious choice: In a year where there is no obvious front-runner, says Jeff Bercovici at Forbes, there could be no more appropriate winner than Apple's Steve Jobs. The "entire media industry is remaking itself" for a future when most people consume their news, videos, and music on Jobs' gadgets. Some day Time's editors will kick themselves if pass over Jobs in "the year he unveiled the iPad."

"Steve Jobs as Time's 'Person of the Year'? Sure, why not?"

For global impact, WikiLeaks' Julian Assange deserves it: The WikiLeaks founder "has claimed constant headlines" this year, says CNN's Ashley Fantz. The man behind the publication of secret war intelligence has been called both a digital age whistle-blower and a danger. "Whatever Assange is, he's interesting."

"Julian Assange: Person of the Year?"