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Katie Couric: In 1927, Time magazine put Charles Lindbergh on the cover of its final edition of the year, called him their "Man of the Year", and a tradition was born. Since then the honor has been bestowed on leaders, presidents and peacemakers. Jim Kelly is Time's Managing Editor and he's here to reveal this year's finalists for "Person of the Year".
Matt Lauer: You get nervous since you are gonna say, reveal the actual winner.
Jim Kelly: Exactly, when I went here, I didn't sign up for this.
Katie Couric: Nice to see you. Listen. I know you've got six finalists and they represent sort of a wide variety of potential people. Let's start with the world of politics. You have two. You have President Bush and Valerie Plame.
Jim Kelly: Right, we put President Bush who hasn't had a very good year. But this would not be the first time we put the president on with a bad year. Lyndon Johnson was on in '67 with the war in Vietnam and slab of bad opinion polls. Valerie Plame really interests me because without Valerie Plame there is no Patrick Fitzgerald, there is no Karl Rove in trouble. And I met Valerie Plame for the first time a few months ago. She is an absolutely charming, really interesting person. And that would be an interesting way to tell the story of this year.
Matt Lauer: But, but wouldn't it be kind of different? I mean, she didn't do anything on purpose to be put in that position. And shouldn't someone have to initiate some kind of behavior or some kind of action?
Jim Kelly: Well, that's fair enough. You could do Patrick Fitzgerald, I suppose. I was just struck by just how unlikely a...a person like Valerie Plame is to be in the part of this whole investigation.
Katie Couric: Because she really opened up the floodgates.( Exactly, right.) Speaking of that, Katrina,(Katrina. Yes.) and opening up the floodgates, I mean, I know that obviously, was the domestic story of the year, if not, the decade. (Exactly.) Um, and...and you have put in animated objects on the cover before,(Yes, we have, the computer.) I guess twice, right? The computer.
Jim Kelly: Yeah, the computer, I mean we put the planet of earth once on the cover of "Time of the year".
Matt Lauer: And when we talk about Katrina, we're talking about the Mother Nature.
Jim Kelly: Yes, exactly, exactly, or, also, if you do Mother Nature that you'll also get the tsunami which was of technically late last year but obviously its effects are so felt, to get the terrible earthquake in Pakistan. And on an online poll, most people have voted for Mother Nature. The problem which we're, you know, have struggled with is how do you illustrate Mother Nature for the cover.
Katie Couric: You do. You also talk about possibly the...the refugees that resulted from, (Yes.) but, they weren't called refugees (Kind of victims. (Right..) except for that, at the very beginning. But really I guess the homeless and displaced individuals from Katrina.
Jim Kelly: Exactly, exactly. And now they spread still all across the country, and there is, as you know, there is hundreds of thousands of them, and it's likely they won't return to New Orleans for months and months.
Matt Lauer: And yet we'd like to prognosticate it, (OK) and without Mother Nature you don't have their story, (yes, exactly) so again, I am, well, I'm leaning toward Mother Nature here.
Jim Kelly: I see where you are going. (Yeah, right.)
Katie Couric: And, and then there are two other personalities. I guessed Oprah is a possibility.
Jim Kelly: Well, Oprah is supposed a possibility mostly frankly because the way she responded to Katrina which obviously was very effective. And some leaders have reckoned in and nominated Bono for his work on debt relief.
Matt Lauer: Who's gonna be? (....)
Katie Couric: Matt Lauer, I nominate Matt Lauer.
Matt Lauer: Matt Lauer as Mother Nature. How about that? I tell you can illustrate that on the cover.
Jim Kelly: We're gonna use (inaudible), but you would do if you like. (Hey. Jim) (Matt)
Matt Lauer: It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature(inaudible).
Katie Couric: Anyway, thanks, Jim, we are gonna see you on Monday. ( you bet ) and you actually will reveal your Person of the Year, right here on today. (Yes. I'll be here with Mother Nature.)
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