This list of 100 most influential people in the year 2009 version of TIME magazine
A. Leaders & Revolutionaries
By Arnold Schwarzenegger:How do I describe Uncle Teddy? Everyone knows him as the Lion of the Senate, a liberal icon, a warrior for the less fortunate, a fierce advocate for health-care reform, a champion of social justice here and abroad and now even a Knight of the British Empire. But I know him as the rock of his family: a loving husband, father, brother and uncle. He’s a man of great faith and character.His personal story demonstrates that strength is built through struggle and hardship, and he shares that strength with tremendous compassion and empathy. Channeling his own experiences with tragedy and loss, he has personally touched the lives of countless others who have had to confront their own challenges.Teddy, 77, is a heroic figure not just in the Democratic Party but in American politics in general. That’s because he overflows with energy and passion, and he devotes that intense caring to serving people in need and fighting on behalf of their causes. While he and I do not agree on every political issue, I have always admired his ability to work across the political aisle on matters such as immigration, health care, civil rights, education and the environment.His expertise in politics is extraordinary. I have personally benefited from his experience and advice, as I know countless others have. As a Senator, Teddy has a clear gift for communicating with people and showing true leadership. Through his actions, he proves that public service isn’t a hobby or even an occupation, but a way of life.The new Administration is bringing health care back to the forefront of the domestic agenda, and there is one man I know who will push tirelessly to make quality health care accessible and affordable for all Americans. With Senator Kennedy leading the charge, nothing will stand in the way. Schwarzenegger is the Republican governor of California and is married to Maria Shriver, the Senator’s nieceFast Fact: In a recent survey by the Hill newspaper, Kennedy’s GOP colleagues ranked him No. 1 among Democrats for bipartisanship By Anwar Ibrahim:The changes taking place in Indonesia today are among the most remarkable developments in the Muslim world. The country’s transition from authoritarianism has proved that as a democracy, Indonesia can be culturally vibrant and economically prosperous.Since winning the presidency in 2004, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has managed to keep the nation afloat, even during the current global recession. However, significant challenges lie ahead. Poverty remains pervasive in Indonesia, and the government must press onward with improvements to the country’s ailing infrastructure. Businesses are confronted with a bewildering array of regulations, and the country pays a heavy price in corruption and bribery.
The coming presidential election promises to be good to Yudhoyono, 59, thanks in no small measure to his having for the most part delivered on his promises. The history of Indonesia’s democratic journey may not be that long, but it has thus far shown that the country’s people will not re-elect a President who falls short of expectations.
The time is right for Indonesia, as the world’s most populous Muslim nation, to assume a more prominent position in Asia and throughout the Muslim world. In response to President Obama’s warm overtures to Muslim countries for a new phase in relations with the U.S., Yudhoyono can take the lead and chart a new course for the region.
Ibrahim is currently an opposition leader in Malaysia and the former Deputy Prime Minister
By Gordon Brown:I’m not betraying state secrets if I describe the last moments of the G-20 summit in london. It was Barack Obama’s first summit as President. He was — with one exception — the youngest leader there, the newest in office, and there was the ever present risk of America being seen as lecturing the world rather than leading it. Softly and with a genuine humility, he talked about how we could together replace people’s fear of the future with a new faith in the future, and how we could look past the storm to the great potential that lies beyond it. The next day his calm persuasion turned a potential contest for the position of NATO Secretary-General into an appointment by unanimous acclaim. That week, Europe and the U.S. exchanged ideas and shared ways of reshaping the financial system, achieving nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation and tackling the crucible of terrorism on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.Time and time again, people have talked of Barack Obama’s talent for listening. His real talent is for hearing what is actually said. His rare combination of idealism and realism struck me when I first met him: a natural ability to lead, combined with the qualities of mind and spirit that always seek to reach out and connect.As the first black President, Obama, 47, has already proved that once inaccessible pinnacles can be reached. His swift and decisive action on the economic crisis has been impressive in itself but is only one pioneering achievement of his first hundred days. Now global problems need global solutions, from our bold initiative to give every child in every country the opportunity of a good education, to our shared ambition of an agreement on climate change at Copenhagen in December. Obama is working with world leaders to take on the unparalleled challenges of the global age: in development, climate change, energy, terrorism and security.Of course, his oratory is today unmatched. But his courage — the courage to go first, to lead, where none have gone before — is doubly unmatched. When he speaks, he gives those who hear him confidence: not in him but in themselves. It was said of Cicero that when people heard him, they turned to one another and said, “Great speech”; but when Demosthenes spoke, people turned to one another and said, “Let’s march.” All around the world people are marching with Barack Obama. Brown is the Prime Minister of the United KingdomFast Fact: The hoops-loving President installed a backboard on the White House tennis courtB. Builders & Titans
By Ashton Kutcher:Years from now, when historians reflect on the time we are currently living in, the names Biz Stone and Evan Williams will be referenced side by side with the likes of Samuel Morse, Alexander Graham Bell, Guglielmo Marconi, Philo Farnsworth, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs — because the creation of Twitter by Stone, 35 (right), Williams, 37, and Jack Dorsey, 32 (not pictured), is as significant and paradigm-shifting as the invention of Morse code, the telephone, radio, television or the personal computer.In a sea of Web 2.0 technologies, Twitter — the microblogging service that restricts each entry, or tweet, to 140 characters — has managed to transcend basic instant messaging and social networking. It is a new and completely original form of communication that has gained worldwide adoption and captured the imaginations of people at every level of media interest or influence.For someone like me who lives in a construct of filtered communication — packaged and polished by the industry that employs me — Twitter has become a new instrument for expressing myself and accessing cultural trends, opinions and information. Twitter is my front door to the Internet and my medium for sharing the content I create while advocating for the causes close to my heart and investing in the connections I want to have with people from all walks of life.I believe that Twitter is a stage for humanity and connection, not the triumph of technology. Right now the word revolution is spelled with 140 characters. Kutcher (twitter.com/aplusk) is a co-founder of Katalyst Media. His new film, Spread, is scheduled for release on Aug. 14Fast Fact: Ashton’s million-plus Twitter followers know: had he written a tweet, it would have ended “referenced sid”—140 characters, the same as this C. Artists & Entertainers
D. Heroes & Icons
By Oprah Winfrey:Michelle Obama doesn’t just inspire us. She affirms us with her intelligence, authenticity, depth and compassion. We see the best of ourselves in her and marvel that no matter what she’s doing, she brings 100% of herself to the experience.I first met Michelle almost five years ago, shortly after Senator Barack Obama’s riveting 2004 DNC speech. Long before there was serious talk of a campaign for the presidency, I remember going to the Obamas’ house for dinner. I figured there would be takeout since I knew that, like me, Michelle had worked all day. But no, there she was in the kitchen, calm and organized, preparing linguine with shrimp and vegetables.
The woman I witnessed five years ago, with her graciousness, care and attention to detail, is the same woman I visited in the White House in February. Her very presence makes you feel welcome. Her political power is secondary to her heart power, and I salute her for that. I trust her. I know that whatever she gives her attention to, the truth will always be present. She doesn’t make false moves.
The joy Michelle, 45, brings to her roles as First Mother and First Lady is what makes her so intoxicating. We want that joy in the roles we inhabit as mothers, wives, workers, daughters and friends. And while we admire those arms and applaud her fashion choices (from J. Crew to top designers), her greatest influence is that she makes us want to be our own best selves — and maybe lift a few weights too.
Watching her on the global stage greeting the Queen and chatting with dignitaries and representing us the way we imagine presenting ourselves on our best day, I was reminded of lines from Maya Angelou’s poem “Phenomenal Woman”: “It’s the fire in my eyes,/ And the flash of my teeth,/ The swing in my waist,/ And the joy in my feet./ I’m a woman/ Phenomenally.”
How sweet it is that America has a First Lady who embodies the vibrancy and confidence of a seriously prepared 21st century woman. A phenomenal woman indeed.
Winfrey is a global media leader and international philanthropist
Fast Fact: Michelle Obama’s undergraduate thesis for Princeton examined the sometimes isolating experience of being black in the Ivy League
By Roger Federer:We are fortunate to live in the Tiger Woods era. Tiger, 33, is a model for how athletes should conduct themselves. He respects the legends who came before him, like Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. He knows the history of his sport. He handles himself with class, and he’s articulate. There’s no silly talk in public from Tiger. When he speaks, people listen.That is an important part of why he’s an idol for so many young athletes and why adults get giddy when they see him. They’re not just awed by his great wins; they admire him as a person.
You rarely see an athlete who single-handedly changes an entire sport. When Tiger couldn’t play last year because of an injury, golf ratings suffered. He has changed the way golfers train and prepare themselves and has brought huge numbers of new fans to the sport, including me. I never followed golf when I was younger. Now I do.
When I was starting my foundation, I looked to Tiger for lessons on how philanthropy should be done. His focus on kids helped inspire my decision to also focus on children’s causes. His philanthropic efforts are really unbelievable, and I plan to follow his example.
Tiger has become a close friend, and people would be surprised that under that serious game face is a big kid who loves to play jokes and have a good time. I think having balance is key to maintaining his incredible level of intensity. Hopefully we’ll get to follow Tiger in great form for at least 15 more years. We should all enjoy it. We may never see a golfer like this again.
Federer, who was the top-ranked tennis player in the world for a record 237 consecutive weeks, has won 13 Grand Slam singles titles
E. Scientists & Thinkers
By Paul Krugman:Nouriel Roubini was right. At a time when the likes of Alan Greenspan were dismissing concerns about excessive home prices and declaring that banks were stronger than ever, Roubini warned that there was a monstrous bubble in the housing market and that the bursting of that bubble would cause much of the financial system to collapse. And so it has turned out, with even the most seemingly outlandish of Roubini’s predictions matched or even exceeded by reality.How did he do it? For the first decade of his career, Roubini, 51, was a well-regarded but hardly renowned macroeconomist. When the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997, however, he created a Web page — the forerunner of his subscription service, RGE Monitor — that became the go-to place for anyone trying to keep up with the flood of news, data and economic analysis. And in the process, he became acutely aware — more, perhaps, than any other economist of our era — of the dangerous mix of folly and fragility that characterizes the modern financial system.
Does Roubini sometimes get it wrong? Of course. Everybody does. Four years ago, he was predicting an imminent end to China’s willingness to accumulate trillions in sterile reserves, leading to a plunge in the dollar’s value and to financing problems for the U.S. government. He was wrong about that, and no doubt he’ll be wrong again.
But he’s much more than a Chicken Little who finally got lucky when the sky did fall. Don’t be fooled by his sometimes over-the-top writing style: his warnings are based on sophisticated modeling and careful data analysis and have often proved right — not just in general but in detail. He was predicting $2 trillion in bank losses when most people thought those losses would be a few hundred billion at most, largely because he realized early on that subprime was only the beginning. And now even the International Monetary Fund is predicting U.S.-originated losses of $3 trillion or more.
So is Roubini a Cassandra? Yes, he is. Remember, people dismissed Cassandra’s dire prophecies — until they all came true.
Krugman, the winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Economics, teaches economics and international affairs at Princeton University
Fast Fact: Born in Turkey, Roubini has also lived in Italy, Iran and the U.S. He speaks fluent Farsi, Hebrew, English and Italian
By Jill Bolte Taylor:Information about the external world streams in through our senses and is then processed and integrated by our brains into thoughts, words or deeds. And accompanying those forms of communication are facial expressions and the physical responses we call body language.Thanks to Paul Ekman and his work on facial expression, emotion and deception, we have a better understanding of how the expressions and gestures we display on the surface are a direct reflection of what is going on in the neurocircuitry deep inside our brains.
When I experienced a severe hemorrhage in the left hemisphere of my brain in 1996, I was aphasic — incapable of understanding verbal language. But thanks to my right hemisphere, I could read the facial expressions and body language of the caregivers and medical professionals who were tending to me.
Ekman, 75, has turned the ability to read the reactions that flicker across our faces into a fine science. Through his books, including Telling Lies and Emotions Revealed, along with his role as an adviser for Lie to Me, the Fox crime series based on his work, he has brought to the general public his understanding of how we communicate with one another in the absence of words.
His research will make a tremendous contribution to the worlds of law enforcement, counterterrorism and crowd management. It also has the potential to change how we communicate with those who are aphasic. But perhaps most important, in a society in which dissemblance and evasion have become commonplace, Ekman is teaching us how to recognize the subtle signs of truth.
Taylor, a neuroanatomist, wrote My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist’s Personal Journey after fully recovering from her stroke and was a 2008 Time 100 honoree
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